Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Let us turn to Hosea, chapter 12. The entire Bible, in truth, speaks of much the same thing. From Isaiah to Hosea, these Old Testament prophets all address one issue: the Israelites provoking the Lord's anger. The theme of this chapter is Return to your God. This statement is deeply meaningful. Why is it so difficult for people to return to their God? We must gradually sort this out. People often live in illusion and falsehood.

Israelites Often Live in Falsehood

Ephraim feeds on the wind, and pursues the east wind continually; he multiplies lies and violence, makes a covenant with Assyria, and sends oil to Egypt. (Hosea 12:1)

People are often like this, living in falsehood. You must understand that nothing you pursue can be taken to the grave. Some say that emperors were buried with many grave goods. But do not think that because they were buried with him, they are his. Dig up the tomb and all you will find is a pile of bones; nothing else remains. Yet, people cannot see this clearly. Someone might ask: Can the teacher see clearly? If I could not see clearly, I could not teach you. It is very tragic for people to live in falsehood. Life is vanity, a chasing after the wind; and yet, people do so much and give so much for these empty things, such as money, treasures, wealth, houses, and land.

I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:14)

For example, a creditor tries every possible means to get his money back, even resorting to gangsters who specialize in debt collection. These people stop at nothing to force debtors to repay. Every country has such debt collectors; the earth is full of violence. Whether having money is good or bad is hard to say. If I had a hundred million, I might not be able to sleep. Not to mention a hundred million, some of our sisters panicked when they sold their houses for a few million.

They called their pastor every day to discuss what to buy with the money. With a hundred million, the worry would be even greater, fearing that the money would depreciate if not invested. Losing a million from ten million is painful enough. What if a hundred million depreciated to ninety million, losing ten million? In a panic, they invest it, and end up losing the entire hundred million. People live in this state. If I had a hundred million, I really would not know how to manage it. To be honest, I do not want a hundred million; I just want to live a peaceful and carefree life. People must realize that living in falsehood is a tragedy. The first verse says, Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind continually; he multiplies lies and violence. What money attracts are flies and mosquitoes. They put in so much effort to get the money of the rich.

A merchant, in whose hand are false balances; he loves to oppress. (Hosea 12:7)

Know that while not all merchants are dishonest, many are. Long ago, my mother taught me that the buyer is never as sharp as the seller. Of course, the seller is sharper. A merchant's job is to make money, and they love to cheat, while priests make people.

Ephraim has said, “Surely I have become rich; I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors they cannot find in me any iniquity that is sin.” (Hosea 12:8)

This means that he has no sin, and his wealth is righteous. However, the Bible often calls money unrighteous wealth. The Israelites often live in falsehood, not knowing to return to their God, seeking eternal blessings. Try it; if a person replaces God with anything else, their sorrows will increase. As a pastor, I want to teach everyone to live more joyfully, happily, and healthily. Why is it so difficult? The problem lies in the difference in values. The sacrifices of false people are nothing but rubbish heaps, because of the different value systems.

The Sacrifices of False People Are Nothing But Rubbish Heaps

If Gilead is full of evildoers, they are surely worthless. Though they offer sacrifices in Gilgal, their altars are like heaps of stones on the furrows of the field. (Hosea 12:11)

A rubbish heap is a pile of garbage. If you see a pile of dirt in a field, it is someone making fertilizer there. In plain language, it is a pile of manure, organic fertilizer, manure mixed with soil, leaves, and burnt materials. In spring, it is spread on the fields, which indeed helps crops grow well. But the problem is that it is still a manure pile. The sacrifices of false people are nothing but rubbish heaps; we also call rubbish heaps dung.

How many people are trapped by money? When the stock market and the housing market crash, many people are in trouble. People live to pursue these false things, and are unhappy because of money their whole lives. A sister told me that Chinese people are unhappy because they do not live for happiness, but for money. Chinese people are diligent and love to save money, but they do not live very happily. When they are young, they worry about their studies, unable to compete with others. Some want to lie down, and some cannot, so they struggle. When they are a little older, they start thinking about getting into college and finding a job. Not only do they struggle, but their parents struggle with them.

