Monday, October 31, 2016

REAPING A WHIRLWIND



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel cries out to Me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge You!’ But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him. They set up kings without My consent; they choose princes without My approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.”

“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants. For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to lovers. Although they have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.”

“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning. I wrote for them the many things of My law, but they regarded them as something foreign. Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the Lord is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt. Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”

Hosea 8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever seen a whirlwind?

I believe everyone has but they probably have used different terms to describe the weather phenomenon which is sometimes used as an analogy for other things in life. These terms may include tornado, cyclone, hurricane, typhoon, twister, or even dust devil.

When we think about a whirlwind in this perspective, I think the first thing that comes to mind is the destructive nature of these occurrences, damage that typically comes from the force of the significant wind against objects that can be moved or ripped apart. If you’ll recall any imagery of the aftermath of a tornado or hurricane, you can definitely attest to the devastation that occurs.

This matter of damage caused by storm is central to Chapter 8 of Hosea as we see God using it to illustrate the judgment He was about to bring on His people. Look again at His words here:

“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken My covenant and rebelled against My law. Israel cries out to Me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge You!’ But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him. They set up kings without My consent; they choose princes without My approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction. Samaria, throw out your calf-idol! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.”

“They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up; now she is among the nations like something no one wants. For they have gone up to Assyria like a wild donkey wandering alone. Ephraim has sold herself to lovers. Although they have sold themselves among the nations, I will now gather them together. They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.”

“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning. I wrote for them the many things of My law, but they regarded them as something foreign. Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the Lord is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their wickedness and punish their sins: They will return to Egypt. Israel has forgotten their Maker and built palaces; Judah has fortified many towns. But I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”  Hosea 8

Note here the whirlwind God is talking about was coming in the way of the attackers He was sending to exact judgment on His people, the Assyrians against the northern kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians against the southern kingdom of Judah. These forces would “swallow up” the Israelites and destroy their land, taking anything of value that they owned before hauling them off into captivity. A once proud country that was revered and envied by other nations would now be just a shell of its former self, a country that God likened to “something no one wants.”

Here’s the worse part of all this?

The people of God brought it on themselves. They reaped the whirlwind of obliteration that came upon them.

So what did the Israelites do to reap God’s judgment?

God tells us the following reasons in His word:

1. The people had broken their covenant with God, rebelling against His law.

“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the Lord because the people have broken My covenant and rebelled against My law.”

God had promised to be the God of the Israelites as long as they would be His people, remaining obedient and loyal to His will and way. But the people of God decided to turn away from Him and instead give their devotion to false gods and idols, actions that clearly broke their covenant with Him.

2. The people rejected what was good.

“Israel has rejected what is good.”

The only way to live in goodness, to live in a way that was pleasing in God’s sight, was to live in His righteousness, something that required a resolute commitment to Him in everything a person would do. Unfortunately, we know the people were unfaithful to God and immersed in spiritual adultery, evidence that they had clearly rejected what was good.

3. The people set up kings without consent.

“They set up kings without My consent; they choose princes without My approval.”

In the days leading up to God sending judgment, the Israelites reached a point where they didn’t think it was prudent to consult God regarding the leaders they appointed. After King Jeroboam II, five different kings ruled over Israel over a fifteen year period, three of which took over the throne through violence.

4. The people made idols and worshiped them.

“With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.”

“They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.”

“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning.”

This was perhaps the greatest sin that the Israelites committed against God for He had clearly commanded that there were to be no other gods before Him and that no worship was to be directed anywhere except to Him. And yet, the people of God decided to give their attraction and attention to the pagan gods and idols of the day, essentially abandoning God in their spiritual lives, something that wasn’t going to set well with Him.

5. The people tried to pay other nations for protection.

“Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.”

“They have sold themselves among the nations.”

God had always protected His people with a power that was unrivaled. And yet, the Israelites decided to sell out to other nations and ironically, Assyria was one of them, the nation that would soon attack and be used as an instrument of God’s judgment.

6. The people acted like they had no understanding of God’s commands, laws, or decrees.

“I wrote for them the many things of My law, but they regarded them as something foreign.”

God had not kept His expectations secret. Rather, He had clearly delineated what He wanted His people to do and how He wanted them to live. It was given to the Israelites in plain language but their sinful behavior showed God that they didn’t desire to be obedient to His wishes. Rather, they behaved as if God’s orders had been issued in a language they didn’t understand.

This was the lengthy list of wicked acts God’s people carried out as they instigated His wrath and reaped His whirlwind of judgment, a judgment that would include:

1. Destruction of the idols.

“This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.”

