Sowing the Wind, Reaping the Whirlwind

Date: 22 March 2026, 9.30 am

Speaker: Ps Daniel Tan Sermon Text: Hosea 8:1 – 9:9

CLICK  HERE to join in our Livestream service on Youtube

22 Mar 26 Herald.pdf

Download PDF • 4.52MB

---

TRANSCRIPT

Introduction

Blessed Sunday to everyone.

For those of us who are watching the service online, if you are residing in Singapore, you know, God has designed for you and I, to worship Him in a much fuller and richer experience.

Because He made us, He knows what is best for us.

And so, He has so designed that the church is to be the gathering of His people to worship Him every first day of the week in person as one body.

Thus, may I encourage you, if you are able, that you allow yourself to experience this richer and fuller environment of worshipping God together with your siblings-in-Christ here at Henderson next week.

For those of us who are home-bound, we are so glad that technology allows you to be stay connected with us virtually.

And we are looking forward the time when you can physically be with us again.

Your absence is felt and you are missed.

Last week, I was travelling in China and as we were departing at the airport to return to Singapore, I notice many signs, warnings about what you can check-in and what you can carry onboard.

It starts right at the entrance of the airport. After being dropped off, you can’t just walk in. They let passengers in batch by batch. Everyone has to be screened.

It seems to me they are looking for electric currents because they use a devise to touch every person and every bag you are carrying.

Next at the check-in counter, they ask you if you have a power-bank in your check-in luggage. Also do you have a lighter.

All check-in bags are then screened by x-ray. I had to go open my bag at a separate counter because they wanted to identify my pouch that contained by extension cord and power-point adapters.

We next proceeded to queuing for 20 mins, to be screened by the staff for all our carry-on luggage. And as we waited in line, everywhere there are signs to tell you what you cannot bring on board.

There was a European lady ahead of me carrying a digital camera, the security staff was so thorough that they examined all her spare camera batteries.

Now imagine with me, from the airport entrance, to the check-in counter, to this security screening, it was already nearly 40 minutes and there have been numerous reminders about what is appropriate to carry onboard.

How frustrated would you be if the person in front of you was to have been discovered to have water in the water bottle or a lighter, or a power-bank that is not certified or any other prohibited item?

The line is delayed because they have to do more checks, the line is delayed because the supervisor has to be called in.

And so you might be wondering, why is this passenger testing the system? Doesn’t this passenger acknowledge all the warning notices?

If they confiscate the item or penalise this passenger, I would say, none of the others in the queue would feel sorry for that affected passenger.

I would even say, in our hearts, we would say, serve you right. You are reaping what you sow. You are dealing with the consequences of your actions.

Hosea 8 & 9 I submit is in the same vein. Though of course, it is a lot more serious.

These 2 chapters reflect on Israel’s long history of self-reliance and apostasy.

They have rejected God’s way of life for them. They have planted the seeds of their disobedience and now they are going to reap the harvest of consequences.

And so, I’ve taken the sermon title from 8:7, Israel has sown the wind that they will now reap. They will now reap a destructive whirlwind.

And as Eld Elgin has reminded us last Sunday, Israel’s sowing was one that was gradual. Bit by bit, they slipped, they neglected, they forgot, they assimilated, soon they were so, so far away from God.

Israel is like the airline passenger who has deliberately disregarded the rules of safe travel repeatedly. The penalty for rejecting all the warnings has consequences.

God is not unfair in allowing Isreal to face the consequences of what they have sown.

The trumpet of covenant judgement (8:1-7)

Last Sunday, Eld Elgin helped us to understand the significance of the blowing of the horn in 3 towns of Gibeah, Ramah and Beth-aven.

I quote “it truly underscores the widespread nature of the impending threats facing Israel as a nation and the call for immediate attention and action.”

Hos 8:1 Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law. 2 To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.” 3 Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him. 4 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. 5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6 For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. 7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour; if it were to yield, strangers would devour it.

God in His mercies, is sounding the alarm again here in chapter 8. And Hosea is saying the penalty is at hand. A vulture is already circling overhead.

And we know that the vulture is the Assyrian army. It’s not just a geopolitical issue of conquest, no, Assyria is God’s hand of discipline on Israel.

Why is God allowing such hardship on His people? Hosea says it plaining - because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law.

It’s not that Israel has forgotten to be religious, v2 tells us the people still claim that they know God – Yahweh, Isreal knows you, they are saying. They were claiming identity with God.

Faith and obedience however are two sides of the same coin. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:46, why do you call me Lord Lord, and not do what I tell you?

Regular participation at the Sunday gathering is important. God says, honour me by coming to worship together as one body.

