More from Hosea

Our problem in our nation today is not just a failure of our own righteousness, it is also a failure of our leadership! Often in recent days I have despaired of where I fear we are headed as a nation, but I cannot escape the fact that our national leaders are out in front, leading the way to our demise! As much as this is true of our political leaders, it seems also to be true of an alarming number of our religious leaders as well.

Yet another passage from Hosea seems to indicate that Israel was also facing a similar crisis in leadership.

" . . . for with you is my contention, O priest. You shall stumble by day; the prophet also shall stumble with you by night . . . My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being  a priest to me, and since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children" Hosea 4:4-6 (ESV)

Israel had her king, and during this era some of them were bad enough, but Israel was a supposed theocracy, to be ruled by Yahweh  Himself, by the instrumentality of His priests and prophets. Today we have an eerily similar leadership failure, both in our secular leadership and our religious leadership. I am avoiding the use of the term "spiritual leadership" at this point because the fact that these religious leaders are not particularly spiritual is precisely the problem. 

We have in this country a dichotomy of religious/secular. Ancient Israel had no such dichotomy. This passage from Hosea addressed the whole of Israel's leadership failure. I wish also to point out in these following remarks the whole of our leadership failure.

This morning I read Psalm 14. This is the passage which is well-known for saying "The fool has said in his heart, "there is no God . . ."

As God would have it, a while later as I read my e-mail, there was one from gotquestions?.org which commented on this very same passage:

"the Hebrew word translated “fool.” In this text, the Hebrew word is nabal, which often refers to an impious person who has no perception of ethical or religious truth. The meaning of the text is not “unintelligent people do not believe in God.” Rather, the meaning of the text is “sinful people do not believe in God.” In other words, it is a wicked thing to deny God, and a denial of God is often accompanied by a wicked lifestyle. The verse goes on to list some other characteristics of the irreligious: “They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; / there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14 is a study on the universal depravity of mankind.

Many people do not object to the idea of a Creator, as long as that Creator minds His own business and leaves them alone. What people reject is the idea of a Creator who demands morality from His creation. Rather than struggle against a guilty conscience, some people reject the idea of God altogether. Psalm 14:1 calls this type of person a “fool.” Psalm 14:1 says that denying God’s existence is commonly based on a desire to lead a wicked life. Several prominent atheists have admitted the truth of this." (© 2005-2016, Got Questions Ministries)

By this definition and commentary, our nation is the proverbial "Ship of Fools" led by a captain and crew of fools. We too are either telling God to mind His own business, or just doing what seems right in our own eyes, and expecting God to bless it, or in many cases we are just plain biblically ignorant of what God expects of us. This last item is, of course, the classic example and result of the failure of our religious leadership.  " . . . because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you . . ."

While I do not intend to disparage the efforts of many godly leaders who are trying to lead us in accordance with His will (Hosea himself was such a leader), the daily news does not indicate that there is any real hope on the horizon to see any change in the course of the voyage that our ship is on.

I have begun to pray earnestly that God will raise up leaders for us who will get this ship going in the right direction; His direction. I hope that you will join me in this prayer effort.

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.