Anything worshiped outside of God needed to be obliterated and God promised to do just that.

2. Famine.

“The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.”

“They will begin to waste away under the oppression of the mighty king.”

If the Israelites had chosen to not bless the Lord with their devotion then they would find out what it would be like living without His blessing of provision.

3. Punishment through destruction.

“He will remember their wickedness and punish their sins.”

“I will send fire on their cities that will consume their fortresses.”

When the Assyrians and Babylonians attacked the north and south respectively, the scriptures clearly paint a picture of utter devastation as the nation was plundered and left in smoldering ruin by a fire sent by God that consumed all their fortresses.

This is what happens when a whirlwind comes, no matter its form, either physically or figuratively.

So where do we stand today?

Are we sowing the seeds of complete, uncompromising devotion and dedication to God, a life attitude that will lead us to reaping righteousness and blessings?

Or will we, like the Old Testament Israelites of Hosea’s day, sow sin and wickedness through living in opposition to God’s word, will, and way, subsequently reaping the whirlwind of His destruction?

These are questions we had better carefully ponder for no one should want to find themselves in the midst of God’s punishing storm.

Not now. Not ever.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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Sunday, October 30, 2016

SIN HUNTED, CAPTURED, AND DEALT WITH



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak about me falsely. They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against Me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.”

Hosea 7:12-16

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we saw God exposing the sins of His people, providing a comprehensive list of their transgressions within the closing verses of Hosea, Chapter 6, and the opening verses of Chapter 7.

But what comes after that? What does God do once He has exposed the sins of His people?

We find the answer in these closing verses from Hosea 7:

“When they go, I will throw my net over them; I will pull them down like the birds in the sky. When I hear them flocking together, I will catch them. Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak about me falsely. They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against Me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.”  Hosea 7:12-16

From this passage, we find that God doesn’t stop when He reveals the iniquities of His people, reminding them that nothing is hidden from His sight. No, God takes actions on those iniquities with the full intent of disciplining the perpetrators and reestablishing His total intolerance for wickedness and evil.

Note that the sinners here are not allowed to continue being free in their sins. Rather, God hunts them down and throws His net over them, pulling them down “like the birds in the sky”. When those living in wickedness congregated, flocking together with a common goal of evil, God would catch them because they had “strayed from Him.”

How did they stray?

God tells us.

“They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened their arms, but they plot evil against Me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow.”

The Israelites had abandoned God, turning their devotion and affection towards pagan gods and idols. They sought out gods of their choosing to appeal for grain, new wine, or anything else they needed, completely ignoring the only One who could meet their every need. And as if that weren’t enough, the people of God plotted evil against Him, a completely foolish idea given the infinite power that God possesses, a power that allowed God to create everything and everybody.

This was a snapshot of the spiritual attitude of the Israelites, the people God had loved, nurtured, protected, and delivered so many times in their history. The Israelites should have been an eternally grateful people but instead, they snubbed the Lord who had done so much for them to chase after their own sinful desires. Obviously, this was not going to sit well with God.

So how did He deal with them?

As we see by looking again at His words, very harshly.

“Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak about me falsely. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.”

First, God would bring destruction on His people because of their rebellion against Him. We know He made good on that promise when He sent the Assyrians to attack and annihilate the northern kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians to destroy and plunder the southern kingdom of Judah.

Second, we see where God would not redeem His people, even though He desired to do so. As mentioned prior, God had been the Great Redeemer of His people over and over again throughout their history. But this generation of Israelites was not deserving of redemption, especially since they not only turned their backs on God but also spoke falsely about Him. God was not going to stand for anyone disrespecting and disregarding Him in any way.

Thirdly, we find where the Israelite leaders would be held accountable for not leading their people to a complete obedience and trust of God. Rather, the leaders were just as insolent as the people they led, perhaps even encouraging the people to sin through their own impudence.

Finally, we find that the once proud and revered nation of Israel, a nation once respected because they had God on their side, would find themselves no longer esteemed in the eyes of other nations but rather ridiculed, a laughingstock as God sent His judgment upon them. Thus is the cost when those who believe they can shun God and get away with it.

A life absent of God will be a life full of failing and falling.

Friends, God’s word is speaking to us powerfully in yesterday’s and today’s devotions. For He will not stand for sinfulness. Period.

He will first expose it before hunting the sinner down, capturing them, and then dealing with them harshly through some form of punishment.

