Conclusion

It's the day before Thanksgiving, 2011.  I want to thank God for each of you who have walked with me through this study focusing on some of the Minor Prophets.  It has not been easy, no?!  But you have faithfully stayed the course. 

On my wedding day in 1969, my Dad had slipped into my room early in the morning and left a written prayer on the pillow beside me for me to find when I awoke.  That piece of paper is precious to me!  Through that venue, my Dad allowed me to see a part of his heart toward me.  It revealed to me his dreams for me, his child, as I entered marriage. 

I see scripture as just such a "revealing" - though on a much more profound level.    ALL of scripture allows us to get a glimpse of the heart of God toward us.  And this study of Minor Prophets ... difficult as it has been ... allows us to see the heart of God.

When we closed our day class last week, I asked each person to focus on a primary "take away" lesson from the series and share that with us.  Wonderful lessons surfaced ... important truths ... anchors for our souls.  Things such as ...

Our God is truly an AWESOME God!

God means what He says.

Amazed at the patience of God.

God wants our hearts ... He did then ... He does today.

Erosion is what happened to Israel.  It can happen to me.

Beware lip service and religious ritual ... it can subtlely take the place of God.

What is yours?  What has God impressed upon your heart as you have studied these little and powerful books?  What will you "take away" that will effect your life?  What will make a difference?  Those of us involved in this online study would love to hear from you! 

Our next study will be the book of Philippians.  It will begin the second week in January.  May God richly bless your holiday season with things that matter.  Watch for His presence and His hand in your days.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus ... the author and perfecter of your faith.  And let the joy of the Lord be your strength!



Restoration - Hosea 14 (Week 10 - Post 3)

Our reading today is Hosea 14.  Watch for the hope ... watch for the healing ... watch for the grace.

Has sin marred your life?  Are you bearing consequences for ungodly choices that have marked your days and years?  Do you ever wonder if it will ever be better?  This chapter offers a most beautiful description of the joy of restoration that comes from our God.  Remember, Israel would bear the consequences of her rebellion and idolatry.  BUT ... to quote Paul Harvey ... here is the rest of the story!  The end of the story is in chapter 14.  And, if you belong to God, if you are part of His people, it is your story as well. 

Notice with me God's artistic descriptions of the joy of restoration ...

verse 5 ... "he will blossom like a lily" ... God will restore beauty to Israel.  Sin is ugly and brings ruin and destruction.  God promises beauty.  God can, and will, restore beauty.  And He wants to restore beauty to your life ... in Him.



verse 5 ... "like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots, his young shoots will grow" ... God will restore strength to Israel. Sin weakens us. It prohibits growth and it saps us of all strength. God can, and will, restore strength. And He wants to restore strength to your life ... in Him.



verse 6 ... "his splendor will be like an olive tree" ... God will restore value to Israel. Sin robs us of our worth. It devalues us ... makes us worthless. Olive oil in Hosea's day was a precious commodity. It would be comparable to petroleum in our day! God can, and will, restore value. And He want to restore value to your life ... in Him.



verse 6 ... "his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon" ... Fragrance is all about pleasure. It is about delight. God will restore pleasant fragrance to Israel. Sin produces a stench in our lives. It is more than unpleasant ... it is the stench of death. God can, and will, restore fragrance to life and make it a delight. And He wants to restore fragrance to your life ... in Him.



verse 7 ... "he will flourish like the grain, and blossom like a vine" ... God will restore abundance to Israel. Sin robs us of abundant life. We can have a great deal of money ... but be in poverty of spirit. Jesus told us that He came so that we could experience "abundant life". God can, and will, restore abundant life to Israel. And He wants to restore abundance to your life ... in Him. Abundance means fullness in Him ... plenty ... overflowing ... "my cup overflows" (Psalm 23) kind of life.



So ... Hosea ends his message by asking, "Who is wise?" "Who is discerning?" He answers his own questions ... it is the man, the woman, who knows that the ways of the LORD are right. It is the man, the woman who intentionally chooses to walk in them. Do you? Will you?



God promises restoration to His people who will return to Him with their whole hearts. That's my prayer for myself today ... and you ... it is time to seek the Lord.

Our Father, thank you for revealing the intensity of Your love for Your people through these messages from Hosea. Thank you for revealing the seriousness of idolatry and arrogance. We say together, with one heart and one mind, from every corner where this prayer is read ... You are righteous. You are worthy of all praise and adoration. You are the only living God. You alone we worship.

 

Humble Beginnings - Hosea 12 - 13 (Week 10, Post 2)

Today, read Hosea 12 - 13.  Hosea recounts, one more time, the case God presents against His people. 

Why does history matter?  What purpose is served by looking back to the past and remembering your roots and your ancestry?  I am writing this the week before Thanksgiving, 2011.  There will be family gatherings all around our country next week.  Some will be pleasant and bring great joy.  Some will radiate pain and loss.  Some will reopen wounds that have never healed.  But in them all will be a remembering of past - a remembering of people no longer present at the table - a remembering of history for each family. 

God does that for Israel in Hosea 12.  He walks the people back through their heritage ... back to Jacob.  Jacob was a man who came from a family where competition and jealousies had played a significant role.  He was a deceiver ... had to run from home to protect his own life ... he cheated and lied.  He then became the recipient of cheating and lying from his future father-in-law.  But when he matured ... he had a tenacity for God that marked him, a hunger for God that drove him.  So God reminds Israel of those humble beginnings ... certainly not rich and noble and gentrified!

He then reminds them that they had even been slaves.  They had even been nomads living in tents with no land to call their own.    Such humble beginnings for a people.  But they had forgotten.  They had become arrogant.

Hosea 12:8  "Ephraim boasts, 'I am very rich; I have become wealthy.  With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.'" 

You see ... they equated material wealth with favored position with God.  They had forgotten their weakness and their dependency upon God.  That nation of people had evolved to the point of thinking that THEY were something! 

Our beginnings in this country were humble as well.  We were formed by outcasts from other lands.  And we, like Ephraim, have forgotten.  Our behaviors often mirror the words of Ephraim in Hosea 12:8.  We are very rich ... so no one can find any fault with us ... right?! 

I believe that God would call to us ... as He did to His people so many centuries before ...

Hosea 12:6  "But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always."  The New American Standard version translates these words with "observe kindness and justice." 

Since you and I have no power to invoke those principles on a national level ... I suggest we practice them within our own small circles! 

My prayer for me this day and this coming week ... my prayer for you ... is that we practice kindness and love with all we encounter, even those that are difficult to love.  May we practice justice and fairness in our interactions this coming week.  And when you feel that you just cannot do it ... remember from where you came ... remember your history ...

"I've been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me."  (Galatians 2:20) 

And, my friends, Christ CAN do it!  Let Him live through you ...

A Father's Love - Hosea 11 (Week 10, Post 1)

We are in the final week of this particular study.  And today we begin the last section of Hosea. 
Read Hosea 11.

God has carefully, forcefully and dramatically explained to Israel what is going to happen to them and why it will happen.  No one will be able to say, "But I didn't know.  No one told me."  Over and over we have read of the prophets telling the people.  It seems that God knows the "point of no return" is very close for Israel ... and if He does not bring the severe discipline and judgement now, all will be lost for her.  So God tells them through Hosea that the time is now.  Justice demands destruction.  BUT ...