Some ask God to bless their children to get into a good university, and some ask God to bless their sons to find a good wife. That is all they ask for. Some people are very old and still asking for these things, unwilling to seek joy, because they cannot see through it. So false people build their value system on empty money, which is to say, on the logic of this life. What is the use of offering sacrifices? What they ask for are things that God hates, so what is the point? It is like when a child is given a gold bar and candy to choose from. He picks up the gold bar, licks it, finds it has no taste, and throws it aside. The candy tastes sweet, so he grabs it tightly. The parents watch anxiously, knowing that a gold bar can buy countless candies, but the silly child does not know.

Therefore return to your God; observe love and justice, and wait continually for your God. (Hosea 12:6)

If you hold on to your God, return to your God, and no longer live in emptiness, how could you lack candy, food, and money? People only see the matter of living, hoping to go to heaven after death, wanting all the good things for themselves. The sacrifices of false people are nothing but dung. Do you think God is pleased when you offer dung to Him? God does not want your sacrifices, but wants you to have life, and have it more abundantly. Seeing that people often live in falsehood, God constantly calls out through the prophets, but people kill the prophets.

For a long time, many prophets have been killed. It is impossible for a prophet to be harmed outside of Jerusalem, because there is no prophet outside of it. Why Jerusalem? Because it is like the church today. Do not think that those who truly transmit God's logic system in the church will be welcomed; in fact, it is difficult for people to accept. You must change your logic system and values. Money is illusory. When you die, you have nothing. If we live too seriously, we will make ourselves very entangled and uncomfortable. If you truly trust in God, those discomforts and entanglements will disappear.

God says through Hosea that these Israelites are foolish. Some of our brothers and sisters like to send our materials to pastors they used to know. Some pastors, after hearing them, say that Pastor Liu does not preach well, saying that he says people are silly and full of nonsense. Now this is the end. Here comes another one full of nonsense, with a chamber pot on his head. How foolish must one be not to see the point, not to pursue the blessing that Jacob pursued?

Jacob Is the Jacob Who Pursued Blessings

These Israelites are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but do not think that the descendants of Jacob inherit Jacob's ideas. You must know what kind of Jacob Jacob was.

In the womb he grasped his brother's heel, and in his maturity he contended with God; yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; He found Him at Bethel, and there He spoke with us, even the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is His name. (Hosea 12:3-5)

Jacob grasped his brother's heel in the womb, meaning he wanted his brother to step aside so he could be born first as the eldest son. But he failed to win, being born a few minutes later as the second son. However, in the process of growing up, he was very serious about obtaining God, the promises and blessings prepared by God in eternity, and God's covenant. He eventually obtained the birthright, but it came at the cost of only a staff. If you were Jacob, the legendary rich second or third generation, you would surely have good food and drink at home, living a good life. But Jacob, for the blessing his father gave him, was chased by his brother, and walked in the wilderness with only a staff in his hand. What would you think? Jacob not only did not regret it, but continued to pursue eternal blessings, and finally met God at Bethel.

Only those who, like Jacob, despise all things in the world can pursue eternal blessings. Despising all things in the world is because all things in this world are vanity of vanities. If you say they are not vanity, then your values are different from Jacob's. If you want to believe in the Lord, you must study the logic system of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob, leaning on a staff, had a dream at Bethel and received a blessing from heaven. This blessing can be used as money. If trusting in God cannot be used as money, it seems a bit fatal. If we cannot see God's favor in the land of the living, we would have lost heart long ago. To see God's favor in the land of the living, to pursue eternal blessings, this is Jacob.

Jacob fled to the country of Aram; Israel worked for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. (Hosea 12:12)

Later, Jacob finally arrived at the house of his uncle Laban and kept sheep for him. His uncle repeatedly cheated him of his wages, but he did not care, because what he pursued was not money. Those sheep could not bring him into eternal blessings. Only eternal blessings would follow him. He did not pursue sheep. Those sheep are very valuable even today, worth real money, and even more so in ancient times, but Jacob did not care.

As a result, God took Laban's sheep and wealth and gave them to Jacob. Jacob left with his whole family and property, without telling Laban. Laban thought that Jacob took away all of his things. For the sake of money, Laban could not let Jacob go, and chased after him to kill him. In fact, Jacob did not deceive anyone, obtaining those sheep and property legally and reasonably. No matter where he went to court, they would all be his. So Laban, on the way, had a dream from God.

