jimbussell

As I have read the books of Amos and Hosea and their scathing indictments against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the parallels between this corrupt people of God and the United States seem to jump off the pages at me. Even though there are almost three thousand years of history between the Kingdom of Israel and today, the principles of morality, good and evil and right and wrong haven’t changed, therefore the lessons remain the same and God’s grief at the disobedience and evil that his children slap him in the face with, doesn’t fade with time.

If I want to find a description of the northern kingdom of Israel, the first place I look is in the book of Hosea. Hosea was a pretty unique guy. Here we have a man that, through the instructions of The Lord, married a hooker and they had some kids. From the beginning of the book it is clear that Hosea’s life is a parallel to the situation of The Lord and Israel, primarily the Northern Kingdom, as we see in Hosea 1:2-3 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, [departing] from the LORD So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. (KJV) Almost from the moment they said “I do!” Hosea’s life started going downhill, especially with Gomer because she just couldn’t seem to get away from the old life even though she had a provider and a companion and children to look after. Hosea 2:5 For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, Who give [me] my bread and my water, My wool and my linen, My oil and my drink.’ (NKJV) gives us an indication that instead of being satisfied with what she had with her husband and children, she yearned for the quick rewards of finer things to the point of acting stupidly and putting everything she has at risk by turning her back on her companion and kids to go after the fleeting, short term rewards. It sounds suspiciously like our situation today, doesn’t it?

Where else in Hosea can we see some parallels between Hosea’s Israel and our America?

Hosea 4:1-2 Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD [brings] a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. [By] swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. (NKJV) Even though the United States Constitution was written and the new country formed with one of the primary goals of religious freedom, Satan has worked his magic and we as a country have taken it to the point where the country is now basically devoid of anything relating to God. It is a crime to post good logical moral lessons in public buildings because Satan’s minions have successfully convinced good people within our government that the Ten Commandments are somehow bad and against our public interest, while everyone that works for a living in America is forced, through their income tax, to fund organized infantile murder organizations called Planned Parenthood clinics. The ability to pray to the Living God at public events and schools has been squashed while enforced paganistic teaching called multiculturalism and scientific theory is wholly supported within our public institutes of education. The teaching of respect and morality based on biblical morals can result in the termination of our educators while our culture embraces immorality and lawlessness through our music and visual media and print.

Hosea 4:12-13 My people ask counsel from their wooden [idols], And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused [them] to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God. They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade [is] good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your brides commit adultery. (NKJV) continues to paint a bleak picture of what happens culturally when a nation and a culture turns their back upon God.

It seems that America has to do things better. Israel was corrupt, well, we can’t let them better us therefore we have to become even more corrupt. We as a culture and a people can wear every indictment that was levied against Israel and more. Just look at Romans 1 starting with verse 18 to see if the shoe fits.

Romans 1:18-32 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown [it] to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible [attributes] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man–and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; [they are] whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (NKJV)

Does God suffer? Of course he does. The book of Hosea is an object lesson in suffering where The Lord has Hosea emulate the suffering of The Lord for his unfaithful bride Israel through his own life. The Lord has Hosea even through the pain and embarrassment and ridicule of having his wife leave. He has him buy her back and he has him forgive her. Hosea chapter 2 gives us another look at Israel in the end when she begs forgiveness from The Lord and he forgives her.

Hosea 2:14-23 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the LORD, “[That] you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, And they shall be remembered by their name no more. In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And [with] the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely. “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In loving kindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD. “It shall come to pass in that day [That] I will answer,” says the LORD; “I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth. The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel. Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on [her who had] not obtained mercy; Then I will say to [those who were] not My people, ‘You [are] My people!’ And they shall say, ‘[You are] my God!’ “ (NKJV) To take it a bit further, we need to take a step back and look at the Father and the Son. God, The Father has a bride named Israel who was sassy and unfaithful and caused Him all kinds of grief, but he still loves her and tells us from Genesis to Revelation that his love is everlasting and will outlast her temper tantrums. In the end it will be special and Israel will finally return the love and respect The Lord deserves as is alluded to in Hosea 2:16 “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the LORD, “[That] you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ (NKJV) Looking at God The Son, he also has a recalcitrant bride called the church who he suffered for. Are we as the bride of Christ causing him to suffer? Absolutely! We are grieving Him everyday we lie and cheat and steal and deceive. We need to remember what The Lord said of his people in II Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (NKJV) This indictment isn’t against the pagans and satanists of the world, this indictment is against us! We don’t ever need to forget that.

It seems to be human nature to want to worship something and I always thought it was quaint growing up when I would read about the people worshiping static objects or farm animals. I guess I could see falling down before some massive celestial object that would sweep across the sky and cause all kinds of mayhem every hundred years or so, as some theories about the planet Mars suggests, but trees or farm animal? Come on. However, I found myself doing just that later on in my life when I became a member of and started embracing an American Indian culture, where I have some heritage. I found myself collecting trinkets and wearing amulets for protection from maladies and bad spirits. I started worshiping Mother Earth and Father Sky, I built medicine wheels and practiced the chants and rituals associated with the culture. I also practiced the mysticism that came with the package and all seemed well until it came crashing down when I played with the fire to the point I almost killed someone through…what?…will power? Whatever you call it, it scared me to the point that, thanks to the sweet Lord, that he cared enough about me to allow me to assess the situation and realize that it all boils down to this; there is only good and evil.

There is only The Lord’s way or Satan’s way and nothing else…there are no more choices to look for. We are compelled as humans to look up (or down) to attribute our existence to. Currently in America the worship of choice has morphed into self-worship, or humanism, where we have proven through our scientific experts that we ignore the obvious aspects of math and science and instead embrace the illogical theories that seem to comfortably skirt the fact that SOMETHING (or someone as the case is) created our universe. Not only are we like the northern kingdom of Israel, we have far surpassed them. It is easy to point at others and want to judge, but I find inevitably that I am passing judgment upon myself instead and that is ultimately disturbing. In the end I can just thank the grace and mercy lavished upon my undeserving bones by my extremely forgiving Lord. Thank you Father!

God Bless, Jim

5-7-11