I often refer to myself as a “speck inspector.” Jesus was right on target when he talked about me.
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye?
“Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).
As we read Hosea’s warning to Israel and attempt to apply his message to modern-day America, it will be tempting to be “speck inspectors” and label others with his words.
I believe the best way to approach Hosea’s message in today’s context is to use it for self-examination and personal repentance.
In a previous article, I discussed the ridicule that committed Christians, dubbed ‘repenters,’ faced in 1970s Communist Romania.
One pastor exhorted his congregation with the phrase “It’s time for the repenters to repent.”
I think the best response the writer and readers of my blog can make is to be like the followers of Jesus in Romania. Let’s be “repenters” who repent.
Only Israel is Israel
The message of the prophets was aimed at the nation. Israel was God’s covenant people who were charged with revealing God’s nature to their neighboring countries.
Instead of showing God’s nature to the nations by keeping their part of the covenant, Israel accepted their neighbor’s gods and followed their behavior.
Followers of Jesus are called to reflect Jesus’ light to the world.
Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Here’s an important point. Followers of Jesus are to be examples in attitudes and actions to the surrounding world, but the nations where we live have not taken over Israel’s role.
America is not the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Only about 17% of Americans attend church regularly. By comparison, regular church attendance in Russia is around 10% and in Ukraine is 15%.
As we read the prophets, it will be tempting to apply the message to politicians and national religious leaders. We will resist that temptation and apply the message to ourselves.
As we “repenters” repent, we will be the light that Jesus called us to be.
A Prostituting Nation
If Hosea were writing today, he might claim that Israel was “cheating” on Jehovah. The nation wanted a relationship with Jehovah, but also one with Baal.
Hosea speaks for God and calls on the nation to repent.
Plead with your mother, plead—
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband—
that she put away her prostitution from her face
and her adultery from between her breasts,
Or I will strip her naked
and expose her as in the day she was born
and make her like a wilderness
and turn her into a parched land
and kill her with thirst. (Hosea 2:2-3)
Consider the most touching wedding ceremony you have ever seen. Beyond the bride’s stunning appearance in her dress and the lovely reception, there is the moment when the couple exchange vows.
These were God’s vows to His bride.
“Now, therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.
“Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Exodus 19.5-6).
God supplied Israel with their vows that were intended to keep them in a good relationship with Him and each other. We call them the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17).
Like the addict who must reach rock bottom before they begin self-examination, Israel had to hit rock bottom before considering her life with Jehovah and her violation of the covenant.
As we consider our relationship with the Lord, let us actively engage with the study of Hosea to pinpoint areas where we must seek repentance. To repent is to recognize where we have walked away from God, then we stop and turn around, and begin our journey by God’s side again.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 