But it cannot stop there. We need to see that our faith is exercised in obedience to what we have heard from God’s Word. And it should impact the rest of our week.

I thought Eld Elgin’s reminder last week was a good one - Beware of “gray hairs”: slow spiritual decline & backsliding.

I submit if we only hear God’s Word on Sundays but do not act it out in obedience throughout the week, we are growing gray hairs.

We will be kidding ourselves that we know God better but actually, do not.

Without obedience, it is impossible to grow in our relationship with God. Instead, the opposite might be true.

I’m sure we all know what is an echo-chamber?

According to a dictionary, socially, it is an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.

V4 says, Israel was appointing rulers and leaders in the echo-chamber fashion.

Basically, they were not seeking God’s direction and leading in selecting their leaders.

They selected leaders after their heart’s desire. Leaders who appeal to them.

And we know from 1 & 2 Kings, that the leaders that they chose, led them towards idolatry. With their silver and their gold, they made idols for their own destruction.

We thank God that He has left us detailed instructions as to how we are to choose men and women as leaders for the church. We have them in 1 Tim 3:1-13.

Soon, we will have to look carefully at these verses as we elect our leaders at our ACM happening at the end of April.

Scripture is exhorting us through Hosea, don’t have an echo-chamber effect, our views are faulty, instead rely on God’s standards found in Scripture.

Hosea reminds them, you have chosen terrible leaders like Jeroboam.

Jeroboam who was so insecure that he feared that the people of Israel will go and sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem and be enticed to return to Judah.

And so Jeroboam made 2 calves of gold and placed them at Bethel and Dan.

As Hosea reminds them of their spiritual adultery, Hosea warns, God has the power to destroy everything. The whirlwind is coming.

It will destroy your idols (v6), it will also cause everything you touch to turn from gold to dust (v7)

The standing grain will have no head, thus no flour. You will have nothing to eat.

Even when it does yield a harvest, a stranger will devour it. It will be violently taken from you.

Church, God’s covenant comes with judgement. We must not presume that God will always spare us from the consequences of our sins.

And here it is a frightening thing to hear, Isreal sows the wind but will reap the whirlwind.

It means the harvest of the consequences of their sin will be many times what was sown.

For all of us who are second generation Christians, I submit, we need to be circumspect. We have grown up and being nurtured in the faith. We understand how to speak, act and think ‘Christian’.

But we have also grown up in cosmopolitan Singapore and the glitter and glamour of society is very attractive too.

If we are not careful, we will just go through the motions. Our Sunday mornings are reserved for God but for the rest of the 6 and a half days, we are no different from every other local.

We get our identity instead from our grades in school, our careers, our holidays, our material possessions and measure ourselves against the best and the brightest in society.

Even as a church, who are the leaders we affirm? What yardsticks do we use in deciding whether God has called them to serve as leaders?

Are we not prone to use the yardsticks of society?

Should Scripture instead be the only plumbline for us to determine God’s selection of His leaders?

Hosea 8 sounds the alarm, check yourselves about idolatry, for God desires covenant faithfulness and He will discipline if we blatantly reject covenant obedience.

The folly of political and religious self-reliance (8:8-14)

Not only did Isreal not seek the Lord regarding the selection of the leaders, they also did not seek the Lord with regards to the protection of their nation.

Instead, they went about using human logic. V8 says they became a vessel state of Assyria.

Hos 8: 8 Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel. 9 For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild donkey wandering alone; Ephraim has hired lovers. 10 Though they hire allies among the nations, I will soon gather them up. And the king and princes shall soon writhe because of the tribute. 11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning. 12  Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. 13 As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt. 14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.

In 2 Kings 15, Israel had a king named Menahem. Scripture said, he did what was evil in the sight of God and did not depart from the ways of Jeroboam.

Now the king of Assyria came against Israel and using political diplomacy, Menahem gave a tribute.

2 Kings 15 says, he gave a tribute of 1000 talents of silver. A talent was about 34 kg. So that means he gave 34,000 kg of silver. In today’s price it is estimated at $102 million Singapore dollars.

How did king Menahem get so much silver, 2 Kgs 15:20 says, he extracted it from the wealthy in the nation – 50 shekels of silver from each person.

$102 million only bought Israel 13 years of peace. On the 14^th year after they paid this huge amount of tribute, 2 Kgs 15:29 says, the king of Assyria, came and captured Gilead, Galilee and Naphtali and carried the people captive to Assyria.

And so God describes Israel as a wild donkey. Stubborn independence masquerading as freedom.

Israel is warned, they thought political treaties were their path to safety, God says, no it is actually spiritual adultery, for God is your protector.

They sow the wind - taxed the people for 50 shekels of silver each, yet they reap the whirlwind - not just losing their finances, but national freedom, they’ll go into captivity.