The tone and mood completely changes in chapter 11.  God also shifts metaphors.  He began the book using the picture and the real life illustration of a husband loving an unfaithful wife.  In chapter 11, God chooses a different picture.  He describes Himself as a father with a beloved son.  Did you feel the pathos and the deep grief as you read?  God is a parent whose heart is broken over the rebellion of his child.  You may have been there.  You may know that pain. 

Two of my daughters have given birth to new sons this fall.  As I watch them mother and care for those precious babies, I think about the things God said to Israel through Hosea.  These new little boys don't realize right now that they would die without their moms feeding them, caring for them.  They would die.  They are completely helpless on their own.  That's the picture.  God says, "they did not realize ..." 

And while justice demands destruction, it is as if we can hear God wail, "But how can I give you up?"  He has a plan ... a way ... to meet justice (because He is just) and to save His people (because He loves). 

We get a clear picture of God's plan from the pen of the apostle Paul.  Listen to him from Romans 3: 21 - 26: (New International Translation)

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."



         God is God ... and not man.  Therefore, He can be both "just and the justifier" at the same time! 

Hosea did not see the details of how God would deal with what appeared to be a contradiction.  Hosea was reporting the message as it was delivered to him.  He did not get to see how God could be pure justice and still not permanently give over His people to destruction.  But we DO get to see.  We live this side of the cross.  We have the privilege of seeing Jesus (God in flesh) take the destruction upon himself. 

Our God ... both 'just and justifier' ... through Jesus. 

Samuel Shoemaker has said:  "Eternal life does not begin with death; it begins with faith."   Close today's thoughts with me today in prayer ...

You are our Healer, our Deliverer, and our Provider.  Because You do all things so well and so bountifully, it is easy for us to overlook Your goodness or take it for granted.  Forgive us when we are careless or cavalier about your care and provision.  You woo us to Yourself with kindness.  If we reject Your invitation, if we resist Your call, You will not give up on us.  In Your great compassion You will drive us to Yourself through adversity.  We praise You, O God, that even in Your discipline You do not deal with us out of cruely, but out of love.  Today ... we want to hear and respond to You ... to Your love.  So today ... just as we are ... we come. 

The Vine: Hosea 10 (Week 9 - Post 3)

Today, read Hosea 10. 

The chapter begins with the description of Israel as a 'luxuriant vine'.  That imagery is very familiar to the Israelite people.  Let's just look at a couple of other references to the metaphor.

Isaiah 5: 1 - 2, 7  I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard.  My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.  He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines.  He built a watchtower in it and cut out a wine press as well.  The he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.  ...  The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.  And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

Jeremiah 2: 21  I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock.  How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? 

Israel was the vine of God ... and was to be beautiful and fruitful.  Fruit in the eyes of God is always related to His character.  It always refers to bringing His very presence into the life of a person.  Israel, with all her advantages, all her protection and provision, had failed ... she had become a wild, useless vine. 

As we have read this third message from Hosea, there are three primary sins that are repeated over and over.  There is the unfaithfulness ... which is a lack of love for God.  There is the falsehood, the believing and living in lies ... which is a denial of the truth revealed by God.  There is the unrighteousness, the sin ... which is rebellion against God. 

Is that not the same scenario that played out in the Garden of Eden?  Adam and Eve did not love their creator enough to stay faithful to Him ... they were intrigued with what 'other' was offered.  God was not enough for them.  They wanted more, they thought.  Israel did as well.  Do you and I?

Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan.  They believed that God was holding out on them, keeping them from something splendid.  So they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.  Israel has done the same thing - believing that other gods would somehow add to their religious experience, make them wiser, more god-like.  Do you and I?

Adam and Eve chose unrighteousness.  They decided to do the thing that God had forbidden.  Why?  Because they believed a lie.  Because they loved something more than they loved God.  And so sin enters.  Rebellion.  Disobedience.  Israel has followed the same path.  Do you and I? 

We began today with the vine imagery - imagery which was very familiar to Jewish people.  After all, they WERE the vine of God!  When Jesus enters time and space history centuries after Hosea's time, he uses the same imagery.  However, as he so often did, he takes the Old Testament imagery and brings it full circle to the revelation of what the image was to portray. 

Go to John 15 and here Jesus say to these Jewish followers, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  ... I am the vine; you are the branches." (John 15: 1, 5)    He wants us all to know that belonging to Israel does not make you belong to God.  It's being in the true vine that connects you to God.  It is being 'in Him'.   He goes on in this passage to let us know how to stay away from the sin, the rebellion, the fate of the Israel in Hosea's day ... "REMAIN IN ME", He says.  "REMAIN IN THE VINE",  He says. 

Remain ... abide ... live in ... make your home in ... nest in ... stay in ... never leave ... Me.  Jesus is our hope - our only hope - to live free from fear of failure, free from anxiety over sin.  Remember, He paid the penalty for your sin.  He carried it so you would not have to.  Why in the world would we want to live anywhere else!  Which idol that this world offers is more desirable than that security? 

Israel WAS a luxuriant vine ...
Jesus IS a luxuriant vine ...

And He invites you to be "in Him" and live a life of fruitfulness to the glory of God.  Have you "chosen"?!  Are you "remaining"? 

Reap the Whirlwind: Hosea 8 - 9 (Week 9 - Post 2)

We are continuing our study of the 3rd section of Hosea.  Today, read Hosea 8 - 9.

Two thoughts come to mind as we read these chapters that continue the litany of offenses that Israel has committed against God. 

First ... in 8:7 the language uses the metaphor of the whirlwind for Israel's condition.  Living on the Gulf coast, we know hurricanes.  I have just read an historical novel by Erik Larsen, "Isaac's Storm".  It is about the deadly hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900.  The destruction is almost unbelievable ... as the entire path for a city was changed. 

In 1961, Hurricane Carla was forming and strengthening in open waters.  I was in Galveston with my best friend and her parents.  We were playing in the surf - myself, my friend, and her mom.  Moment by moment news channels and weather stations were not common usage yet.  We did not know.  So we played.  My friends dad was sleeping on the beach.  After a period of time we realized how far we had drifted from his location in our oblivious fun.  So we decided to head back in his direction.  Problem ... we couldn't!  The undertow was strong ... and it took us.  It carried us deeper until we were in water over our heads - no more feet on the bottom.  We tried swimming directly for the beach ... we couldn't.  It continued to carry us out.  Galveston has these long, granite fishing piers that reach far into the ocean.  Mercifully, we were carried toward one and finally slammed against one of those granite piers.  That allowed us to crawl out of the water.  The barnacles cut our hands, knees and feet.  People on shore had seen the struggle so an ambulance was on site and a few spectators had gathered.  We were hauled out of the ocean, checked over and pronounced 'fit' as well as 'fortunate'!  A few days later, Hurricane Carla came ashore at Port Lavaca, TX - a whirlwind that left destruction in its wake. 

As I consider Israel in these messages, I see her like I was in Galveston that day ... just playing and seemingly unaware that destructive winds were just off shore.  These prophets are the warning system!  And Israel continued her romp at the beach in spite of the blasts from the sirens saying, "Get out ... get home!" 

