What Does This Mean for Us?

Hosea 9-10

            You know, sometimes I read the prophets and it just strikes me, “This is still God’s Word.” I mean, it’s not like it only applied 2700 years ago in the specific instance of Israel and her disregarding of the covenant the Lord made with her. Now, if you’ve ever sat in one of my Bible studies, you know that you have to be careful with the way that you bring it forward and apply, but it does still apply.

            What do these condemnations have to say to us? First, let’s remember that the Lord never completely abandoned His project with Israel. He did indeed fulfill the promises He made that through her all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. By the time that promise is fulfilled, there’s really only one truly faithful Israelite, namely, Jesus, but He did achieve His purpose. The Lord still promises today that His church will endure, that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So, we have that assurance, even if there are only 7000 left (1 Kings 19:18), the church will endure and the Lord’s purposes through it—to bring the good news of Jesus to the world—will be achieved.

            Second, though, our reading today is pretty short on promises! How do these condemnations apply to us?  For starters, Hosea 9:7 says, “The prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac.” How does that apply? I’m writing this at my district pastors’ conference, and the speaker just made a point about the way we often simply don’t hear God’s Word. He preached a funeral sermon and talked in it about the wages of sin being death; he made the point the sin was the cause of death. One of his congregation corrected him, “Oh, no. She died of cancer.” Sin is definitely a teaching of Scripture that is unpopular. No one likes to have their sins pointed out. In many ways, we (including this preacher) soft-peddle sin and its effects.

            Scorn for God and His Word, pursuing prosperity and a comfortable life, pursuing one’s own interests at the expense of others—these are things that Hosea condemns Israel for, laying them out as reasons for the Lord’s anger and the impending judgment. And put Israel’s sins that way and we realize the same charges could be applied to us today! Are we then under the threat of exile or destruction? Maybe. A principle I stand by, “God has promised that His church will endure until the second coming; He has not promised it will meet in your neighborhood.”

            These are sobering thoughts, but as I’ve said, these are the words of God, and they still apply to us these many years later. At the least, this ought to motivate us to examine our hearts and lives, to repent our sins and receive forgiveness, and to strive to live out our faith.