I have spoken of the way the good times in Israel in the prophet Hosea's time had turned sour. Israel's fortunes were going from bad to worse because of the increasing threats from other local countries, eyeing the wealth of the rich land where Israel lived.
Hosea blames the leaders of Israel for their neglect of the God of their fathers, and fall into sexual idolatry. Hosea speaks of a growing split between Israel's religious leaders and their political leaders, and the increasingly secular attitude of the kings.
"Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, O royal house! This judgment is against you…" Hosea 5:1
When a people start to separate their God from parts of their lives, as in the separation of church and state, the danger of apostasy doubles: for who do the people follow in times of strife, the priest or the king? So instead of seeking God when invasion threatened, the kings tried to make pacts with their enemies, eventually leading to their downfall.
We too in the west are under increasing threat that the good times of the last 20 years have come to a halt and debt is rearing its ugly head. We too have seen the increasing separation of church and state and the Christian voice becoming marginalised. Then too, since the Industrial revolution, Christ has no voice in the workplace. Many Christians have so compartmentalised their lives that Christ is king only of their spare time and they keep their heads down at work and in places of influence and government.
So, is there no place for Hosea's words in modern life? If there is such a split in your life, how will you then live?
Hosea's concluding verse in chapter 5 is so sad.
Then I [God] will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me." Hosea 5:15
Alan Cartwright
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