Let’s do ourselves a favor and not cause Him to have to do anything but look on us with favor for how we are living our lives in complete obedience to Him, behaving completely in ways that are pleasing to His sight.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

Saturday, October 29, 2016

SIN EXPOSED



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to Me there. Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes. I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled.”

“Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed.”

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of My people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.”

“They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises. On the day of the festival of our king, the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on Me.”

“Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice. Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this, he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him.”

“Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless—now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.”

Hosea 6:7-11, 7:1-11

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

No sin ever goes undetected by God. It’s a truth that has existed for the ages, ever since iniquity first entered the world during the great fall in Eden’s garden. Indeed, God sees it all and thus can readily access a list of transgressions we may have committed on demand.

In other words, God easily exposes sin.

We find this fact playing out in the closing verses of Hosea, Chapter 6, and the opening verses of Chapter 7 as God addresses His people in regard to their indiscretions:

“As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to Me there. Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes. I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled.”

“Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed.”

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of My people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.”

“They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises. On the day of the festival of our king, the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on Me.”

“Ephraim mixes with the nations; Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over. Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice. Israel’s arrogance testifies against him, but despite all this, he does not return to the Lord his God or search for him.”

“Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless—now calling to Egypt, now turning to Assyria.”  Hosea 6:7-11, 7:1-11

Note here that the Israelites are compared to the first man, Adam, the one who they all were related to in more ways than one. Yes, since Adam was the first man and he would be in the family tree of every man and woman after he was created but it wasn’t this that God was likening His people to. Rather, it was the sin of Adam, the breaking of the covenant God had made with him and Eve when the command was given to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16-17), a command we know they subsequently broke. The people of God in Hosea’s time were considered to be just as unfaithful in God’s eyes.

So what commands did the Israelites break?

As He exposes their sins, God gives us a lengthy list which includes:

1. Committing evil.

“Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood.”

In the Book of Zechariah, we find these words regarding God’s warnings against evil, warnings spoken by His prophets:

“Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’” Zechariah 1:4

As we can see in the verse from Hosea, the Israelites were still choosing to commit evil with the entire city of Gilead mentioned specifically for their wickedness.

2. Murdering.

“As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes.”

In one of the most fundamental of all directives given to the Israelites, God simply told them this:

 “You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13

God expected human life to be treasured and respected. In His view, no one was to willfully take another’s life but as we see, the Israelites in Hosea’s time did not share that view. Even the priests, those appointed to lead the Israelites spiritually, were in on the act, called out for murdering others “on the road to Shechem.”

3. Committing spiritual adultery.

“I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled.”
“They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises.”

Perhaps the sin that brought on God’s ire more than any other was the worshiping of false gods and idols, something He specifically addressed in the commandments give to His people:

“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an image 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.” Exodus 20:3-4a

God had ordered His people to worship Him and Him alone but we know they ignored that order and chased after their own desires when it came to who they gave their devotion to. God called their actions a “horrible thing” as His people defiled the nation He expected to be holy.

4. Stealing.

“Thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets.”

Go back to what we know of as “The Ten Commandments” and you will find this:

“You shall not steal.” Exodus 20:15

And yet, God had observed the Israelites engaging in thievery and robbery in His sight. It must have been enough to make Him think, “What part of ‘You shall not steal’ did you not understand?”

5. Deceit and lying.

“They practice deceit.”

Add dishonesty to the laundry list of things that the Israelites were guilty of, again in direct violation of this specific guidance given by God:

Do not lie.” Leviticus 19:11

The people of God knew they weren’t to commit the sins that God was exposing in these verses. It was common knowledge what was and wasn’t acceptable when it came to the life He expected. And yet, the Israelites disobeyed God’s commands anyways, allowing their sins to engulf them while acting as if they didn’t realize that God remembers all their evil deeds, that He would hold them accountable for every wrong.

Through this message today, we find God systematically and surgically exposing the sins of His people who delighted in their wickedness and refused to return to Him or even seek Him. The Israelites had written God out of their lives and herein was the root cause of their failing and falling. For anytime anyone chooses to disregard God then they can expect that Satan will burst on the scene to replace Him in their hearts and minds, leading them to acts that will always be contrary to God’s ways and His righteousness.

And this is what I feel God wants us to take away from the scriptures today, that we should uncompromisingly commit ourselves completely to His word, will, and way in absolute obedience so the life we live will always be holy and pleasing in His sight. It will be that way because we will immerse ourselves in His righteousness.

To do otherwise will put us squarely in the shoes of the Old Testament Israelites of Hosea’s time, and posture us where we can fully expect God to expose our sins.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com