In the night, God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” (Genesis 31:24)

Our God works in mysterious ways. Without God, what could withstand the pursuit of those who seek to harm us? God seized the wealth and gave it to Jacob because Jacob sought blessings in eternity. When Laban intended to kill Jacob, God sent him a dream that terrified him. As a result, Laban could not harm Jacob. Believing in the Lord not only equips us as swords and shields but also sustains us like food and provides for us like money. Things of eternity are incomparable to earthly things, like comparing currency to mere paper offerings for the dead. Jacob was wise, but it may be difficult to transform you into someone as wise as Jacob. People become ensnared as soon as they possess a little wealth, which is extremely detrimental.

Reflect on this, and you will realize that Jacob’s entire life was guided by God’s blessings. What remains in this world are the hopes of heaven. Jacob did not live worrying about wealth but relied on heavenly hope. Jacob was a remarkable man, but difficult to emulate. Such a person is spiritual, discerning all things, yet no one can discern him. I am deeply moved that people misunderstand such a good gospel, distort it, and baselessly accuse Jacob of deceiving and being deceived, all based on worldly perspectives.

Israel Preserved Through the Prophets

The Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him. (Hosea 12:13)

When Jacob came out of Aram, he was preserved by God, plundering Laban’s flocks, and it was not his own doing, but God who plundered. When the Israelites came out of slavery in Egypt, they plundered the wealth of the Egyptians because of the prophet Moses. Moses, alongside Samuel, is one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. The Israelites lacked for nothing during their forty years in the wilderness because of God’s presence. In reality, God was not so much with the Israelites as with the prophet Moses; the Israelites merely benefited from his presence.

The Israelites lacked for nothing coming out of Egypt and Aram, precisely because they were preserved through the prophets. God wanted to kill all the Israelites, as he was fed up with this group of people full of lies, living in the present, with heads like chamber pots. It was because Moses interceded for the Israelites before God that God spared them. Therefore, the Lord used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, and Israel was preserved because of the prophet.

Brothers and sisters, you must wake up and not be offended by my harsh words, for they are for your own good. If you cannot bear to hear them, it is because they strike at the core of your interests and values. If you set your sights on eternal blessings, you will surely live joyfully. If you fix your gaze on Jacob’s faith in seeking eternal blessings, you will undoubtedly be a victor, and God will seize the wealth of this world and bestow it upon you. If your aim is still earthly wealth, then you are in trouble, for Jacob did not value these riches at all. He gave sheep, camels, and donkeys to his brother Esau, which you would surely be unwilling to do.

We must regard all things as dung, awaken through the words of the prophets, become people with God’s presence, and please God. We live by God’s word, and not by anything else; it is Jesus Christ who lives within us. We must regard all things as dung, to gain Jesus Christ, who is truly a treasure. If you are wise, return to the Lord your God. If you are foolish, continue living in illusion, knowing that this empty life passes in the blink of an eye. Why would anyone not return to the Lord their God?

You Must Return to the Lord Your God

But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud. (Hosea 12:6-7)

We are all priests of the living God, and we do not earn fleeting wealth but the glory of God, that God’s people may return to Him. If you return to God, it is difficult not to be blessed. Two paths lie before us: one is like Israel, feeding on the wind, chasing the east wind, constantly increasing falsehood and violence, living meaninglessly for money; the other is to return to our God, walking the blessed path that Jacob sought. Why maintain love? Because it is the word of God. We do not use dishonest scales because we regard wealth as dung, and we would not bother to earn dung. We return to God, regarding Jesus Christ as our treasure.

I have often felt regret for the Christians I have encountered, and I still feel pain in my heart today. I have served so many people, some of whom have even experienced earth-shattering miracles, but few have remained to follow me in seeking eternal blessings. Looking around, few of the people I served in earlier years remain; I can count them on the fingers of one hand. Looking back, those people are like the world, and I can predict the outcome of their lives without needing anyone to tell me. They toil and worry throughout their lives, lacking the blessings from God. Although they are still Christians, they are like Ephraim, feeding on the wind and chasing the east wind.

