2 Kings 12; Psalm 119:121–144; Hosea 3–4; 2 Timothy 2
In the Old Testament, God made a covenant with the people of Israel. He’d rescued them from slavery and told them how to live as His people. Some did, many did not follow His instructions. There were many times when their song writers and prophets felt great sorrow for their disobedience and warned them of judgment.
The psalmist loved God’s law and wrote his commitment to it, but he also said, “It is time for the Lord to act, for your law has been broken . . . . . My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law . . . . My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.” (Psalm 119:126; 136; 139)
The prophet wrote these warnings and included a promise:
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. (Hosea 3:4–5)
They would be without leadership, without their idols for a long time and that would turn them back to the Lord. However, the prophet told them why this would happen to them:
Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse, 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 reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. (Hosea 4:1–6)
Remembering that the law was instruction in how to live as God’s people (not how to become God’s people) I can see how God reacts to how His church must also pay attention to the way we live. We are representing Him to a godless world and our behavior is guided by His Word. This is why the NT also has instruction for how Christians are supposed to live. Some highlights from today’s reading . . .
Be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus . . . teach what I know to faithful people who will teach others also . . . Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus without getting entangled in worldly pursuits . . . aim to please Jesus who enlisted me . . . like a winning athlete, compete according to the rules . . . God will help me understand everything . . . focus on Jesus Christ . . . His Word is not bound . . . endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory . . . remember that I died with Him and will live and reign with Him . . . but if I deny Him, He will deny me and if I am faithless He will remain faithful . . . He cannot deny who He is. Do not quarrel about words . . . present myself to God as one approved, unashamed, rightly handling the word of truth . . . avoid irreverent babble that upsets the faith of others . . . remember: “The Lord knows those who are His” and “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Be clean, a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful . . . ready for every good work . . . flee childish desires . . . pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, a pure heart . . . shun foolish, ignorant controversies that breed quarrels . . . be kind to all, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting your opponents with gentleness because God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth so they come to their senses and escape from the devil’s snare who has captured them to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:1–26)
APPLY: This is a lifetime of obedience, not for my glory but His . . . in a world that has turned its back on God, His word and His offer of salvation from sin. May God be gracious to me and to all who desire to serve Him and not run/ruin their lives by running the opposite direction.
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