The second thought that pricks my heart is in Hosea 8:14.  The phrase in the NIV says, "Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces ...".  The word translated 'forgotten' actually means 'neglected'.  Israel knew God intellectually.  But she had pushed Him aside.  Other things were more important. Listen to the words of James Boice:
So ... you and I ... let's not neglect our God this week!  Each day ... go to Him.  Each day ... think on Him.  Each day ... talk with Him.  Each day ... listen to Him.  Each day ... submit to Him.  Each day ... offer yourself as a living sacrifice to Him.  Your life, my life, are nothing without Him.  They are as meaningless as jumping a few waves in the shallows of the ocean ...

Not only had Israel not forgotten God - she still knew that He existed and even thought that she was worshiping Him - it is actually the case that no one ever forgets God in the absolute, intellectual sense.  It is our inescapable knowledge of God coupled to our unreasonable and sinful rejection of that knowledge that makes us guilty before Him.  (Read again Romans 1: 18 - 20) 

Phony Repentance: Hosea 6 - 7 (Week 9 - Post 1)

The third section of Hosea begins with Hosea 6:4 and closes at the end of chapter 10.  In this section, God reveals to Israel the result of her sin which has been so thoroughly described.  This section reveals the cost of rebellion - the cost of idolatry and ignoring Jehovah God - the cost of breaking covenant.  The time is ripe, the judgment is here.  We will study it in 3 posts.  Today, read Hosea 6:1 - 7:16.  As you read chapter 7, look for the metaphors.

What appears at first to be repentance (6:1 - 3) proves to be less than actual repentance.  It is phony ... surface ... almost cavalier!  The people say, "Let us acknowledge God" but there is no mention of their sin.  There is no evidence of hearts broken over their rebellion and idolatry.  They have no interest in obeying God, but they would like to have prosperity!  They don't even mind going through some ritualistic religious exercise.  They would be religious ... and continue to live the way they want. 

What about America and her Christianity?  In his commentary on Hosea, James Montgomery Boice reports an interview between a reporter and a prominent evangelical pastor.  The interviewer asks:  "If evangelicals really are as numerous as the polls indicate, why is it that there seems to be so little impact upon the country?  Crime continues to increase.  Divorce statistics climb.  It is the same in all other areas so far as we are able to judge.  Is it that there are really not as many evangelicals as you claim, or is it the case that being 'born again' actually makes no difference in how a person lives?"  Oh my!!  Could we be in the same place with the same attitudes and minds as the inhabitants of Israel at Hosea's time?  Yes, we give lip service to acknowledging God and going through religious exercise, but so often our hearts are far from repentant over sin ... far from obeying God ... far from the heart of God.  I think that we need to "hear" the message of Hosea as much as those early Israelites needed to "hear"!  Are we listening? 

Did you find the metaphors that are used in chapter 7?  God uses vivid pictures to describe the way He sees people who play at repentance ... who continue to confess the name of God all the while continuing in their self-focused, idolatrous living.  The picture is vivid ...

          1.  the "oven" whose fire does not need stirring ... even in secular writings this image is one of sexual lust and passion.  In this context, no doubt the spiritual adultery rampant in Israel.
          2.  a half-baked cake ... a flat cake not turned over ... I can see a pancake that I forgot to turn until it is too late!  As long as I keep the burned side 'down' on the plate, it looks fine.  But one bite and you know it is not fine - it is ruined. 
          3.  a dove ... in this context the image is one of a helpless bird that is easily deceived.
          4.  a faulty bow ... a weapon that is designed to do one thing but is misshapen and cannot accomplish what is was originally designed to do. 

Any antidote for this calamity?  YES!  Israel was past the point of return ... but whatever remnant that was left in her was not.  What about you?  What about me?  What about our country? 

Genuine repentance is the turning point.  It can't be phony.  It can't be outward form only.  It requires a heart ache that sends us falling on our faces before our God.  The apostle John addresses the same question ...

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.     1 John 1: 8 - 9

The secret of restoration?  Heart level confession of sin, genuine repentance and an appeal to God on the basis of His abundant grace.  And the God of mercy and grace WILL heal our wounds. 

Antidote - Hosea 4:1 - 6:3 (Week 8 - Post 3)

We are still reflecting on Hosea 4:1 - 6:3.  The first section of Hosea is the first 3 chapters and is the visual and experiential picture of God and His relationship with Israel.  He pictured it through the experience of Hosea and his wife, Gomer.  In the second section of the book, God is bringing His case against Israel. 

We looked into the core of the problem - there was no knowledge of God left in the land.  The people had ignored the Word of God so long ... they had gone their own way so long ... they had chosen their own wisdom and desires so long ... that any knowledge of God was gone.   The people had intentionally chosen to claim the idols of the surrounding nations for themselves rather than undivided devotion to the God who had brought them out of slavery, protected them, led them in battle and victory, provided for them. 

God gave the gift of free will to man at creation and even He will not violate it.  Man has the freedom to choose his path.  William Barclay has written:  "Before man there stands an open choice; and it has to be so.  Without choice there can be no goodness and without choice there can be no love.  A coerced goodness is not real goodness; and a coerced love is not love at all." 

We watch as the men and women of Israel consistently choose to go the way of idolatry.  And with that continual choice ... they are 'given over' to the "wrath".  The "wrath" is the consequence of going the way of sin.  It is the way God built the world.  For example, if a farmer violates the laws of agriculture, his crop will fail.  If a builder violates the laws of architecture, his building will collapse.  In like manner, if we violate the codes of morality, we will die. 

The see the exact same principle described in New Testament times, the time of the Greco-Roman world and the Roman Empire, read Romans 1: 18 - 32.  You will see the same pattern.  The same loss of knowledge of God.  The same slide into depravity.  Can you see any parallels in our own country, our own land? 

So where does that leave us? 

First ... it leaves me flat on my face saying with Paul in Romans 7: 25 - 8:2  "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!  ... There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

Secondly, this slide into ignorance of God and the subsequent depravity seems to be the way of fallen humanity.  I desperately DO NOT want to go down that road!  I want to protect myself, my children.  I want to guard my heart.  Remember ... we are the "But As For Me" girls!  So how are we to live? 

The antidote to this deadly path is found in the book of Philippians from the pen of the apostle Paul.  Philippians 4: 4 - 8 ...

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. 

There is the antidote.  There is joy in the Lord - in knowing Him - in being known by Him - joy that overcomes and overrides any circumstance in my life.  I will rejoice in Him.  I will treat others with a gentle, meek spirit.  My God will fight my battles for me.  I will not fret in anxiety over my life ... or my health ... or my finances ... or the condition of my world or country.  I will do what I can ... and I will take all my concerns and my fears to God through prayer.  I will rest there.  I will ask for His wisdom.  I will ask for His path.  And I will do it with a spirit of thanksgiving.  Giving thanks in all circumstances.  Because God is worthy of my thanks.  And I will focus my mind on the good.  I will stop obsessing over the ugly, the obscene, the worldly, the profane.  I will focus my mind on things of God.  With my free will, I CHOOSE TO LIVE THERE!  And the peace of God will guard my heart. 

HALLELUJAH and AMEN!!