A pastor once said that not many should become teachers, implying that only he could be a teacher. But in fact, he was not a teacher at all. When has he ever served with the heart of a father or mother? And when has he ever regarded the things of the world as dung? He pursues fame and fortune, trying to build himself into a world-renowned pastor so that he can collect more money. It is not that he fears others becoming teachers, but that he fears others sharing in the offerings. My brothers and sisters, you must realize that I long for you to come out of this empty world. Do not judge me or my co-workers with your shallow perspectives. Some say that those who follow the pastor are only after his money. In reality, they followed and served God with me when I had no money, not after I became wealthy.

These two paths lie before us, and because of the different logical systems and values within people, they embark on different paths. One is to return to God and walk the blessed path; the other is the path of provoking the Lord’s anger, causing His wrath to fall upon them. If you observe carefully, you will find that those who continue with their original value systems, regarding what I consider dung as treasure, and what I consider treasure as dung in their eyes, will inevitably end up provoking God’s anger. The outcome is clear even without counting on both hands; it is obviously the path of provoking God’s wrath.

Value Concepts That Provoke God’s Wrath

If you continue to love money, God’s wrath will surely be manifested upon you. If you choose to walk the path of Ephraim and the Israelites, God’s wrath will also be manifested upon you. You will not only fail to benefit but will also suffer the consequences. These are the heartfelt words of the prophet.

Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger; his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his reproaches. (Hosea 12:14)

Even if you are an Israelite, a Christian, but still hold onto a wrong value system, you will surely provoke God’s anger, accumulating wrath for yourself until you provoke God’s great wrath. You may say, “Isn’t God a God who never abandons us?” Wrath is also part of not abandoning. If you repent on the brink of destruction in wrath, there is still a chance. This value system is deadly. If you still cannot see through it, take your time to see. Once you do, you will realize how foolish it is to live in delusion and emptiness. Stop accumulating God’s anger for yourself. Remember that real gold and silver are not truly real gold and silver, and treasures are not truly treasures. All things on this earth are dung; only Jesus Christ is the ultimate treasure. After I say this, some secretly laugh, thinking that I am talking nonsense and that I am not such a person. But can you see accurately?

We must deal severely with ourselves, and those who are willing to take this path should completely change our inner foundations, core interests, and value systems into a logical system that returns to God and God’s values. In eternity, there is a crown of glory reserved for us. We should serve in this world with the heart of God, with the heart of a father and mother, to satisfy God’s will. Until the day we see God’s face, and God says, “Come and share in my glory, you good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master, which is exceedingly good!”

There are also some brothers and sisters who always live in the present because the ignorant are fearless. Do not think that pampering yourself and loving yourself, fearing death, will prevent death. If fearing death could solve the problem of death, then we would all huddle together and shiver, and then we could live forever. Fearing death easily attracts ghosts. If you live in eternity, why would you fear death? Look at Abraham placing Isaac on the altar. A 30-year-old young man willingly offered himself to God, not fearing death at all.

Isn't it a tragedy for a Christian to fear death? We are not afraid of ghosts; we are afraid of God’s anger. Some people rush to see a doctor for a minor problem, and their nervous way of living makes one feel tired. These things sound very reasonable, but they bring corruption. Even now, some people say that they heard a pastor say that hospitals were also created by God. But hospitals are also places where God’s anger is manifested. Do you think that inserting tubes will eliminate God’s anger? Believing in the Lord without understanding God’s power, without thoroughly changing our inner values, how much must we experience before we truly know God? I truly long for everyone to change, but sometimes I cannot speak too deeply to such brothers and sisters, for fear of hurting them.

Let me say it again: Although God will never forsake us, we should return to our God, and the problems and troubles before us will immediately disappear. If you value everything as dung, what is the point of two people arguing for half a day just to grab a chamber pot? Of course, some may think that the chamber pot is valuable because it was once used by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang. Regardless of whether it is truly valuable, a chamber pot is still a chamber pot.

Before I finish, let me tell you a joke. Someone acquired an antique with exquisite craftsmanship, which looked very valuable. The more he looked at it, the more he loved it, and he often used it as a wine pot. Later, he took it to an appraiser, who could not help but laugh, because it was actually a chamber pot. He had been regarding the chamber pot as a treasure and using it to drink wine for a long time, and his mouth still tasted of ancient urine. We need to know what true treasure is and what is dung. Amen! May God bless everyone!