Then they will say, “We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?” – Hosea 10:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 18, 2014): Hosea 10

We are a fickle people. I can be friends with you, until you do something that I don’t agree with or I don’t like. It happens a lot with pastors. We think that the pastor we have is the best until he/she does something that we don’t agree with – and then they are just stupid. Have you ever wondered why our circle of friends is so small? Part of the reason is that we don’t have time to spend on those relationships. But the other part of the problem is that there are very few people that match up exactly with where we are. It is one reason why a person with a lot of friends often has to be very forgiving. We are pretty much guaranteed to be let down by the people closest to us. But maybe this is most obvious in the area of politics. We will support a politician in the beginning often because we think that what is important to us is what is important to them. But, as time progresses, we find out that they are not exactly the way we want them to be. So all in a sudden they were never like us and we discard them. We always knew that they were stupid - and what that really means is that things did not work out the way that we thought they would. It also lends to the idea that all politicians are liars – because we know that all politicians will eventually let us down.

Israel had come full circle. In the very beginning, the government of Israel was designed to be a theocracy – they existed with God as their only king. In the desert, God existed as smoke during the day and fire in the night. And as long as the fire of God was in the tabernacle, the nation remained encamped, but when the presence of God was lifted, the nation moved. Once the nation reached Palestine, again they divided up the land as God had directed. The most powerful single individual in Israel in that day was supposed to be the high priest, the one who ministered in the very presence of God. And when the nation was in need, God would raise up a Judge, one who was proficient in an area and they would lead the nation – or sometimes a portion of the nation – during that time of need.

But the time came when the people rose up. They were no longer happy with the way that the nation was being led. It was a time when a man named Samuel served Israel in all of the key areas of leadership of the nation – he was the High priest, and the nation’s Prophet, and he was the Judge that God had raised up. But the people decided that they wanted to leave the time of the Judges and become like the other nations; the other nations had a king to lead them. And God’s response to Samuel was that the people had not rejected Samuel and his leadership – what they were really doing was actively rejecting God.

A king was supposed to fix all of the problems of the nation. He was to bring strength and cohesion. And God was right. In the minds of the people the King began to take the place of God. And so we witness through the pages of biblical history that the people’s relationship with God seemed to be totally dependent on the king’s relationship with God. If the King had a healthy God relationship, then the people did too. But if the king ignored God, then the people also ignored God. All that had really happened was that there was an additional barrier that had been added between the people and God.

But now Hosea speaks of a time when the people will once again be without a king. Only then they will recognize the futility of ever having a king. When at first they proclaimed that if God and Samuel would only give them a king, all of their problems would be solved, in this future time they will recognize that a king is useless outside of a relationship with God. In fact, the reason why they have no king is because they allowed the king to have sovereignty over their faith – something that was never intended to happen.

It still is not intended to happen. The only way that any of our relationships work is if we maintain a close relationship with God. And in our fickle relationships, the real problem is that we have allowed someone else to decide the faith issues for us – rather than working with God to solve our faith problems. We still are installing kings in our lives to guide our faith decisions. And that will always be a mistake.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 11 & 12

Note: Last week's message from VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) - "Real Rich" from the series "The Upside Down Kingdom" is now available on the VantagePoint Website. You can find it here.

What will you do on the day of your appointed festivals, on the feast days of the LORD? – Hosea 9:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 17, 2014): Hosea 9

In 600 C.E., the city of Cahokia (what we call it, we have no idea what the original inhabitants called the city) began its existence in what is now south western Illinois. The Cahokians were the largest and most influential of the Mississippian native groups. At its height, Cahokia would have covered more than six square miles, and contained more people than any other American City until the late 18^th Century. For about 800 years, Cahokia ruled the American landscape. And then the city and its inhabitants disappeared – long before any European settler touched down on North American soil.

Cahokia is on a list of mysterious cultures that have simply disappeared from the pages of history. In the case of Cahokia, we have very little to tell us about what kind of a civilization it was. We have no writing from the Cahokians, they have left us no pottery shards and no weapons or really any evidence of any wars that the civilization might have fought. It simply left us over a hundred mounds within the city complex - and a lot of questions.

