Which Are You?

Hosea continued...

Scripture:

Hosea 5:1-7 (ESV)

Hear this, O priests!
    Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
    For the judgment is for you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
    and a net spread upon Tabor.
And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,
    but I will discipline all of them.

I know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
    Israel is defiled.
Their deeds do not permit them
    to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
    and they know not the Lord.

The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
    Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
    Judah also shall stumble with them.
With their flocks and herds they shall go
    to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn from them.
They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
    for they have borne alien children.
    Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.

Devotional:

“Hear this, O priest!”  Chapter five opens with God calling them.  He is grabbing their attention.  God is informing them & Israel that enough is enough.  They have strayed from Him.  They have taught falsely to the people and as a result been led astray.  God’s punishment is at hand.  God will judge the priests, and all who will lead His people astray. 

Those that lead and teach are held to a higher standard.  They will be severely dealt with.  2 Peter 2:1 (ESV):

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Peter gives warning to those who would teach falsely.  Their destruction will be swift.  Throughout the Bible God gives warnings about false teaching and leading His people astray.  Today we have many false beliefs and teachings.  Christians are being led astray all the time.  Our enemy will give partial truths to weave his deception.  I see a lot of similarities from Israel before they were exiled and our society today.  We have false teachers. We have accepted lies as truth.  We have lost our first love, Christ. 

If we think we can skip judgement, or it will not happen to us we are mistaken.  Israel was the superpower of the day.  They were on top and didn’t think anything would happen to them.  Why do I think that?  Simple if they were seeking God first.  If they remembered their history, they would not have wandered from God.  Look at people you know and that are around you.  Believers who know they can fall or are in the middle of their own battles tend to cling closer to Christ.  Those who are on top of the world tend to forget they need God.  Which are you?  Do you need God, no matter where you are at in life?  Or are you on top of the world thinking you can do it yourself?  I know I do not want to be counted among the false teachers.  I do not want to be one who thinks I can do it.  I want my life to center around Christ.  I pray all that I share comes from Him.  I pray that my words are in fact His. 

This doesn’t mean we will not make mistakes or get something wrong.  We must focus on Jesus.  We need to take what other people teach us and compare it to what the Bible says.  Do not take what is taught for granted.  Verify and double check.  We can teach one another.  We can help one another.  We need to hold one another accountable.

Which are you?  Is God your focus?  Are you on top of the world and do not need anyone?  It must be lonely up there…  Again, which are you???