“ THE EMPTY VINE ”
Hosea 10:1-8

I. What is the empty vine?

• In verse 1) it says…“Israel is an empty vine,”
• Hosea (A minor prophet, and it is important to point out that it does not mean that he was less important or powerful preaching than his major prophet friends. It only means that he wrote less of his teachings and preaching.
• Here he is talking about Israel.
• What is an empty vine?
  1. An empty vine is fruitless.
  2. An empty vine is dead looking or lifeless.
  3. An empty vine is useless.
  4. An empty vine is of no value.
  · God tells Ezekiel in Ezekiel 15:1-5… “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2) Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree,(What makes this tree different from any other tree?) or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3) Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? 4) Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? (Is it worth anything?) 5) Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?(It is useless even when it is alive and fruitless, and the only thing it is good for is kindling for the fire).
  · The unsaved are “Empty Vines”, some Christians today are “Empty Vines”, and governments today are “Empty Vines”.

II. Sin Brings Down the Judgment of God

A) Israel was not fruitful in the fruits of righteousness

• Now back in our text God here in verse 1 makes them aware of their condition when He tells them… “he bringeth forth fruit unto himself :A) He is looking to please himself, his own desires not God’s.
• Their time for soul winning and was used for television, their money for tithes were used to eat at the “Out Back Steak House” and buy a new boat and motor, their talents for God became talents for the world, their Bible reading time had turned to “Popular Mechanics” and “Vogue”

B) They multiplied their altars and images

• “… according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; B) In further examination of everything he has done, he has made more things important than God) 1) People today, Unsaved, Saved, Preachers, Teachers, Presidents, Congressmen, workers, People in general are looking to please self first then God. This is contrary to what God wants.
• People are putting everything they can think of in front of God! (#1 is T.V. #2 is vacation, how often to we vacation with God? #3 is talents, #4 is money)
• We have increased our altars! Not for God but self.
• verse 1 finishes with “… according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.”(according to the world they were “good Christians” but were a stench in the nostrils of God!)

C) Their hearts were devided

• Now look in verse 2… “ Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.”
• When we are out of the will of God… he will allow us to be uncomfortable in all we do no matter how hard we try.
• God will break down our altars… burn up the T.V., give you a sore throat when you try to sing at some worldly event with unspiritual music, make your back hurt when you try to move your refrigerator on Sunday morning for your spring house cleaning that’ll take all morning long, give you the flu causing you to miss a “Chief’s Game”.
• God will spoil your Images… He will make what you thought was cool at one time… un-cool, He will make your money for tithes used for frivolous items turn sour, He will make that new church you decided to go to (Because they allow pants on women and shorts for men and read from the NIV) become a nightmare. Everything they did for themselves was spoiled by God!

D) They made no conscience of what they said or did

• Note verse 4… “ They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.”
• God is greatly offended with corruptions, not only with his own worship, but in the administration of justice between man and man.
• It says in verse 4… “they swore falsely” …Is this what God would want us to do as Christians?
• God wants man to pay attention to his conscience and convictions.
• These are the “Judgments of God”.

III. There Is No Joy In An Empty Vine

A) There is no joy when we are not producing fruit

• Note… verse 3) “For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?”
• When a country has “no king” or leader… then it becomes a burden, people worry about their future, people get out of control, and in all this turmoil is no joy!
• Our country is facing that very same problem. Why?
  1. Because they are not producing fruits.
  2. They are multiplying their altars and images.
  3. Our hearts are divided.
  4. People today have no conscience.
• Psalms 51:12 David penned … “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation”
• America today needs to restore unto it the joy that it once had for God!
• We need not be an “Empty Vine”!

IV. What’s in store for an empty vine?

A) Living in fear

• Now look in verse 5) “The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. 6) It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. 7) As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.”
• A fruitless nation, one that forgets God and worships it’s own idols… will live in fear for the wrath of God.

B) Our government will be weakened · A country like this shall not only be weakened, but destroyed!

• Take note of verse 7… “her king is shut off as the foam upon the water” In looking into Matthew Henry’s commentary for this definition he summed it up to say this… The foam makes a great show upon the face of the water, yet it is but a heap of bubbles. Such were the kings of Israel, after their revolt from the house of David, a mere scum; their government had no foundation.

C) God will break down our altars

• Here in our text God will do it by the hand of the Assyrians: The Assyrians shall do it by order from God (Verse 2… “He shall spoil their images”)!
• Matthew Henry said this… “If the grace of God prevail not to destroy the love of sin in us, it is just that the providence of God should destroy the food and fuel of sin about us.”
• Hosea goes on to say in verse 8) The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars;
• This means they shall lie in ruins! Just as it says in Isaiah 2:17-22 “ And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. 18) And the idols he shall utterly abolish. 19) And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 20) In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21) To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. 22) Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
• Back in our text Hosea 10:8… “and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.”

The problem solving in America falls on the shoulders of us dear Christians to stand up for the faith and for the God of whom this country was founded! But more importantly we need not be “An Empty Vine”.