The Prophet Hosea on Mercy and Truth

The Prophet Hosea on Mercy and Truth

For over two hundred years after the death of Solomon, those ten tribes in the northern part of Palestine never worshiped God. If you want to see just how longsuffering God is, consider that during this time they had nineteen kings and not a single one of them was righteous. It was not that they had no way to know God, for He sent prophet after prophet to call them back. They refused to hear.

A lack of Mercy will bring down a great people.

A lack of Mercy will bring down a great people.

They chose to not know Him. God’s messenger, Hosea, described them and their destiny in this way: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you from being a priest to Me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children” (Hos. 4:6). The end was at hand. It was the end of that nation. Their children would never enjoy the favor of God again.

How did all of this happen? Look at the verses in the first part of Hosea chapter four. In the very first verse, Hosea describes the path traveled by Israel in its journey away from God. “There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land.” Where there is no desire for truth, there is no room for true mercy and compassion. Think of how often truth and mercy are connected with the Lord. Remove these from any nation, and there is no hope for that nation. They have left these holy values and ignorance of God prevails.

What happens in a society where there is no mercy, truth and knowledge? Look at the words found in verse two. There is swearing and lying. We tend to think of swearing as using profanity, but in this context, the emphasis is swearing to tell the truth and not doing it.

What else happens? There is killing, stealing and adultery. Killing is also described in the last part of this verse as bloodshed upon bloodshed. The blood of the oppressed flows so freely that it touches the flow of blood from other killings. There is theft of property and even the taking of another man’s wife. Adultery in any nation will ultimately lead to the moral decay of that nation.

The most revealing phrase in this path away from God is, “They break all restraint.” The entry of sin may begin with a “little sin,” but it does not end there. The Bible describes it as adding sin to sin. The door through which little sins enter soon opens to the entry of many others. There finally is no restraint in our lives. “They break all restraint.” We think it cannot happen, but it is inevitable!

Read these verses again. How far is America from being like Israel—no mercy, truth or knowledge? How close are we from being a nation which has broken all restraint?

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Abounding in Hope

Abounding in Hope

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

On the edge of bleakness, Hope stands sure.

On the edge of bleakness, Hope stands sure.

I don’t know that there is any worse feeling than that of hopelessness. Left unchecked, it is soon followed by despair. These strong feelings present themselves those who are suicidal. Satan desires humans to die in sin so they may accompany him to the place prepared for him and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Satan does not want people to have hope, and that means that hope is a powerful tool of God for good. God is the God of hope (Romans 15:13). This verse also presents a connection between joy, peace, faith, and hope. Joy, peace, and faith are powerful tools of the Holy Spirit that enable the Christian to abound in hope.

Having a life filled and overflowing with hope is a process that begins with faith, the foundation of joy and peace.  It is “in believing” that God fills us with joy and peace. Faith comes by hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17). Joy and peace are the natural results of believing (in an obedient way) God’s word. The Ethiopian nobleman went on his way rejoicing after believing (in an obedient way) the word of God (Acts 8:39). Peace comes from the fact that we have Christ as our reconciler (Ephesians 2:14-22). It is a blessing of putting our trust in Christ. Philippians 3:6-7 emphasize the connection between trusting in God through prayer and receiving the peace of God that passes all understanding. When we have faith producing joy and peace, then we have wonderful hope in the One who can bring the abundant life both now and in eternity (John 10:10).

 

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Diligent or Lagging?

Diligent or Lagging

In Romans 12, Paul offers a number of short exhortations to his readers. The King James Version translates the first part of verse 11, “Not slothful in business.” The Christian should be diligent for his employer, but the context this verse has more to do with the business of the church.

Are you too lazy to be diligent in following the path God has given you?

Are you too lazy to be diligent in following the path God has given you?

We sing a song, “I want to be a worker for the Lord.” Do we mean those words when we sing them? Do we truly want to “be busy every day in the vineyard of the Lord,” or are we just giving lip service?

All disciples are to be actively engaged in the work of the Lord’s church. We should be busy making disciples (Matthew 28:19), encouraging each other (Hebrews 10:24-25), and helping the needy (Galatians 6:10; James 1:27).

We do not always see the fruit of our labors, but we must not give up. If we are mocked or rejected or persecuted by those around us, we keep obeying God (1 Peter 2:19-20). The things we do in the name of the Lord are not done in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). May we never lag in diligence when it comes to the Lord’s work.

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Spiritual Placebos

Spiritual Placebos

Placebos are fascinating things.

A placebo, in medical terms, is an ineffectual treatment for a disease, or other malady, given to the patient for the sole purpose of deceiving the patient. While that seems like a mean thing to do, placebos are important when doing research, in order to see whether or not a given drug is actually more effective than a placebo. The fascinating thing about placebos is how often they seem to actually make people think they feel better. People given placebos will in some cases heal faster, or feel better, than people who are given nothing. This effect is not completely understood, but it is recognized as a real thing,, and is called a placebo effect.

Are placebos harmless?

Are placebos harmless?

The whole phenomena suggests that a percentage of our health problems are, indeed, all in our heads. Either that, or the brain has greater power to heal the body than some skeptics might want us to believe. Either way, a placebo’s ability to help only goes so far. There are numerous health problems which cannot be dealt with mentally, or made to go away through such a simple trick.

While a placebo is a medical term, the concept can be seen to manifest in other areas of life. We often do things, not because they provide actual help, but because they make us feel better. Realistically, if your home has large glass windows right beside a stout door, the deadbolt on the door is not going to keep anyone out if they really want to get in, but we turn the deadbolt anyway because it makes us feel safer. It’s a placebo for sleeping better at night.