                                 

The Core - Hosea 4:1 - 6:3 (Week 8 - Post 2)

We are in Hosea's second message ... Hosea 4:1 - 6:3. 

In Lesson 1 of our Hosea study, we observed that the people were perishing because there was no knowledge of God in the land.  Today, let's consider the responsibility carried by the priests for that condition.  I am not sure if the religious leaders go the way of the people ... or if the people go the way of the religious leaders.  In the NIV, verse 9 says, "Like people, like priests" which makes me think that the religious leaders just made themselves say and do whatever the people wanted.  In the New Testament, Paul describes that condition like this:  "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Timothy 4: 3 - 4)  Paul then tells Timothy "But you, keep your head in all situations ..."  That sounds a lot like our "But As For Me" group! 

It is a powerful temptation to say what we know people want to hear ... to make them feel good ... to be politically and culturally 'correct' ... even when it means softening or even mis-representing the Word of God.  The religious leaders in the days of Hosea did not speak the truth ... nor practice it.  They carried the responsibility for communicating the Word of God, the practices of God, the sacrifices that pointed to Messiah.  They were the ones to keep the people aware of their place in God's economy - their place as light for Jehovah to the world.  But ... there were so many things that they loved more than they loved God ... there was the ...

idols and the divination (4:12 - 13)

(idolatry - ANYTHING placed over God)

temple prostitutes (4:14)

(sexual sin)

financial benefit from people's sin offerings (4:8)

(the love of money)

love of strong drink to the point of losing understanding (4:11)

(my PLEASURE)



So God builds His case against Israel.  He lays out in this message the depth of Israel's depravity, the distance they have place between themselves and God.  He is clear in describing the depth to which Israel has fallen ... impossible to come back?  It seems that way in much of what Hosea says.  But God never leaves His people without hope.  NEVER.  In Post 3 we will focus on the hope that God offers - the future He promises. 

But for today ... let's think again about this issue of "first place".  We speak of it so often.  But we violate it so often!  Hear again the words of God ... and go to prayer ...

Exodus 20: 2 - 7       I Am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD you God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love  me and keep my commandments.  You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.

And from Jesus ...  Matthew 22: 37 - 38     Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. 

It's foundational ... it's the core ... it cannot be disregarded ... it is not conditional ... it is not culturally dependent ... it was core for Israel ... and it is core for you and me. 

Lord ... forgive us for the times we have been more interested in the world than in You.  Forgive us for the times we have been lulled into thinking that a little church attendance, a little ceremony, a little sacrifice is what You want from us.  Today ... we give You ourselves again.  Wash us clean ... again.  Make us ... again ... a living sacrifice, wholly devoted to You. 

No Knowledge - Hosea 4:1 - 6:3 (Week 8 - Post 1)

The book of Hosea contains 4 messages, or sermons, from the prophet.  The first message is in chapters 1 - 3 which we considered in Week 7.   It describes the physical circumstances that God led Hosea through in order to picture the wretchedness of Israel's condition.

In Week 8 we will look at Hosea's second message.  Commentators disagree on where to place a break between messages 2 and 3.  For our purposes, we are going to follow the break point that is used by Kay Arthur in her Precept study on Hosea.  Therefore, we will consider Message 2 to be Hosea 4:1 - 6:3.  That is the assignment for today ... read Hosea 4:1 - 6:3. 

Israel has experienced a long, slow slide into spiritual adultery.  It is the principle of erosion.  Erosion is almost imperceptible to the eye.  Trees don't suddenly die ... there is a weakening process that leaves them susceptible to disease and death.  Then one day, we look at the tree and it is brown and our response is "When did that happen?"  Relationships don't suddenly die ... there is a slow disintegration of care and good conversation and concern for the other.  Then one day we realize that there is nothing left and our response is "How did that happen?"  Gardens don't immediately become overrun with weeds ... there is ignoring it, putting off care for another day.  Then one day we look and our garden is completely enveloped with weeds, the flowers are gone, and our response is, "How in the world did that happen?  It seems that just yesterday it looked great!"  Spiritual erosion follows the same pattern.  Put off thinking about it for another day ... then another ... then a week is past ... then a month ... has it been a whole year since we have been with the family of God?  I know we were there last Christmas.  This is October ... Wow, time flies!  But you know we are so busy.  I need Sunday to get my grocery shopping done and get ready for the coming week.  We will get re-connected later.  Always later ...
Erosion is a deadly process ... it is slow and steady decline.  Israel has eroded ... have you?

This erosive slide of Israel had taken them to a state that Moses and Joshua, that David and Samuel would not have recognized.  Did you catch it in verses 1 and 6?  There is no knowledge of God in the land!  And it is not because the knowledge was unavailable ... it is because the people had rejected it.  They didn't want to know what God was like ... they did not want to know what God's values are ... they did not want to know what God expected of them as His people.  They did not want to know because they wanted to do what they wanted to do when and how they wanted to do it.  Sound familiar? 

Remember Micah 6:8?  God had said, what I expect of you is to love mercy, act kindly, and walk humbly with me.  The people said, "Ummm ... no thanks.  Don't want to."

God had said, "Do not kill."  The people said, "Ummm ... don't think that works for me."

God had said, "Do not commit adultery."  The people said, "Ummm ... but I want to do this.  I need it."

God had said, "Have no other gods before me".  The people said, "Ummm ... but the peoples around us will think us strange.  They have some really cool and exciting gods.  The worship of them is incredibly stimulating!  Makes me feel really good.  Sorry, Jehovah ... can't do this one." 

And on and on ...

Until ... there is no knowledge of God in the land.  My friends ... I fear that our nation is on that same path. 

So today ... you and I ... may we remember the "But As For Me" club and determine that WE will not walk on that road.  I long to know Christ.  We are committed to growing ever deeper in our knowledge of God through His written word.  I appreciate you so much for walking with me. 

And hear again the words of Jeremiah the prophet as he speaks for God in Jeremiah 29:13 - 14a

You will seek Me and find Me,

when you search for Me with all your heart.

And I will be found by you, declares the Lord ...

All our hearts ... all.



Spiritual Adultery - Hosea 1:10 - 3:5 (Week 7 - Post 3)

Read Hosea 1:10 - 3:5. 

Hosea 1:10 begins chapter 2 in the Hebrew Bible so begin there as you read today's passage. 

Adultery is an horrific sin.  Any of you who have walked there know the pain.  Any of you who have watched people you love walk there know something of the pain.  Relationships are torn apart ... families are ripped wide open ... it is all about loss.  That is just on the physical level.  Hosea lives out the physical form so that Israel will have a live demonstration of the spiritual form.  As a nation ... as God's chosen people ... as His elected nation to show the world His character and love ... they have committed adultery against Him.

Yet ... in the face of such extreme violation and pain ... after the necessity of extreme discipline and pain ... we hear God say, "I will allure her ... I will speak kindly to her ... I will open a door of hope ... she will call me 'husband' not 'master' ... I will betroth her to me forever ... in righteousness, justice, loving kindness, compassion, faithfulness ... I will say 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'You are my God'!"

Such hope.  Such promise.  Such security.  Such love.  And that is OUR God!  A God who loves with such passion and steadfastness that He WILL NOT LET YOU GO!  He will allow sin to take its payment because without that ... we would never return to Him.  He will apply discipline because without that ... we would continue on our self-indulgent way to destruction. 

