Hosea 4:2

By swearing, and lying, and killing, and

stealing, and committing adultery, they break

out, and blood toucheth blood.

Evethough God’s people still carry the name of being God’s children, His chosen people, they have denied obedience to God for so long that there is little indication of their true calling. We see God charging them with, and exposing the sins in which they are engaged. We see cursing (taking the name of the Lord in vain), lying (bearing false witness), murder (killing), stealing, and adultery. Each of these charges is specific to one of the commandmentsgiven to Moses and placed on the stone tablets that were placed in disobedience, they still think that they are religious and righteous. the arrogantly rationalised away the words of this prophesy by discrediting (and persecuting) the messenger, and holding to their self-declared righteousness that is based upon their relationship to God.

Consequently, there is no limit to the expression of their sin. The sin they commit has no bounds, becausether are ignoring the boundaries that God has provided for our own good. Generation after generation is charaterized by the bloodshed that comes from a complete disregard for God and the value that He places on life. Parents did not teach the ways of God to their children, and after so many generations of apostacy, faith in God is essentially non-existant. The nation of priests that God had empowered, had become no different from the rest of the world, except that they arrogantly proclaimed their righteousness.

Today, I look around me (and at myself) and realize that we keep saying that we want to get to know Him more, but everyday we just end up puting more and more distance between us and the father. How does that work? Something that we are so passionate about can become last on out priority list. I am the worst when it comes to puting God first and puting my life seccond. I can’t tell you how many times I wake up praying that it will be a good day. It just seems that the road I’ve been walking lately has been extremely bumpy with one dissappointment in life after another and in turn, right when these things happen, I automatically turn to the ways of the world and think things like, “I hate my life” or “Why me? Why do I keep having bad days?”

God has revealed to me over the last few weeks that there are so many things wrong with:

1)How I’ve been waking up in the morning

So, when it comes to how I’ve been waking up in the morning, I wake up thinking that I hope my day is comfortable and pleasurable to me. I love it when I wake up in the mornings and I just know that its gonna be a good day. The days where I wake up listening to Mr. Jack Johnson. The days where my coffee pot doesn’t overflow. The days where I look at my clock and realise that I have about 40 minutes before class starts so I’m able to go for a walk. The days where my life seems spottless. However, this is how it usually turns out:

-my ipod is on shuffle so I hardly ever wake up to Mr. Jack Johnson (sad day).

-My coffee pot is broken so it either overflows or there isn’t anything left (my roommates drink 8 cups at a time… each)

-Finally, I am the worst morning person if someone tries to wake me up before 7 and guess when my classes start. 7:30!!! When I pull and all nighter… dont try and wake me up until 10 or later. I am a big fan of mornining walks with the crisp, cool air caressing my face, watching the sun slowly emerging from behind the palm trees and mountains… I just love it. It is my own image of what experiencing God is like, so whenever I get to experience His overwhelming love. When I am able to experience this, my day is ALL for God.

“They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.” -Psalm 145:5

Here’s the issue with all of that. It’s not that any of that is bad. God created things, like the sunrise and coffee beans, to be enjoyed and to give us little glimpses of Him to let us know that everything is gonna be alright. However, I wake up thinking about experiencing these things, not God. Whats the difference you might ask? Well, one is selfish and the other is driven by God and for God. The thing we Christians want to strive for is the one driven by God and for God. We want to experience Him in all His glory. The selfish part in us doesn’t want to experience Him at all. We want to experience the good stuff without any strings attached. We want Him to give to us, but not to give back to Him. The selfish part of us doesn’t realise that He gave it ALL.

When Jesus said, “It is finished.” he really meant it. We dont have to do anything to experience Him. He gave His life just to spend a little bit of time with us. The people that reject, ignore, and blame Him for pretty much anything that doesn’t go right in their lives (anything that makes us uncomfortable). Everyone longs for friends like us! (If you believe that, you need to go consult a doctor about some crazy pills.)

Here’s the kicker. He doesn’t just accept us as friends… He actually LIKES us. I remember growing up on the playground and finding these people that were always cooler than I was. I hated their personalities and I’m sure they hated mine, but I accepted how they treated me and other kids (even joined in some times) just to feel like I was accepted. It isn’t the case here. He loves us to our very core! WOW! Isn’t that amazing. There was some Jaw dropping action when I realised that. God is the ultimate Best Friend and no one will ever replace Him. With all of our junk, HE LIKES/LOVES/OBSESSES about us. I don’t get it… He gave so much and He keeps on giving to our wretched souls… and we do practically nothing in return… How does that work???

GOD IS GREAT!

