The United States gives $34.7 billion of aid to foreign countries. The top four nations that receive our aid are Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Jordan, and South Sudan.
India is the top recipient of Germany’s foreign aid. The United Kingdom primarily aids Pakistan, and the European Union aids Turkey.
Forty-one separate nations send billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine to support its war against Russia. Additionally, Israel will soon receive a substantial amount of aid from the United States.
In the eighth century, Israel found itself trapped between the superpowers of Assyria and Egypt, always seeking assistance to confront these more formidable adversaries.
When Israel formed alliances with foreign powers, it often paid tribute or taxes to those nations and was required to recognize the gods of the benefactor country.
Prophets like Hosea and Isaiah found what appears to be normal foreign policy in modern times deeply objectionable.
The prophets believed that a nation should trust in their God.
God called them to show His greatness to the world. Yet, they not only accepted help from neighboring nations but also blended the worship of Jehovah with those nations’ gods.
Divorce Court
God summoned His cherished nation to a symbolic divorce court, pronouncing their relationship damaged.
He accused them of prostituting themselves through alliances with nations from which they sought aid, a process that also led them to merge the worship of Jehovah with the gods of those nations.
Upon her children also I will have no pity,
because they are children of prostitution.
For their mother has prostituted herself;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will go after my lovers;
they give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.” (Hosea 2:4-5)
The Israelites wrestled with their faith in Jehovah. They embraced Moses’ teachings, affirming that God had established a covenant with them and that He was faithful to them.
Yet, the presence of powerful and influential neighbors constantly challenged their beliefs.
The Israelites likely questioned why other gods seemed effective for their nations if Jehovah was Almighty. This doubt prompted them to rely on neighboring nations and to blend the worship of Jehovah with those other deities.
Israel’s faith in Jehovah didn’t vanish in a single moment of crisis. Instead, it eroded gradually through a series of compromises, particularly as they experienced prosperity under Jeroboam II.
This is why Jehovah was willing to bring Israel to court to declare that it was not He who had broken the covenant, but they who had repeatedly violated it through their actions.
Our Response
It is helpful for us to examine ourselves, to see how our faith and loyalty to God may have diminished gradually over time.
One way to do this is to reflect on the Sermon on the Mount and use it for self-examination.
Jesus addresses the core issues of murder and war by examining the underlying feelings of anger and unforgiveness.
“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.
“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,
“Leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5.22-24).
We can challenge ourselves with this question: Am I allowing anger, name-calling, and unforgiveness to coexist with my relationship with Jesus? If the answer is yes, then I resemble the Israelites Hosea addressed.
This is an example of how so-called minor lapses can gradually distance us from God.
Instead, we should listen to Jesus’s teachings and answer Him by saying, “Yes, Lord. I will follow your instructions.”
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
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