Spiritual adultery cause pain to the heart of God more deeply than even physical adultery causes pain to the hearts of men and women.  I desperately do not want to commit spiritual adultery!  Are you with me?!   To avoid something, we must know what it is.  So what is spiritual adultery anyway?

We know from our earlier readings of the Prophets that spiritual adultery is idolatry.  So how does that play out in our lives - in 21st century America?  I believe it plays out through worldliness ... our love of, even fascination with, the things of this world.  When the things of this world take precedence in our lives over God ... we are moving into an adulterous relationship with the world ... leaving our "first love".  Pray fervently for eyes to see yourself and where you are in this discussion.  Listen to these words from scripture ...

1 John 2: 15 - 17 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."



This passage lets me know that Satan would have me focused on my own pleasure ... on my own wants and desires ... on my own accomplishments and status.  When I allow myself to put my focus there ... I am ripe for an adulterous relationship with the world as my lover.  Hebrews 12:2 says to "fix your eyes on Jesus."  That's the only antidote ..

James 4: 1 - 4   "What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don't get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
                            You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

This passage lets me know that my wants and pleasures lead me into all kinds of anti-God behaviors and attitudes.  It is pride that leads me to believe I deserve all I desire.  Am I willing to leave my God who loves me with the kind of passion and faithfulness that we read about in Hosea?  Am I willing to fight against my God who WILL NOT LET ME GO?  Friendship with the world progresses into a love relationship with the world ... and I walk willingly into spiritual adultery. 

Oh God ... I confess my own tendency to love the world and the things of the world!  Forgive me for violating your heart and my relationship with You.  My heart's desire is to have an honest, passionate relationship with You as my true love ... my true partner. 

I close with the words of T. O. Chisholm, written in 1905 ...

Only in Thee, O Savior mine,

Dwelleth my soul in peace divine,

Peace that the world, tho all combine,

Never can take from me.

Pleasure of earth, so seemingly sweet,

Fail at the last my longings to meet;

Only in thee my bliss is complete,

Only dear Lord, in Thee!

Only in Thee, dear Savior, slain,

Losing Thy life my own to gain,

Trusting, I'm cleanses from every stain;

Thou art my only plea.

Only in Thee my heart will delight,

Till in that land where cometh no night

Faith will be lost in heavenly sight,

Only, dear Lord, in Thee! 

Visual Aid? - Hosea 1 (Week 7 - Post 2)

Read Hosea 1. 

I can't help but wonder what in the world Hosea thought when this message came to him from God.  He knew the message was God given.  And so he did it!  He had to have been a remarkable man of faith.  Often God used symbolism through His prophets to hammer home a lesson.  And it always required sacrifice on their part.  Think about Hosea ... think about his decision ... think about marrying and knowing what was coming.  We learn later in our book that Hosea loved Gomer. 

I suspect there may be some of you reading this that know what it means to be betrayed by a spouse ... one you loved ... one you assumed faithfulness.  The pain is almost indescribable ... but Hosea KNEW!  He knew what would be because God gave him warning ... and told him to do it anyway. 

What kind of trust is required for that kind of obedience?  I have some lessons to learn about trusting God.  I want to have absolute security in the knowledge that the God of all the earth will do right.  And even when He asks me to difficult things, to go difficult places, to walk into circumstances that I cannot explain or understand ... God can be trusted.

Has God ever asked you to do something so incredibly difficult that you thought you couldn't do it?  He even does that through scripture.  And He asks us to trust Him enough to DO IT!  For example ...

Romans 14:13 - "Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Romans 15: 1 - 2 - "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up."

Romans 15: 7 - "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." 

Ephesians 4: 29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building other up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Colossians 3:9 - "Do not lie to each other ..."

Colossians 3: 12 - 13 - "As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you."

We could go on and on ... the things God tells us to do.  Why?  Because we are His.  Because He has a message to speak through us.  Symbolically, we are Christ in flesh again.  The world needs to see the Lord ... and God chooses for the world to see Him through us.  Amazing ...

Requires great trust ...

Requires great sacrifice ...

Requires being women and men determined to respond to the call of God ...

Are we listening?

Hosea (Week 7 - Post 1)

The final book of the Minor Prophets that we will study this session is the book of Hosea.  It is a bit longer than the others we have considered with its 14 chapters.  Today, let's just consider some introductory things about the book.  Then, the assignment for the next couple of days is to read the book of Hosea.  Remember in an overview reading you don't need to worry about details ... you are just getting a feel for the book - its flow and progression. 

Before you read ... here is some background and historical information that will enhance the understanding of the book. 


Hosea lived and ministered in Israel in the days of the Divided Kingdom. He preached during the later years of Jeroboam II, a time of great material prosperity (about 753–723 b.c.).



Hosea’s mission was both special and painful. He was called to experience the anguish caused by an unfaithful wife: a wife whose sexual adultery mirrored the spiritual adultery of the nation Israel, which had been unfaithful to the Lord by worshiping idols and rejecting the holiness in His Law. The names of his children were chosen by God as reminders of Israel’s unfaithfulness.
(Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher's commentary. Includes index. (451). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)

And from Warren Wiersbe and his expository outlines on the Old Testament. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books:



The name Hosea means “salvation.” He preached in the Northern Kingdom (Israel, also called “Ephraim”) during a period of national decline. When Hosea started his ministry, Jeroboam II was king, and it was a time of great prosperity. But the nation was rotting away inwardly and getting involved with foreign alliances instead of trusting God to lead and protect them. Hosea lived to see Israel taken captive by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. Read 2 Kings 15–17 for some of the historical background.



Hosea’s message is to the nation of Israel, exposing their sins and warning them of coming judgment. There is also a message of hope for the future, as we shall see. But the unique thing about his message is that he had to live it himself before he could preach it to the people. The prophet had to experience deep agony in his own marriage because of the sins of his wife, but all of this was a divinely sent object lesson to him and his people.


One other comment before we begin ...

There is a wonderful novel by Francine Rivers titled "Redeeming Love".  The story is based on the story we are about to encounter in the book of Hosea.  If you like to read ... check out the book.  Let me know what you think. 

Lord, we ask for wisdom as we open this book.

Teach us what You would have us know.

Give us the wisdom to see applications for our lives,

and the courage to act on what You show us.

Let us learn from Your servant, Hosea.

The Meaning of Trust - Habakkuk 3 (Week 6 - Post 2)

Read Habakkuk 3 today.  If it has been several days since you were in Habakkuk, it would be advantageous to begin at the beginning of the book to refresh your mind on the flow of the dialogue.  Then come back ...

In chapter 1 of this book, we observe Habakkuk wondering and questioning.  He doesn't doubt God, he just doesn't understand.

In chapter 2, we observe the prophet watching and waiting for God's response and activity.  He knows that the righteous live by faith and he is willing to watch and wait - to live by faith.

Then we come to chapter 3 and we see this prophet worshiping.  He has moved from the questions and confusion through the decision to watch and wait all the way to adoration and worship.  You feel the humility, the awe of God, the reference for Him.  Verses 17 - 19 constitute one of the most beautiful statements of total trust in all of scripture.  And in that trust lies the secret to joy. 