One pastor reflecting upon this, shares an implication on how the church is to speak about sexual indecency.

He says “should Christians seek to navigate the cultural maze of accepted speech, denying that fornication and homosexuality are sins condemned by God but seeking at the same time to uphold sexual holiness?

If we don’t speak up against sex before marriage or outside of marriage and that marriage is to be a life-long union between one man and one women, might we be paying tribute to the world?

Permissive sexual orientation does not sit well together with God’s command for sexual holiness.

And I’m sure we will all notice that in these verses, there is no mention about prayer. Because there is no desire to seek God instead, they sought the world for their chance of survival.

Church, let’s look back at the past week. As we consider our existential challenges, where have we turned to for wisdom and help?

Has it been ChatGPT? Has it been that knowledgeable friend or tapping on the wealth of our own experiences?

Church, has prayer and the reading of Scripture ever been considered?  

On the plane back from China, I watched a Taiwanese movie that I downloaded from Netflix.

The husband of the leading character died and at his funeral, an amusing scene happened.

The daughter invited a particular religious leader to come and chant. Apparently her late father practiced this religion in the final years of his life.

The wife however, felt that the husband was born and brought up in a different Chinese tradition and so she called the village priest and his disciples to come and do the funeral rites.

So there was a clash of rituals at the funeral. Which was his faith? The one he grew up in or the one he practiced later in life?

The scene was meant to be comical but it also showed the desire to cover all the bases.

V11-14 I submit is Israel covering all the bases. They are religiously trying to practice the faith of their fathers and yet at the same time, to practice the faith of their pagan neighbors.

The altars that they make sacrifices for can either be those to Yahweh or those to Baal.

For those altars to Yahweh, v13 says, though they made sacrifices, God will not accept them.

God sees their hearts, He knows that they are just going through the motions. They have no covenant love for Him. They are not focusing solely on Him.

And at the same time, they cover their bases by offering sacrifices to Baal. And the more they sacrifice the more they are sinning against God.

Ironic isn’t it. The more sacrifices they perform, which to them is to appease the divine so that they get blessings, it is actually hastening the rod of discipline.

V13 speaks of metaphorically returning to Egypt. It is like saying, I’m going to reverse the Passover. You are going to experience the bondage that I’ve set you previously free from.

Hos 8:13 As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.

Ex 34:6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

And so when we put Exodus 34:6 right next to Hosea 8:13, we see the language is the same, just the direct opposite in intentions.

In Exodus, God has brought them out of slavery in Egypt and will be merciful and gracious and forgive their iniquity.

Here in Hosea, he will remember their iniquity, punish their sins and return them to Egypt.

Israel has sown the wind – they have forgotten their Maker and built palaces. Judah has multiplied fortified cities.

Now, God says, they will reap the whirlwind – God will send down fire upon their cities and will devour her strongholds.

Eld Elgin mentioned last week about how at the blowing of the horn, God made the walls of Jericho tumble right down.

Hosea is warning, remember God was powerful for you at Jericho, now He will be powerfully against you.  

Are we covering our bases today? In our lives, are we trying not to put all our eggs in one basket?

If you are not yet a believer today? May I submit for your consideration that you are currently attempting to spread your risk.

For your survival, you are looking around for many things to satisfy.

Scripture warns, spreading your risk is the most risky move.

May I invite you to consider following Christ. For Christians, we have put all our eggs in one basket. Christ is our sole Redeemer and Master.

Christ, we proclaim is fully sufficient. Christ, we proclaim fully satisfies.  

For non-believers, God’s laws would seem strange, but for us, Christians we say -

Ps 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

The joyless harvest of covenant unfaithfulness (9:1-9)

In our final segment of the text today, the highlight is v7 - The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come. And with the exile, what makes Israel unique will be wiped out.

According to scholars, Hosea 9 is dated between 733 and 722 BC. A few years earlier, the king of Assyria had invaded Israel and conquered parts of the northern kingdom.

These verses situated Israel in the final years before the final conquest of the kingdom and captivity. Hosea 9 is about them celebrating a holy feast, probably the harvest festival.  

A holy feast that distinguishes them from the nations and reminds them that they are in a covenant with God.

Hos 9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute’s wages on all threshing floors. 2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail them. 3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria. 4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners’ bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the Lord. 5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival, and on the day of the feast of the Lord? 6 For behold, they are going away from destruction; but Egypt shall gather them; Memphis shall bury them. Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver; thorns shall be in their tents. 7 The days of punishment have come; the days of recompense have come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool; the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred. 8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God; yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God. 9 They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.