Placebos are mostly harmless, except and when they distract you or prevent you from doing what you really need to be doing. Feeling better is great, but if it’s all just a mental trick, it’s nothing more than self-deception.

In religion, the Bible argues that a lot of what people engage in is of little actual spiritual value. You might say that a great deal of religion is nothing more than a spiritual placebo – activities which make the person doing them feel spiritual, without actually improvingthat person’s standing with God.

We read in the Scriptures: “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:20-23; NKJV)

Notice also what Christ says about worthless worship: “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9; cf. Isaiah 29:13)

There are two commonalities between the two cited passages: both mention the commandments of men. When God tells you to do a thing, the commandment has real spiritual value. When a man tells you to do a thing, even if it makes you feel like you are being spiritual, it’s a worthless spiritual placebo. It cannot do a thing to actually save your soul or make you pleasing to God.

When Jesus was confronted by the chief priests who wanted to know His source of authority, Jesus pointed them to John the Baptist, asking of them whether John’s baptism was from God or from men. (cf. Matthew 21:23-25) It was a good question which cut right to the heart of the matter.

Anything we do in religion should be “from God.” Whenever we engage in a particular practice, we should ask ourselves – “is this from God or from men?” If it is from God, and we can find in the Scriptures a, “thus saith the Lord,” then we should do it with all our hearts.

If it is from men, we can safely ignore it, knowing that while it might of an “appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion,” it is of no actual spiritual value. The commandments of men can never be more than a spiritual placebo. They might make us feel good for a while, but in the end we are just as spiritually sick as when we started.

 

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Lessons from Eliphaz

Lessons from Eliphaz

In the final indictment of Job by his supposed friend Eliphaz in chapter 22, one thing I noticed is that Eliphaz accuses Job of the following:

“Is not your evil abundant?  There is no end to your iniquities.  For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing.  You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry…You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.”  (Job 22:5-7, 9)

Yet God opens the book of Job with this description of him:

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.”  (Job 1:1)

Does God’s description of Job sound like Job was in the business of cheating his fellow man, taking food and water away from them, and harming widows and orphans?  Obviously not.

What do we base our judgment upon?

What do we base our judgment upon?

Why would Eliphaz accuse Job of these wrongdoings, especially since the Bible called him Job’s friend (Job 2:11)?  Wouldn’t Eliphaz have known the type of upright man Job was?  Was Eliphaz so sure that Job was being punished for transgressing the commandments of God that it caused him to make up these accusations and believe his own lies?

Let’s say Eliphaz was purposefully lying about Job rather than simply believing and repeating someone else’s lies.  Why would he do that?  Well, we know Eliphaz and his companions were erroneously convinced that God was punishing Job for unrepentant sin.  Perhaps Eliphaz, already convinced that Job had done wrong, wondered in his mind what Job could have done to cause God to punish him so…and then unconsciously took his theories and assumed them to be facts.

“Man, I always thought Job to be a good guy, but obviously he’s not.  I wonder what he’s done to get God so angry at him.  Well, I know he was rich, the richest guy around here.  And we all know that no one gets that rich without conning other people and walking all over them.  I bet that’s what Job did.  Yep, that HAS to be what he did.  It’s as clear as day now.  He puts on a good show about being holy and all, but I bet you anything that behind the scenes he’s one of the most ruthless sharks around here.  He must have this entire town under his thumb for him to have been as rich as he was!  Why, I bet Job’s the reason that guy on the other side of town recently declared bankruptcy!  Job probably lent him some money and wasn’t fair about the repayment plans!  And what about that widow and her fatherless children who recently had to give up their home because they couldn’t afford the rent ever since her husband died?  If Job was as righteous as he says he is, he would have stepped up and helped them!  I bet he’s the reason they’re out on the street to begin with!  He probably owns the entire building and kicked them out on the street after they missed paying one month’s rent!  Yep, that’s what happened, I’m sure of it!  No WONDER God’s punishing him like he is!  I’m going to give Job a piece of my mind, the dirty crook!”

Sound familiar, friends?  Do we ever sit around wondering the worst about others and then believe our own assumptions?  Do we end up looking at them in a negative light simply because we’ve assumed the worst about them?  I know I have.  I also know that I’ve been proven wrong the overwhelming majority of the times I’ve believed my own imaginations about other people, just as Eliphaz and his companions were proven to be wrong about Job.

What does Jesus say about this?

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”  (John 7:24)

We don’t know for sure why Eliphaz accused Job of such wrongdoing when the Bible makes it clear that Job would never do such a thing.  Perhaps Job had an enemy who spread slanderous lies about him, gossip which Eliphaz heard and assumed to be true.  The Bible also condemns that nasty habit some of us tend to have (Prov. 6:17-19; 11:9; 16:27-28; 26:20-22).

Yet, if Eliphaz did in fact conjure up these imagined wrongdoings of Job and then assume his own theories to be facts, we now see how easily Satan can work in our minds to sow the seeds of division instead of encouragement.  Job needed his friends.  He had lost everything he owned, all of his children were dead, his marriage was a wreck, and his health was gone.  Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual pain wracked him day and night.  He needed comfort, not condemnation over imagined faults.  He needed encouragement, not denouncement for sins he had never committed.  He needed true friendship, not puffed-up, self-righteous lectures from pseudo-friends.

Christians, we are surrounded every day by people who are hurting, both saints and sinners.  God wants us to comfort them (2 Cor. 1:3-5), not assume and accuse the worst about them.  Let’s take a lesson from Eliphaz and his companions, and try to be better friends than them.  That by itself will go a long way towards influencing them to reconcile with God and repent of any sin that is in their lives, regardless of whether it is the reason for their misfortunes.

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