Now ... take whatever circumstance you are having to walk through right now that is difficult.  Do you have it in mind?  Walk it through these three chapters .... 1) take your questions and confusion to God.  Ask Him about it.  Tell Him you don't understand why you must see or do this thing.  Then, 2) ask yourself if you are willing to watch and wait for God to act.  If you decide that you are willing, then you must practice!  And 3) spend your time in worship.  Tell God what you know of Him ... His splendor and mighty hand, His power and His righteousness.  Can you conclude as did Habakkuk, with the statement that even if things do not go your way ... even if circumstances do not work as you would have them work out ... even if things remain hard ... I will rejoice in God my Savior.  I will find joy in the Lord, not in the circumstance.  After all, the Lord is sovereign.  The Lord is all-knowing.  The Lord is all-wisdom.  The Lord is all-love.  The Lord is all-mercy.  I will find joy.  Not only joy ... but the strength to go on.  You will gain the strength to go on to be the best, the highest, you can be as long as you are allowing the strength of God, your trust in Him, to be the force that carries you.  The strength that enables you. 

Let's memorize these 3 verses ... they need to be in the warp and woof of our psyche. 

     Though the fig tree does not bud

          and there are no grapes on the vines,

          though the olive crop fails

          and the fields produce no food,

          though there are no sheep in the pen

          and no cattle in the stalls,

     Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

          I will be joyful in God my Savior.

     The Sovereign Lord is my strength;

          He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

          He enables me to go on the heights.

Faithfulness - Habakkuk 2 (Week 6 - Post 1)

As we continue our reflections on the book Habakkuk ... today read Habakkuk 2.

There are two familiar phrases in this chapter.  And in the midst of the "woes" against Babylon, they are like a fresh breeze of clean air blowing through.  Let's consider them both today ...

Habakkuk's second complaint to God (1:12 - 2:1) is all about why God would use the Babylonians (Chaldeans) to discipline Judah.  They were a blood-thirsty and violent, idolatrous people.  Couldn't God find someone else - someone less wicked?  God's response is to tell Habakkuk that he is just to wait ... and to remain faithful during the waiting. 

That's hard isn't it?  The waiting on God.  Many times we are called to wait on God.  It seems that the answers to our prayers are not forthcoming ... time passes ... circumstances don't get 'fixed' or even better.  We continue to pray ... and wait.  So the question becomes, "how do you wait?"  What is your attitude in the waiting?  Are you anxious, full of doubt, fearful?  David describes the attitude during waiting in Psalm 27: 13 - 14:

I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

God tells Habakkuk "though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

And then in verse 4, one of the "fresh air" phrases of this chapter appears ... and is almost as an aside in the flow of the sentence.  How refreshing it is!  "But the righteous will live by his faith"  God tells us that we can indeed live well during the time of waiting ... how, by faith! 

What about this word, "faith"?  From the Shepherd's Notes Commentary:

The Hebrew word translated "faith" in Habakkuk 2:4 means "faithfulness", "steadfastness," or "trustworthiness."  It implies a continued state of being, a deliberate and conscientious effort to walk in God's ways.  It also includes the ideas of belief and trust which are more common to the New Testament concept of faith.  Quoting this verse three times, the writers of the New Testament recognized that saving faith was faith that believed in God but also resulted in faithful living.

The three places where Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted are:

1.  Romans 1:17  "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

2.  Galatians 3:11  "Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

3.  Hebrews 10: 37 - 38  "For in a very little while, 'He who is coming will come and will not delay.  But my righteous one will live by faith.'"

How about you?  Is that the way you are living today?  In your current circumstances?  The righteous do that ... they live each day by faith.

The second "fresh air" phrase appears in verse 20.  These "woes" against Babylon have filled the chapter ... there are five of them and they are bleak indeed.  And then there is the "BUT" that begins verse 20.  In spite of all the gloom and destruction that is coming ... there is something else ... that is not the end of the story.  "BUT"! 

But what?  But ... the Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.

So, rest well, my friends.  The Lord STILL resides in His holy temple ... the Lord STILL commands the silence of reverence and awe in His presence. 

We can echo the heartbeat of David as he says ... "I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." 

Yes, David.  Me, too. 

Observations - Habakkuk 1 (Week 5, Post 2)

After over viewing the book in Post 1, go back now and re-read Habakkuk 1.

There are 2 observations I want to make with you from this chapter.

First - from verse 5.

"Look among the nations! Observe!

Be astonished!  Wonder!

Because I am doing something in your days -

You would not believe if you were told."

I don't know if Habakkuk could identify the things that God was doing or not.  But we know that God responded to Habakkuk's questions about evil and wickedness so rampant with these words.  Do you think God would say the same thing to us today?  As we question and are so confused by the overt violence and destruction throughout the globe in our day?  Perhaps we need to hear the same response that Habakkuk heard.  Perhaps we need to quit wringing our hands and sagging our heads and look, observe.  If God is a sovereign over the earth (and I believe He is), He is doing things right now among the nations.  Nations rise and fall.  Power shifts.  Economies rise and fall.  Two things come to mind to me for application.  One is ... I can absolutely TRUST the hand of God over the world and the nations.  I may have to remind myself of that on a daily basis as my mind is bombarded with news.  But the reality is ... God is sovereign ... God is trustworthy ... God is faithful ... God is mighty ... God is able.  So we can take a deep breath.  The other is that I need to stop fretting and look around ... look for the hand of God.  None of us may feel wise enough to do that on a world stage ... but we can do it in our own lives!  Where did you see God's hand in your life yesterday?  Are you going to look for it today - or are you too busy?  God help us get our eyes off ourselves and on to You. 

The second observation I would make from chapter 1 is the phrase that describes the Babylonians at the end of verse 11:

"They whose strength is their god"

Talk about idolatry!  Both nations and individuals are prone to trust their own strength rather than God.  Where you place your trust shows you your god.  We ask ourselves the same questions that we return to so often ... where do I place my trust?  Is it in my strength ... or my income and bank account?  Could it be in a spouse or children or family?  Do I place my trust in ANY particular nation?  Or am I prone to place my trust in a religion rather than in God Himself through Christ?  Remember, religion is to be a support ... not the end itself.  I want to put my WHOLE TRUST in God alone.  And that is my prayer today ...

Oh Sovereign Lord, I don't want to be like the Babylonians ... I don't want to trust in anything other than You.  Show me where I am violating my own desire.  Show me what I am allowing to take Your place in my life.  Forgive me when I forget or get careless and lazy.  You are indeed from everlasting and You are my Holy One.  You are my rock.  I rest myself there ...

Habakkuk (Lesson 5 - Post 1)

We will spend 2 weeks studying the Minor Prophet, Habakkuk.  Three chapters only ... but so rich in foundational truth for each and every one of us. 

Kay Arthur tells us that it was the truth of this little book that influenced Martin Luther and fueled the reformation.  Luther was tormented by the idea that he served a righteous God who could not be satisfied.

And it was the truth of this little book that influenced a single woman, Hannah Hurnard, who was a missionary in Israel.  This book is what inspired her to write "Hinds' Feet on High Places" - one of the classics in Christian devotional reading. 

