Why it Matters - You Reap What You Sow

Readings for today: Hosea 10-14

“You reap what you sow.” It’s a phrase I am sure we all have heard. It’s also a reality we’ve all probably experienced. It comes from the Bible and it reflects the truth that God has made us all moral agents. Endowed with free will. Empowered to make choices in life. Yes, some of our choices are forced upon us by circumstances beyond our control. Some of our choices are determined for us by forces much bigger and larger than us. Societal systems and cultural norms and economic factors all play a part in influencing the choices we make. However, at bottom, we still make choices. And those choices result in consequences. Positive or negative. When we make wise and righteous choices, we often experience blessing. When we make foolish and sinful choices, we often experience a curse. These dynamics don’t always hold true of course. I have seen bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. We all have. But by and large, the truth is we do reap what we sow. We get a return on how and what we invest ourselves in.

This was God’s challenge to Israel. Hosea preached during a time of great wealth, prosperity, and military success in the northern kingdom of Israel. Life under Jeroboam II was a golden age on many levels. Jeroboam took advantage of the relative weakness of his more powerful neighbors to expand Israel’s borders and establish trade and his kingdom flourished. But there was something rotten at the core. “You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your chariots; you have relied on your many warriors.” (Hosea 10:13 NET) What was Jeroboam’s besetting sin? Self-reliance. He trusted in his own strength rather than God. He relied on his military strength to deliver him rather than God’s faithfulness. Additionally, as we read in the history of the Kings and Chronicles, he refused to remove the idols set up by his namesake and predecessor in Dan and Bethel. For all these things and more, the nation of Israel would be punished. All their accumulated wealth and success simply made them a bigger target for their enemies.

What does God want? Hosea is clear. “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers deliverance on you.” (Hosea 10:12 NET) The most important thing to God is not our happiness but our holiness. The most important thing to God is not our comfort but our consecration. The most important thing to God is not our success but our sanctification. God wants us to pursue Him. To seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness. He wants the blessings of our lives to flow from our relationship with Him rather than be the product of the work of our hands. He knows the temporary glory we can achieve on our own is simply not worth comparing to the eternal glory He desires for us. Thankfully, His great love will never let us go. “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! All my tender compassions are aroused! I cannot carry out my fierce anger! I cannot totally destroy Ephraim! Because I am God, and not man, the Holy One among you, I will not come in wrath!” (Hosea 11:8-9 NET) God’s judgment lasts for a moment but His lovingkindness is for a lifetime. Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy!

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 1-4

Why it Matters - Worthiness

Readings for today: Hosea 6-9

I attended a Bible study when I first became a Christian at a local church. The leader challenged us with a powerful question that I’ve never stopped thinking about. Would you love God if you didn’t receive anything from Him? Would you seek God if He had never promised you a thing? Would you follow God if there was no guarantee of reward? Basically, his argument was that God is worthy of our worship and devotion and love simply because He’s God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.

Sadly, God’s people treated their relationship with God like a transaction. They loved God but only for the benefits. They obeyed God but only if there was a reward. “Come on! Let’s return to the Lord!” But only if He heals us and bandages our wounds. “Let us acknowledge Him!” But only if He restores and allows us Into His presence. “Let us seek the Lord!” But only if He comes to our rescue. This kind of repentance is superficial at best and false at worst and it elicits God’s contempt and judgment. “What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, O Judah? For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew.” (Hosea 6:4 NET)

If we aren’t careful, we can make the same mistake. We can treat our relationship with God like a transaction. I can’t tell you the number of times I talk to people about Christ only to have them respond with something like, “I will believe in God but only if He will do this or that for me.” “I will follow God but only if He fulfills this or that desire for me.” “I will worship God but only if He blesses me.” This kind of conditional, transactional approach to faith is not faith at all. It is contractual not covenantal. It diminishes God by treating Him as if we are somehow His equal. God is God. He is worthy of our worship simply because He is. Does He bless us? Thankfully, yes. Does He fulfill His promises to us? Absolutely. Is He a good Father who gives good things to His children? Without a doubt. But these are gifts of grace not anything we deserve or earn through our own effort.

Readings for tomorrow: Hosea 10-14

Why it Matters - Divine Paradox

Readings for today: Hosea 1-5

God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His logic transcends our ability to comprehend or understand. The complex, paradoxical ideas that cause us tension or seem impossible for us are not impossible for Him. God’s relationship with Israel is a prime example.

Hosea is called to be a prophet. A man who represents God’s will to God’s people not just by the words he speaks but by the way he lives his life. God calls Hosea to make his life a living sacrifice. To marry a prostitute. To have illegitimate children through her. To name them Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi, signaling the judgment and justice of God. It can’t have been easy. It must have looked and felt hopeless. And yet, God is quick to remind Hosea, judgment will not be the final word. Not in his life and not for Israel. “However, in the future the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are children of the Living God.” Then the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, and will flourish in the land. Certainly, the day of Jezreel will be great!” (Hosea 1:10-11 NET)

I don’t know about you but I have found this same dynamic to be true in my own life. There are so many moments when I am convinced God must be at the end of His patience. I make the same mistakes over and over again and seem so susceptible to the same temptations and sins. And yet, though God is quick to convict and discipline me as His child, He is also quick to remind me of His unconditional love and grace. God’s justice demands my punishment. God’s grace offers me forgiveness. Somehow, in some way, both of these are true and operative at the same time. It’s not an either/or but a both/and with Christ standing in the middle of it all, holding it all together.

Readings for tomorrow: Hosea 6-9