Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. – Hosea 4:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 12, 2020): Hosea 4

The courthouse was set. The plaintiff and defendant are standing as the judge enters the room. Then, after the judge and the rest of those who have gathered for the trial have been reseated, the instructions are read, and the trial begins. A trial usually starts as the plaintiff stands and reads the charges being made against the accused. These are the crimes that the defendant has committed, and the reason why punishment is being demanded.

In Hosea’s tale, God is not the judge; his task is not to weigh the evidence that is about to be presented by the plaintiff against the accused defendant. No, in this tale, God is the plaintiff. The defendant is Israel and Judah. And the charge that is being laid is that there is no faithfulness, love, nor acknowledgment of God in the land. And the three charges directed at Israel are not unrelated.

What the New International Version translates as faithfulness could just as easily be translated as truth or reliability. The accusation is that Israel had not been a reliable partner with God. What had existed between the nation and any of the gods that the people had served might be best described as expedience. Israel did whatever felt right at the time. And no relationship can survive if it is built on only expedience.

Because they were not reliable, love was also missing. The practice of expedience meant that every person only did what was beneficial for them. Self-interest was ruling thought of the day. Today we might term it a “looking out for number one” attitude. And when we are dominated by self-interest, love and mercy are squeezed out of the equation of our lives.

Expedience also squeezes out the acknowledgment of God in our daily ritual. God drives us to see how we can make this world in which we live a better place. Expedience declares that we do not need God, because the only god that this world needs is us. We are the gods of our own lives, and the only ones required for this world. In essence, expedience declares that we have outgrown our gods, and we expect to rule our own lives.

God lays out the charges against Israel. Hosea expects that the people, once the charges have been read, will simply enter a plea of guilty. How can they deny the reality of expedience in their lives? Later, Micah would sum up the charges that God lays against the people in Hosea by writing this:

    He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
    To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

Micah just restates the charges listed in Hosea. Hosea, speaking to Israel, declares that this is what God desires from you. That you act faithfully in support of truth (act justly), that you live with compassion and mercy (love mercy), and that you acknowledge God’s presence in your world as you walk humbly with him. Do this, and you never need to fear the charges that might be laid against you by God.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 5