I wonder what it will mean to you and me?  Are we willing to truly "hear" the message and the truth that Habakkuk puts forth? 

To grasp this book it is important for us to begin by reading the whole thing at one time.  It will help you get the flow ... the sense of dialogue ... the movement of thought in through the book. 

Stop reading here ... and go to your Bible.  Then come back for a brief comment from me and that will be all for today.

Read Habakkuk



I love what seems to be the open, honest dialogue between Habakkuk and God.  Habakkuk is not afraid to take his most troubling questions to God.  The things he just cannot understand.  Are you?  Habakkuk does not seem to feel that it is inappropriate ... or sinful ... or critical of God ... or anything.  He takes his questions ... his frustrations ... even his complaints ... to God.  What better place to take them? 

We see the same trait in David ... that man of God.  Listen to him in Psalm 55: 1 - 8

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;

hear me and answer me.  My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught

at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.

My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me.

Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest --

I would flee far away and stay int he desert;

I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.

The cry continues throughout scripture ... even into the book of Revelation. 

 

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who

  had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.

  They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you

  judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"  (Revelation 6: 9 - 10)

Indeed!  How long, Lord? 

So ... take your most troubling questions and agonies to God ... remember to never forget in the midst of your cries to recognize that our God is indeed "holy and true".  Remember what we learned in Micah and let your attitude be one of "humility before our God".  Never arrogance - never demading.  Always trusting - always knowing God's ways are not our ways - always faithful.  Then ask ...

What do you need to ask Him today?



Justice - Nahum 3 (Week 4 - Post 3)

Read Nahum 3. 

What a sobering chapter this is.  I looked for just one verse that we could claim from this chapter for hope and encouragement.  I couldn't find one.  And as I asked God to show me what I needed to learn from this horrific description ... slowly a thought began to take root.  Nineveh had time to repent ... Jonah had been there before with a call from God for repentance.  The king and the people had responded ... but only briefly.  Evidently the idolatry, the violence, the arrogance had all returned.  And their time was finished.  God is just.  Sin must be paid for.  And the rod of justice is coming down on Assyria. 

Years ago ... when I was a young mom with three little girls ... my dad's single engine private plane went down in terrible weather in Dallas.  It was February.  That crash cost him his physical life.  He was a Godly man - a servant of God.  But he was not a perfect man - not a sinless man.  Sitting in the funeral home ... alone ... in front of a closed casket because of the accident ... I began for the first time to get a glimpse of the horror of sin.  Death is a part of this world experience because of sin.  And death is horrible.  Would that we all could be like Enoch and just be "taken away" by God.  (Genesis 5: 18 - 24)  I had not disregarded sin ... but it was all so abstract ... such religious language.  My mind could hear the comedian Flip Wilson and his "the devil made me do it!" comedy, making satan and sin an object of humor.  For the first time, I truly grieved the presence of sin in the world ... in my life ... the cause of death.  I can hear Paul in Romans 6:23 as he says, "the wages of sin is death."  The payment.  God is just.  Sin must be paid for. 

As I read Nahum 3, those same thoughts fill my mind.  The horror of sin.  The end result of sin.  God is just.  Sin must be paid for.  The picture of destruction painted by Nahum is all-inclusive.  Consuming.  Complete.  Final.  There are no sadder words in all scripture than Nahum 3:19a: 

Nothing can heal your wound;

your injury is fatal.



God is just.  Sin must be paid for. 

O my friends, deal with your sin!  It is not a source of comedy ... it is not a case of, "well, everybody else does worse than me" ... it is not abstract.  It is real and it is serious - 'deadly' serious. 

Before we give up in despair and begin to wail, there are some things you MUST remember.  Perhaps you need to hear them today with the words of Nahum echoing in your mind ...

2 Corinthians 5:21  "God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 

Did you hear it?  Our Lord BECAME the sin ... the reason for the kind of destruction we have read about this week.  Can you hear Jesus from the cross crying out "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?"  Jesus took it ... and He did not deserve it.  Nineveh and Assyria deserved it.  You and I deserve it.  And my Lord BECAME my sin and with that 'becoming' took the justice.  I have no words to describe that reality.  I can do nothing but fall on my face in awe, reverence, and gratitude. 

Close today with these words from Paul in Romans 8 ...

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, (are you?) because through Christ Jesus the law of the the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 

Are you free from the law of sin and death?  If you are, spend some time right now in silent adoration of a God who would pay that price to set you free. If you are not, post a comment to me about it.  All comments come to me first before any posting for open viewing occurs and can be kept confidential. 

Praise God ... there is no condemnation for those of us who are "in" Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

A gift from God ...

The book of Nahum has greatly increased my gratitude and awe over the reality of forgiveness in Christ.  Worship Him with me today ...

The True Lion - Nahum 2 (Week 4 - Post 2)

Read Nahum 2.

This chapter vividly describes the destruction of Nineveh.  History tells us that the Medean soldiers wore scarlet uniforms and carried scarlet shields.  Notice verse 3.  I suspect it was a terrifying sight. 

Also notice the emphasis on lions in verses 11 - 13.  Archaeology reveals to us that the Assyrian Empire used the lion as her symbol.  Strength.  Power.  Prowess.  Stealth.  A fearful beast indeed!  Nahum tells Judah that the den of lions will be gone. 

Peter uses the imagery of a lion in his warning to all believers in 1 Peter 5:8:  "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith ..."


When I think about my enemy, the enemy of our souls, being portrayed as a lion, I find comfort in this chapter from Nahum!   God is against him. 

In Nahum 2:13, God says, "I will burn up ..." and I hear John in his Revelation say,

"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20: 9 - 10)

Nahum 2:13, God also says, "a sword will devour your young lions."  And I hear John in his Revelation say,

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With justice he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.  He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.  The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.  Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations ..."  (Revelation 29: 11 - 15)

The Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) ... will accomplish these things.  As God delivered His people from the evil of Assyria, so He will deliver His people from the evil of Satan.  That day is coming ... trust it.  Count on it.  And go ahead and celebrate ... because the outcome is set! 

God Is ... Nahum 1 (Lesson 4 - Post 1)

This week we will study the book of Nahum.  It is a small, 3 chapter prophetic book written probably sometime between 663 BC and 612 BC.  The author is Nahum, the prophet.  We don't know much about this man.  Even the town mentioned as his home town is not easily identifiable.  The book's purpose is to pronounce God's judgment on Assyria and its capital, Nineveh.  And that pronouncement would bring comfort to the people of Judah - for Assyria was a potent and violent threat.

Warren Wiersbe tells us:  "Assyria was a ruthless enemy that practiced brutality on men, women, and children.  Their armies destroyed and looted; they buried their enemies alive and even skinned them alive; they impaled people on sharp poles and left them to burn in the sun.  Assyria had been used of God to chasten the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  Every nation feared Assyria and tried to win her approval.  Finally in 612 BC, Nineveh was destroyed by the Medes and the Babylonians; and so complete was their conquest that the ruins of the city remained undiscovered until 1842."  (Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament.)

Nations trembled with fear because of Assyria.  Judah was afraid.  So God sends this message to His frightened people through Nahum.  Remember, this message is going to Judah - not Assyria!  Nineveh had already received warning from God through Jonah the prophet.  (If you need to refresh your memory, read Jonah before you move into Nahum.)  So this prophecy, written to Judah, is announcing God's judgment ... the time for repentance is over. 