But the mystery of the cities disappearance may not be much of mystery. The stress that maintaining a city the size of Cahokia would have placed on the environment would have been considerable. It is likely that 800 years would have caused the destruction of the surrounding forest and that hunting for food would have depleted the available wildlife. The result would have been that the city no longer had access to the necessary resources needed to keep the city alive. As a result, the civilization of Cahokia most likely just moved on and merged in with other native civilizations.

Often what keeps a civilization alive during the rough times is the distinctive culture that the civilization carries with it – even in the tough times. For modern day Israel, a dedication to the fundamentals of Judaism, a religion specific to the civilization, has kept the civilization alive even though the nation has spent most of the last two millennia in exile.

Hosea’s words are once again directed at the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He points at the practices of the nation. They had left the rituals of Judaism behind. So Hosea asks the people of the Northern Kingdom the question – when you enter into the hard times, when you go into exile, what will you do? How will you celebrate the Holy Days, or the Special Feasts of God that you are ignoring now? And as a result of your ignorance, what is it that will happen to you?

History records that Hosea’s concerns were not without cause. The Assyrians would attack the Northern Kingdom of Israel and carry off the people of the civilization into exile. The same thing would happen just over a century later to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. But Judah even in exile remembered the Holy Days and Festivals dedicated to their God. But the Northern Kingdom had no such religious history to fall back on and to remember. The result from history is that the ones that remembered survived, while the ones that forgot exited the pages of history – never to return.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 10  

They are from Israel! This calf—a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. – Hosea 8:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 16, 2014): Hosea 8

During the final years of the fifteenth century, the Christian Church appeared to be an organization that was out of control. Large building programs and the greedy appetites of those in charge of the church had left church finances in serious trouble. As a result of the financial pressure, the church began to step up its campaign of selling indulgences (basically selling an early entrance for loved ones that had died to enter into heaven – all for a fee paid to the church) as well as the sale of positions in the church hierarchy. Even the office of Pope was available to the highest bidder. It was not that these practices had not been present in the years leading up to this time. But the practice seemed to be becoming more and more common place. The idea seemed to be that the building of elaborate buildings was essential for the faith – as well as the high cost of taking care of those in charge of taking care of the church. The amount of money that could be made from these positions is what drove the amount of money that people paid for these positions in an upward direction. But all of this resulted in a conflict inside of the church.

The Protestant Reformation resulted from this conflict inside the established church. But this era in the church left us addicted to buildings, an addiction that we have never been able to shake. Massive churches with unique (and often expensive) architecture have been the norm in almost every generation since the first church began to be constructed. A number of years ago I had the privilege of sitting in a University ‘Intro to Sociology’ course where my professor railed for an entire class on one church’s elaborate plan to build a church in his neighbourhood - complete with indoor and outdoor fountains (and it didn’t help that it happened to be the church that I was attending at the time.) But I couldn’t really fault my professor for his rant. The plans for the new church went far beyond what was necessary. But then again, defining what is necessary has never been our strong point.

But the real problem is that we are bringing up Christians that almost seem to treat the church buildings as if they are God. But they are not. They are simply spaces where the church meets – and really any space will do. God does not inhabit a church because of the grandness of the architecture; God inhabits the church because it is the place where we gather. We are the church and the dwelling places for our God – and really it has always been that way.

