Key Truth: God desires true worship from His people marked by faithfulness to Him and humble reliance upon His care to protect us from the destructive cost of idolatry.

The Destructiveness of False Worship

Hosea 8:1-10

“It seems to be an occupational disease of worshipers to think more of the mechanics than of the meaning of what we do; more of getting it right than of getting ourselves right; and this can degenerate from thoughtlessness into something worse, ranging from cynical detachment, if we are sophisticated, to religious superstition if we are not.
…this parody of worship is not simply meaningless, as we might have guessed, but insulting and even sickening to God, attracting the very judgement it is supposed to avert.”

Derek Kidner, The Message of Hosea

Q: How do you prepare to worship God with a sincere and ready heart? What impact has the continued practice of preparing for worship had on your growth as a Christian?

The Vanity of False Worship

Hosea 8:10-14

“Grant, Almighty God, that as we are prone to every kind of wickedness, and so easily led away to imitate it, when there is any excuse for going astray and any opportunity is offered, —O grant, that being strengthened by the help of your Spirit, we may continue in purity of faith, and that what we have learned concerning you, that you are a Spirit, may so profit us, that we may worship you in spirit and with a sincere heart, and never turn aside after the corruptions of the world, nor think that we can deceive you; but may we so devote our souls and bodies to you, that our life may in every part of it testify, that we are a pure and holy sacrifice to you in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.”

John Calvin, Commentary on Hosea

Q: What are some ways in which God has removed things in which you trusted in place of Him? How did this help you to grow in your worship of Him?

Hosea 8:1-14 teaches us that:

-God desires that we grow in our love for Him and obedience to His Word through our worship of Him.

-False worship produces destruction.