As you read ... look for what you learn about God.  You may want to begin another list of things that you learn about Jehovah. 

Read Nahum 1.

Two things stand out to me from this chapter:

1.  We get a view of the character and nature of our God.  And it is both splendid and sobering.  Are these things on your list?

The Lord is a jealous God (burning zeal, not human jealousy)

He is avenging

His vengeance and wrath are for His enemies

The Lord is slow to anger

The Lord is great in power

He will not leave the guilty unpunished

The Lord is good

The Lord is a stronghold in the time of trouble

He knows those who take refuge in Him

There are things here that cause us to tremble.  And there are things that give us comfort.  In the face of the vengeance and wrath of God against sin ... never forget that GOD IS GOOD.  "Good" is an interesting word.  In our humanness ... we see "good" as something that is pleasant and beneficial for me or something that I want.  In God's economy, "good" has infinitely broader strokes and purposes.  And God knows those who take refuge in Him.  Do I?  Is God my refuge or do I keep thinking that things in this world, somehow, will give me security?  Today ... I recommit to taking refuge in my God alone.  God is our fortress - our place of safety - only God.

2.  The second thing that jumped at me was the very last phrase in the chapter:  "he is cut off completely."  Who is this "he"?  Look at the beginning of the sentence - "the wicked one".  The New Living Translation uses "your wicked enemies".  That was indeed good news for Judah.  And it is good news for us.  Nahum tells the people of Judah to go ahead and celebrate the feasts.  Continue with your service.  The people of Judah were going to endure about 50 more years of threat from Assyria ... but they were not to live in fear because they knew the outcome!  I wonder if they did.  I wonder if some of them trusted the word from God through Micah. 

Is there application for you and I?  Look to John 16.  Jesus is preparing His disciples for His imminent departure.  He promises the Holy Spirit.  He warns them of hard times ahead.  And He concludes the discussion with:

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world." 

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4: 9 - 11:

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you doing."

You see, the fact that God will avenge His character and will deal with wickedness and evil is not a source of fear for those who belong to Him.  Build each other up with that reality. 

Lord, our God, there is none like You.  Your faithfulness and purity, Your righteousness and goodness, are our security and our hope.  We place our trust in You.  We take refuge in You.

 



Confidence (Lesson 3 - Post 3)

Let's close Micah's third and final message.  Read Micah 7:8 - 20.

Remind yourself of the things we have learned from Micah's third message: 

• God is clear about what He expects from His people ...  (6:8)

                 * to behave justly
                 * to love mercy
                 * to live with humility before Him

• Regardless of the corruption and darkness in the culture around us ... we still are responsible for our own behaviors, thinking, and attitudes ... "But as for me" ... (7:7)

We come today to the third application point I want to emphasis.  And it is all about confidence - and hope - and security.  What a splendid way Micah closes this sermon!

Notice Micah 7:8  "Though I have fallen, I will rise.  Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light."

I keep pausing at the phrase, "though I have fallen, I will rise."  God's people continue to fall - our attempts to play with sin, with idolatry lead to the discipline of our holy God today as in the days of Micah.  But the confidence in this statement thrills me!  The 'falling' is not the end of the story.  It was not the end of the story for God's remnant preserved through the captivity by Babylon ... and it is not the end of the story for you or me. 

I am reminded of another writing by the German born writer and photographer, Ulrich Schaffer:

You might think

that I am breaking,

that I have fallen

and will not survive the storm,

but you are mistaken.

I am still growing.

I will not give up.

In desperation and hope

I will push down roots

into the hard ground.

You will see:  I will live.

I gave up form and style long ago.

Survival in the gaping wound of life

is the goal which nourishes me.

I wrestle from life

the days needed for my fulfillment,

and when I finally do fall,

because in the end everything is a falling,

it will be upward

into the hands

of the waiting one.

Anyone claiming to be without sin is fooling herself.  (1 John 1:8).  There will be "falling".  That we know.  That we have already experienced.  But the "falling" is not fatal!  At least it need not be. 

I will rise!

The Lord will be my light!

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you:  God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."  (1 John 1: 5, 7)

That's a promise.  Forgiveness ... cleanness ... purity.  All from our God - the God of Micah.  Just as Micah described in 7:18

         

Micah closed his last message wanting the people to see the hope and the coming restoration.  I love that!  And I want to close our reflection on this little book with a quote from Revelation ... full of the SAME hope and coming restoration.  Revelation 22: 3 - 5

May we have the confidence and the assurance of that promise ...



No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.

Micah 6:9 - 7:7 (Week 3 - Post 2)

Today, read Micah 6:9 - 7:7 as we continue to hear, and to think about, Micah's final sermon.

Micah once again paints the bleak picture of corruption and darkness that permeates the land and the people of God.  We can so easily make the parallels with our own country and cities ... where corruption and greed and dishonesty and bribes seem to carry the day. 

What does one do?  If you "hear" this message from Micah and long to respond to the God who is merciful enough to send out the warning ... what do you do? 

Yes, we confess our own complicity and trust the forgiveness of our merciful God ... but these few verses give us another glimpse into the appropriate response from each one of us.  We find it in 7:7:

But as for me,

I watch in hope for the LORD,

I wait for God my Savior;

my God will hear me.

Did you catch it?  "But as for me ..."  That's the phrase!  That's the person I want to be. 

One of the mantras that has carried me through some pretty bleak times is, "I am responsible for the purity of my motives and the integrity of my behavior."  Period.  I can't be responsible for yours.  I can be concerned, moved, challenged, etc. - but I can't be responsible. I can only be responsible for mine.  Each of us carries the responsibility for our own lives - regardless of the culture in which we live.  Regardless of the families we had or didn't have, currently have or don't have.  Regardless of the struggles or the joys of our current situations.  Regardless ...

"But as for me".  How are you living in our corrupt culture?  The excuses are known by us very well.

           Well, everyone else does it (whatever "it" may be that violates the righteousness of God). 

           God would not expect me to stay with this spouse - he/she doesn't make me happy anymore.

           No one will see.

           I have a right to my revenge.

           I can cheat a little ... I'll be careful to not get caught.

           Of course I didn't mean it ... I lied to get my way.

           Guarantee?  You've got to be kidding!

           I promised?  Oh, well ...

           I deserve this thing.  No, I can't afford it but I can work the system to get it anyway. 

           I'll treat him/her anyway I want ... she's not worth anything.  He doesn't matter. 

And on and on and on ...

"But as for me".  Oh my friends ... the only person on the planet you have any control over is you.  Look around you.  Where do you need to stand and say, "I know this is how the 'world' thinks ... but as for me." 

Will you join me in committing to a new group?  Let's form the "But As For Me" association!  

BUT AS FOR ME

We are the Bas-for-me' organization - the "But As for Me" girls!  Want to join?  Initiation fee is everything you have - all of it.  Annual dues are your total surrender to God.  It will take courage.  It will take an ever-growing knowledge of our Lord and God.  It will take a willingness to go against the "flow" of our culture and world.  But the good news?  You won't get kicked out for messing up! 

I'm in!  How about you?