 

More points will be added on later.

Hosea 4:1

Just a little background on the book of Hosea and a little commentary:

Hosea was a prophet of Israel during the kingdom reign of Jeroboam. Unlike Amos who prophesied in Israel but was a native of Judah, Hosea was a native of the 10-tribes of Israel. Jeroboam was the king of Israel during Hosea’s tenure as a prophet, and led the nation during a period of peace. Unfortunately, peace brought with it a sense of self-security, complacency, and national arrogance that would ultimately bring them down as a nation. After the six-month reign of Jeroboam’s son, the kingship would pass from one ungodly man to another, none to be anointed to the position by a prophet of God. After six such kingdoms, Israel would be overrun by the Assyrians and as a nation, Israel would be destroyed.
Hosea’s prophesy is probably best known by his marriage to the prostitute, Gomer. God called Hosea to marry a prostitute as an illustration of Israel’s act of unfaithfulness to Him that is similar in every way to the act of unfaithfulness to Him that is similar in every way to the act of prostitution. Through Gomer, God would reveal to Hosea and to the nation of Israel the sinful faithlessness of the nation. Hosea makes no reference to this marriage after Chapter 3, as his attention turns to the purpose of this illustration, the exposure of Israel’s sin, and a call to repentence.
Note that the prophesy of Hosea refers to the judgment of God upon sin-sick Israel, God’s chosen people, and not against the pagan nations of the land. We should keep this in mind as we study the book, and focus the judgment of God on the sin of His people, not of the pagan nations in which we live, including our own. As we look at the sins of Israel we cannot help but see the same sin in our national culture today, but unlike the national motto “In God We Trust,” we, as a nation, do not trust in God. On the political scene the predominate platform is to actively banish God from the nation, and promote endless moral decay.

Our first line of defense within the church is to say that those who are leading his nation to decay are not members of the church. However, it would not take much research to find out that many are.
Many members of the church have turned from God, ignoring His Word and His Spirit, and are more a part of the hedonistic culture in which we live than they are a part of the family of Christ. Many members of the church are suffering from spiritual schizophrenia, attempting to carry two personalities, and by doing so, are bringing upon themselves the rebuke of God. They are missing the blessing and peace that comes from knowing one is in God’s will, and are exchanging it for hoped-for gain in this world. Many of these people call themselves Christians and attend meetings of Christian churches, but have not had the life-changing experience that comes with accepting Christ, remaining a Christian in name only, and subject to the same eternal separation from God that the rest of the Godless world will find. Consequently, we can gain from this prophesy as we look at the attitude of the modern church and identify areas where repentance is needed.

Hosea 4:1 (finally)-
“Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land,
because there is no truth,
nor mercy, nor knowledge of
God in the land.”

Again, God’s words of rebuke are not directed towards the pagan nations, but to those who, “live in the land.” The land represents God’s promise to them through Abraham that He would provide them a land, that they would be His people, and He their God, and that through them the whole world would be blessed. However, all throughout the Old Testament we find that the obedience that God requires in order to realize that blessing is difficult to maintain. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for such obedience, and the people of Israel had turned so far from God that His Spirit was working in a very small remnant of the nation.

What is lacking in the people, according to this verse? God has searched over the land and found that there is no truth, love, or knowledge of Him. The first lack, translated “truth” or “faithfulness” refers to the truth of God’s Word. When one would visit the marketplace and in the homes, God’s word is not heard in a way that reflects the truth. Certainly, people quoted scriptures in their daily activities and in their religious ceremonies. However, the word they were reciting was simply recited out of the text and did not penetrate their hearts. Religion had become filled with legalistic rite and ceremony, driven by a church dogma that entirely overshadowed the truths of the words they were reciting. The authority for religion rested in the church (or the nation) and not in God.
Consequently, the people had wandered so far from God that His Love was not found in them. The word love, hesed, refers to that love that God has for man, and empowers man to share with each other. The closest Greek equivalent is the word, agape. The church had become a social order, devoid of any of the true love of God. The church was the social canter of their lives, defining who they were, and became opposite from God’s purpose for the Israelites to be a nation of priests who would share the goodness of God with the rest of the world.
Finally, we see that the church no longer taught the truth of God’s Word. It was required that young men memorize many of the words of scripture, but they completely denied its power. Consequently, over generations, the knowledge of God’s purpose in man was lost. It was necessary for God to raise up Prophets who would support and maintain the small remnant of the faithful through this very dark period of religious history.
We see a church that no longer teaches the truth, no longer demonstrates God’s love, and no longer a place of learning about the Kingdom of God.