Israel had set up two calves to worship within its territory. It might have been that originally they were set up simply as a place to worship God, but by the time of Hosea these places of worship had definitely become objects of worship. The practice had been stolen from Egypt, except that in Egypt the cows were alive. But these calves were just statues that had been built by the hands men – and unworthy of the worship of man. And in the end, the calves of Samaria and the churches of our nations will be torn down and left in ruin, but that should be okay because they are, after all, just buildings. But Hosea knew that that was not the case for Israel. Their faith was in two calves that would one day be smashed to pieces – and the gold would be melted down and used for other secular decorations. Their gods would leave them vulnerable, while the real God of Israel stood on the sideline and watched – unwanted by the very people that he loved. And that combination would be their doom.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 9

… but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me. – Hosea 7:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 15, 2014): Hosea 7

In 1949, George Orwell released his novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” The novel has entered popular culture with such phrases as doublethink, Newspeak, telescreen, memory hole and 2 + 2 = 5 – all concepts that originated in Orwell’s book. But maybe the most persistent image from the novel is the idea that “Big Brother is watching.” The novel is written as a dystopian novel, a novel that is written in an opposite way from a utopian novel which highlights what is desirable. A dystopian novel is frightening and ultimately undesirable. In the case of “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the plot is about the controlling, totalitarian government and a dehumanization of the people of this future age. And the idea that under this kind of a government that a “Big Brother is watching” is a terrifying prospect – one that is engrained on our psyche.

God speaks through Hosea, but his words are reminiscent of Orwell’s idea that “Big Brother is watching.” But the difference is important. In the Orwellian novel, the idea that Big Brother was watching was for control of the people. Unauthorized thoughts and activities were immediately punished – and there is no room for forgiveness. But while the idea of punishment is present in this Hosea passage, we also must realize that that the idea of forgiveness is also present. And the difference is found in us. Our sins engulf us not because of their existence or because of God’s knowledge of them, but often because of our refusal to acknowledge them. We believe that the sins committed in secret can never have any effect on us. But Hosea reminds us that even the things that we believe that no one knows about have an effect on who we are.

The ultimate Big Brother may be us. We know. And what we know we cannot escape. These are the things that engulf us. And the longer that we hide these things, the more dangerous they are to our long term well-being.

God does not hold our sins over us – we do. And while God remembers everything, he is also willing to forget, if only we will confess to him the very things that are threatening to engulf us. Forgiveness is offered freely, even for the things that are done in secret. It was a forgiveness that was available to ancient Israel, but they were ultimately unwilling to ask for it. And in the end, that may be the real danger. Not that God remembers everything, but rather that we remember everything, and while God is willing to forgive, often we refuse to extend that same forgiveness to ourselves – and to the things that are done in secret.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 8

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. – Hosea 6:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 14, 2014): Hosea 6

Thomas Edison once commented that “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” One of the truths of our lives is that we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. It is a truth that few of us really want to embrace. After all, it is our successes that we believe define us. Yet, successes seldom come without first failing. We usually need to learn the lessons from failure before we can make the adjustments that need to be made in order to succeed.

Hosea prophecies that there are hard times ahead for Israel. The reality was that Israel in its present state was politically and spiritually dead. And for a time the misery of death – literally the shell of death - would reign. But that suffering would be short lived. God was unwilling to leave Israel in its current state. What God desired for Israel was that they might live. And he was already at work toward that end.

There are several theories about how this might be accomplished. Israel has gone through several periods when it was for all intents and purposes dead – the most recent of these extended from the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. until 1948 when the nation was once again brought back to life. But others would point out that the resurrection of Israel cannot be complete until the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem is completed– the Temple that is a dream in the hearts of the Israeli people and is destined to someday become the third temple (following Solomon’s Temple which was destroyed in 587 B.C.E and Zerubbabel’s temple destroyed in 70 C.E.) – a temple that would be rebuilt during Hosea’s third day.

But for the Christian, there is the eerie shadowy figure of Christ that is found in these verses – the one who was torn to pieces in our place and spent two whole days in the grave – only to be raised back to life on the third day. Hosea’s words are reminders of maybe a different reality – and a different temple. It might be that, in a way, the Third Temple has already been completed, in the person and worship of Jesus Christ. And only through him can we have the life that God desires for us, life that Hosea says can only come on the third day – and only through him can we truly know God’s peace.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 7

“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. – Hosea 5:4

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 13, 2014): Hosea 5

One of the innovations of the American Civil War was the invention of a more accurate gun. If you watch Civil War re-enactments, the one thing that might have stood out was that the two sides would form a line and slowly start to fire their guns as they walked toward each other. The only reason why this was practical was because the weapons they were using were horribly inaccurate. If you happened to hit a soldier on the long line walk toward each other, chances are it was not the soldier that you were aiming at. But during the Civil War great advancements were made in the area of guns and ammunition. Not only were the new guns more accurate, they also inflicted more damage. And it changed the way that war needed to be fought. The long walk was no longer a logical way to fight a war. Now it was advantageous to hide in a house or behind a tree.

