Faithful to the Unfaithful
7 min read
“…for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
— Hosea 1:6b-7
Hosea 1:1-2:1
What a start to this month’s new devotional in the book of Hosea! I mean when you first read this, I think it is safe to say that any reader might be baffled by what God had just commanded Hosea to do. He tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. He has a child with a prostitute named Gomer and has a child named Jezreel. All of which God has commanded Hosea to do. Why? To show as a model and illustration of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. The name of Hosea and Gomer’s children are obvious signs of God’s anger with the Israelites. Interestingly enough it does piggyback off the final devotion of Nehemiah yesterday, the last day of September. After all of God’s blessings, the people are again found unfaithful to the love of God. Yet we also find God’s promise to love Judah and that one day He will save them.
During the Empower Conference, I had a conversation with a well-known pastor about a recent tragedy that has taken place in a reputable ministry. The leading theologian and teacher committed the sin of adultery which led to his immediate dismissal. This has been happening quite frequently in the past several years with key leaders in evangelical Christianity. The question as to why may be studied and debated by theologians, historians, and sociologists for decades to come. However one area that most seem to agree upon is pride. In modern terminology, secular sociologists and psychologists may refer to pride as narcissism. I happen to agree that it may be the starting point of all of these tragic events taking place in various ministries.
Pride, the love of self. The love of self-pleasures and the flesh. The letter in the center of the word pride is “I”. When we love ourselves, we start to lose our love for God. When we think about idols, we think about other outside factors that may become an idol in our life but the reality is that the greatest idol is our own flesh. It is the source of all the idols we have in our lives that hinders our love and faithfulness to God.
Pride is the reason we have an idol in academics.
Pride is the reason we have an idol in sports.
Pride is the reason we have an idol in relationships.
Pride is the reason we have an idol in finances.
Pride is the reason we have an idol in reputation.
If you look at Revelation 2 and the seven churches listed there, we see an example of a church that left their first love for God. It is the church in Ephesus of Ancient Greece (modern-day Turkey). Jesus calls upon them to repent and return to their first love or He will remove their lampstand. This is what we must do to return to our love for God. We must repent and ask God to save us. We must call upon God to forgive us and to help us get back on our feet in obedience and faithfulness unto Him.
Proverbs Reading: Chapter 1
If we are to seek wisdom, it must always begin with the fear of the Lord. Fear is not necessarily that we are scared of God emotionally but that we honor and we have reverence for God. It is where the source of knowledge and wisdom comes from, everyone that denies this is nothing more than a fool. The author warns his son to avoid sinful men that attempt to entice the son into sin. The father’s instruction should be worn around his neck so that the son is always reminded of his father’s words. We too must wear the word of God around our neck (figuratively) that we may thwart any evil or sinful desires that seeks to tempt or influence us.
