Looking at the Nation as a Whole PT-1 (Hosea 4:1-3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/10/2015 9:06 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The nation as a Whole PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hosea 4:1-3

            Message of the verses:  We are beginning to look at chapters 4-10 in the book of Hosea.  Dr. Warren Wiersbe entitles this chapter, which is his second chapter in his commentary on the book of Hosea, “What Will I Do With You?”  When I looked up his commentary on the internet I found that when he first wrote this book on Hosea that it included six of the Minor Prophets and was entitled “Be Amazed.” 

            “1 Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land. 2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear.”

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes Thomas Jefferson at the beginning of this chapter who said “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.”  I think that this statement has multiplied meaning when we look at it in today’s world, but when we look at these first three verses of Hosea and beyond we will see that it had great meaning to Israel in Hosea’s day. 

            The Psalmist wrote the following in Psalm 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.”  We know that God is Holy, just, long-suffering, merciful, and gracious and because He is all of these things and more He had to judge Israel.  God desired to forgive their sins for they were His people, but the problem was that they would not repent and so God’s long-suffering ran out and He had to bring about His justice.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “It’s a basic spiritual principle that until people experience the guilt of conviction, they can’t enjoy the glory of conversion.” 

            As we begin to look at this section we can see that God is going to convene the court as Dr. Wiersbe entitles this first main section that covers Hosea 4-5.  Now don’t forget what happened to Hosea in the first two chapters with his wife and children for his book builds off of that experience as his marriage and the unfaithfulness of His wife picture what is happening to Israel.  Hosea had quarrels with his wife and now we will see God quarrels with Israel, his estranged wife as we read in the first part of the first verse of chapter four:  “Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land.”  Now as we have studied Isaiah, Jeremiah, and will eventually get to Micah and even into the book of Romans we have seen that the Lord brings others into His courthouse too.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “The Judge read the charges to the accused as they stood before Him,” and first of all He looks at the “Nation as a Whole.”

            The Law of God and the covenant that God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai is where the charges will come from.  In Exodus 19:8 we read the following statement showing that Israel aggress with the terms of the covenant and the Law:  “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”  Israel broke that promise very soon after it was made just as Gomer did with Hosea.  Gomer turned to prostitution while Israel turned to spiritual prostitution as they worshiped idols. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “When people reject God’s covenant, they begin to exploit each other, for the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with our neighbor as well as with the Lord.  If we love the Lord, we will also love our neighbor (Matthew. 22:34-40; Rom. 13:8-10).  But there was no mercy in the land, no love for one’s neighbor, no compassion for the poor and needy.  People were falsehearted toward God and hardhearted toward one another.”   The greatest commandment is to Love the Lord and the second is to love your neighbor and the Ten Commandments are built from these two commandments.  I like to picture the Ten Commandments in the shape of a cross the vertical part is loving God while the horizontal is loving your neighbor.  All of the rest of the laws are built on the Ten Commandments.

            We will continue to look at these verses in our next SD on Hosea.

6/10/2015 9:38 PM