By the time that World War I began to be fought, infantry wars could only be fought in trenches. But the problem was that trench warfare was hugely impractical. The war was fought with very accurate guns and the no man’s land between the trenches was basically a death zone. Increased accuracy of guns had resulted in the development of Trench Warfare, and Trench Warfare would necessitate other ways of fighting wars; shelling enemy positions, the use of tanks and aerial bombardments were all developmental reactions to the changes in the ways that wars had to be fought.

But they are also were all following the same scenario. They involve ways of inflicting death and ways of defending ourselves from the weapons. In this case, the development of either defensive or offensive weapons made necessary changes in the other to enable combat. But all we really seem to be doing is becoming more effective in finding ways to kill people.

Hosea says that the problem is that Israel was so committed to one course of action that they could not see any other way – and so they were doomed. They had lost sight of God for so long that he was no longer even a blip on their consciences. And the ways of God were far from them. And I am afraid that Hosea would probably have the same thing to say about us.

Following World War II the world reached its highest (or lowest) point. For the first time we were able to destroy the entire world with the weapons that we had created – and there was no way to build a defence against those weapons. For the past few decades we have been diligently trying to back away from that point of universal death. But the only real answer might be for us to consider the ways of God one more time – and to seek and his peace. To change the way we think about international conflict on a very basic level. Our reality is that the answer for war is really an equality for all people – knowing that each one of us is a son or a daughter of the living God. I know, it sounds like too much of a jump in logic, but unless we can voluntarily restrict ourselves to Civil War Weapons, war seems to be a ridiculous answer to conflict. We need to consider the peaceable of our God.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 6

“Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. “Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’ – Hosea 4:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 12, 2014): Hosea 4

George Orwell once commented that “during times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” But revolutionary acts do not just happen. Revolutionary acts have to be thought through and courageously pursued. In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes almost impossible. It takes a revolutionary act to swim against the deceptive culture.

When the original Kingdom of Israel divided into two nations, the northern nation retained the name “Israel,” but the southern Kingdom of Judah retained the temple and the cultic religion of Israel. Jeroboam, the northern leader at the time of the division, needed to stop his people from taking their religious pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem - inside the territory of the southern nation. So he set up two cultic cities in the north proclaiming that they were cities dedicated to the worship of the God of Israel – the very God that had brought Israel out of Egypt. The cities were Gilgal and Bethel – and the cities were built on a lie.

Hosea understood this – so instead of calling Bethel by its name, which means “House of God,” he chooses to call the city by a derogatory name – Beth Aven, which means “House of Deceit.” Hosea was highlighting the northern nation’s dependence on lies. The confusing comment at the end prohibiting the people from swearing ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’ is probably indicative of the idea that no truth can come out of a lie. The northern cities of deceit could do nothing other than bring more deceit. In their origin they were given a lie that they were places of God – and now because of that lie every truth, including a truth about God, was contaminated. What they needed was a revolutionary act that would shatter the deceit leaving only the truth. But the revolution was slow in coming.

The idea of a little white lie is really a myth. There is really no such thing. Deception, no matter how small, always taints the truth. George Orwell died on January 21, 1950. He is buried in a Church Cemetery and his grave stone simply reads “Here Lies Eric Arthur Blair” – the name that George Orwell was born with. The stone contains no allusion to the pen name of the great author and thinker lying beneath the surface of the ground. Maybe it is Orwell’s own little revolution of truth in a world that seems to be bent on deceit.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hosea 5