Just as the festival was becoming lively, Hosea shows up and proclaims - Rejoice not, Israel! Don’t be like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.

We noted earlier that Jeroboam created 2 golden calves to refocus the worship from Jerusalem.

In that same chapter of 1 Kings 12, Jeroboam further instituted that the holy feast be done differently – not in accordance with God’s instructions.

1 Kgs 12:31, Jeroboam appointed priests who were not the Levites. In 1 Kgs 12:33, Scripture says, the feast was also scheduled on a date that was devised from his own heart.

Israel’s king was leading the nation to play the whore, she was being unfaithful to what God has commanded.

To make matters worse, we understand that they began to combine it with Baal worship and so cult prostitution and drunkenness became part and parcel of their worship rituals.

Thus, instead of joy at harvest time, Hosea warns, the future will be joyless and filled with weeds and thorns.

God is going to remove all of Israel’s religious trappings. Her idolatrous syncretic faith will be solved because they will be exiled into Assyria.

Since they want to act like pagans, then they will be like pagans for the exile will not allow them to maintain the dietary restrictions of God’s covenant people. They will eat unclean food.

In exile there will not be any wine that they can offer at the altar of God for they will be slaves. The sacrificial bread that was to be offered to the Lord as well will be defiled because they are in a pagan land.

By the exile, God will remove every bit of opportunity for them to remember whose they are because they cannot celebrate their holy days.

Christians have Easter and Christmas as reminders of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Are we in danger of mixing it with the commercialization of society such that its significance is utterly diluted?

Do we celebrate and commemorate Easter and Christmas just like the rest of society? So that in the end, it looks as if we are also in exile?

To us, is Easter and Christmas just a time for extended holidays, a time for gluttony, for over consumption of alcohol and for bad financial stewardship.

Because of what Israel has become, they ridicule the prophet. In their sinful state, they see the prophet as a fool. His warnings as mad, foolhardy.

Hosea warns them, don’t reject the words of the Prophet, he is given by God to be the watchman to stand guard at the city walls to look out for danger.

Instead of heeding the prophet’s warning, the prophet is met with a trap by the very people he is warning. To the caution he delivers, the prophet instead receives hatred thrown back at him.

So Hosea pronounces the judgement – Gibeah! To understand ‘Gibeah’, we need to turn to Judges 19 & 20.

The men of Gibeah wanted to rape a visiting Levite. When they were prevented from having sex with the Levite, they grabbed hold of his concubine and abused her till she died.

The Levite then chopped up his concubine into 12 pieces and send it throughout the territory of Israel.

When the people of Israel knew of this, their reaction was - ^{Jdg 19:30} And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

So all of Israel joined forces and they slaughtered the people of Gibeah in retribution.

Because of their iniquity and their sins, Hosea says, your fate will be like the city of Gibeah.

Hosea has raised the warning sound. The vulture is waiting to scoop down over Israel. Their end will be as the people of Gibeah.

Remember, history is recorded for our sake that we might not wander away from God like they did. Thus, the warnings are just as applicable today as in the days of Hosea.

Heeding the warning of Gibeah, Church would we be the godly watchman for each other?

Watchman who would be willing to love others by telling the truth even though it is unpleasant.

Heeding the warning of Gibeah, Church, would we be willing as a body, to sound the alarm in our society?

Be the watchmen even when the truth is uncomfortable and politically incorrect?

Conclusion

Today’s text exposes Israel’s false sense of security, their religious activity that was devoid of repentance and the inevitability of covenant judgement.

Our closing hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ answers this entire passage with one central Gospel truth – our only refuge from divine wrath is Christ crucified.

“Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee” - Israel trusted in golden calves, altars and political alliances, the believer hides in Christ alone.

“Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling” - Hosea rebukes self-reliance and religious self-confidence.

Our closing hymn reminds us to dispel spiritual pride and restore Sola Gratia – grace alone.

“When I draw this fleeting breath …. When I soar to worlds unknown and see thee on thy judgement throne” - Hosea announces judgement on Israel.

Our closing hymn teaches us how to face judgement – not with denial, but with Christ as our Rock, our sure and solid foundation.

Reflection Questions

• In Singapore’s fast-paced and achievement-oriented culture, what are some subtle ways we may say we know God, but practically rely on something else (e.g., career success, financial security, relationships)? What would genuine covenant faithfulness look like in your current stage of life?

• What are the “modern idols” or false securities in Singapore today (e.g., education, property, reputation, stability)? How can we discern when something good has become something we trust more than God?

• How can we evaluate whether our worship — both on Sundays and in daily life — is genuinely pleasing to God and not just outward routine? What are some practical steps we can take this week to realign our hearts with true, Christ-centred worship?