“There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.” – Hosea 4:1b-2
The first three chapters of Hosea’s book provide a powerful example of the heart-wrenching nature of Israel’s spiritual unfaithfulness. Instead of pursuing the Lord, they were chasing after false gods and the false promises that are intertwined with those false beliefs.
Hosea was living and ministering in the midst of a day when true spiritual devotion was missing. The people of Israel wanted the best of the world, but didn’t concern themselves with eternal matters. In their worship of Baal, they bought into false beliefs that appealed to the lusts of the flesh, and as they kept feeding these lusts, they drifted further and further from the truth God had revealed in His word. That, in turn, resulted in the people of the land treating each other in terrible ways.
I’m sure if you were to interview some of the people of Hosea’s day, they would have told you they were spiritually devoted followers of the Lord. But even a quick glimpse at their lives would show that their so-called faith was barely skin-deep.
It wasn’t popular for him to do so, but Hosea called out their spiritual shallowness when he declared that the people were not faithful, lacked steadfast love, and didn’t know the true and living God in a personal way. They thought of themselves as mature, but their lives confirmed their lack of genuine belief.
One of the most obvious and easy to understand aspects of God’s will is His moral will which He has revealed in His word, most obviously in the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments aren’t mysterious and hard to understand. They’re clear and direct. But look at the way Hosea described the lives of the people of Israel during his day.
The people of Israel had foul mouths; they lied continually, and they practiced murder, theft, and rampant adultery. Their assessment of their spiritual lives was inaccurate. Though they seemed to believe they were spiritually strong, their lives revealed and confirmed the immaturity of their faith.
There is a lesson for us in this passage as well. The fruit that comes from my life will show you what I really believe. Likewise, the same is true of you. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, we will trust Him in all circumstances, obey His teaching, avoid searing our consciences, and treat other humans as fellow image-bearers.
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