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"My people are bent on backsliding from Me"

Text: Hosea 11:7

THE PROBLEM OF BACKSLIDING

This is a problem we are all familiar with. The problem with ancient Israel seemed to be far worse!

“My people are bent on backsliding from Me,
Though they call to the Most High,
None at all exalt Him.”
Hosea 11:7

1. “My people”

a) It is a wonder that God would still speak of Israel as “My people”.

b) What this indicates about the LORD:

i) He is merciful.

ii) He is longsuffering.

iii) He is gracious.

iv) He is faithful.

2. “Bent on backsliding from Me”

a) Backsliding needs to be defined.

i) It is relapsing.

ii) It is returning to old and bad ways.

iii) Some good had been attained but that has been abandoned.

b) Backsliding from the LORD:

i) Once there was faithful worship.

ii) This was forsaken in favour of idolatry.

iii) There were attempts to return to God.

iv) But there were many relapses to idolatrous practices.

3. “Though they call to the Most High”

a) In formal worship, Israel expressed regard for God.

b) They even called God, “Most High”.

c) These were mere words.

4. “None at all exalt Him”

a) There wasn’t a true exaltation of the LORD.

b) There was no sincerity behind what was uttered from the lips formally.

c) God saw through Israel’s formal regard to the depths of their heart.