THE WITHDRAWAL OF GOD'S FACE

HOSEA 5:6

A. "THEY SHALL GO WITH THEIR FLOCKS AND WITH THEIR HERDS TO SEEK THE LORD; BUT THEY SHALL NOT FIND HIM; HE HATH WITHDRAWN HIMSELF FROM THEM"
  1. The apostasy of Israel had reached a point:
    1. When their sacrifices of their flocks and herds meant nothing
    2. They went through the form of worship, but their heart were removed far from the Lord - Is. 29:13
    3. "They will hear thy words, but they will not do them" - Ezek. 33:31
  2. Here we have another illustration:
    1. That when we live in sin, we refuse to obey the voice of truth
    2. God will turn away His face from us; that means that He will withdraw His favor B. THE WITHDRAWAL OF GOD'S FACE
  3. A sad and solemn possibility:
    1. The face of the Lord stands for His divine presence and approval
    2. Guidance, comfort and help come from the presence of the Lord - "My presence (lit. face) shall go with thee" - Ex. 33:14
    3. Beware, grieve not the Holy Spirit, lest His be hidden - Eph. 4:30
  4. The reason for the withdrawal:
    1. They had become a snare - Hosea 5:1
    2. Instead of being a light and an example, encouraging others to trust the Lord, they had become a snare and a net, trapping unwary feet into their ungodly ways
    3. Do you wonder that God turns away His face and favor from those whose life and example encourage others to dishonor His name and His message
    4. "He that is not for me is against me" - Matt. 12:30
  5. They would not frame their doings to turn unto their God: (v.4)
    1. "Their doings would not suffer them to honor their God"
    2. Is it not so with many among God's professed people today. They give God lip-service but in fact, their heart is full of the pleasures of this world
  6. They dealt treacherously with God:
    1. Treachery is a violation of an allegiance a breach of faith; Examples - Judas was a their and became a traitor - John 12:6: Luke 6:16; Matt. 26:48-50. Ahithophel sought to have Absalom take the kingdom from his father - 2 Sam. 17:1-29. Delilah betrayed Samson into the hands of the Philistines - Judges 16
    2. We become traitors to the Captain of our salvation when we join the ranks of His enemies. To be unfaithful to our Lord is to miss His shinning face upon us C. THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE FACE OF THE LORD
  7. Let us note the effect of God withdrawing His face from us:
    1. He did this for a moment when His Son suffered the agony of the cross of Calvary, and it was then that the Son of God cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me" - Matt. 27:46
    2. For God to withdraw His face simply means that He forsakes us - "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil" - Ps. 34:16
    3. Vain sacrifices - "They shall go with their flocks and their herds...but they shall not find Him" - (v.6)
    4. No number of sacrifices will atone for the hidden face of the Lord as long as the heart is not right toward God - Examples - Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord, but is was rejected - Gen. 4:4-8; Saul brought a sacrifice to the Lord, but it was an abomination to the Lord - I Sam. 15:1-31. The sacrifice of the priests of Baal were an abomination I Kings 18
  8. The loving face of our heavenly Father is indispensable to the children of the Lord:
    1. For guidance through this night of sin and sorrow - Ps. 25:9; 31:3; 32:8
    2. For encouragement as in the case of the martyr Stephen - Acts 7:56; or in the experience of Paul on his way to Rome - Acts 27:23-24
    3. For protection or being shielded against the darts of the evil one - Ps. 23:1-6; Ps. 27:1; 91:1-6
    4. For fellowship - there can be no fellowship with God if He withdraws His face from us, and ye how we cherish the communion and the fellowship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost I John 1:1-3; 2 Cor. 13:14


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