"Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone." (Hosea 4:17)
This is my fourth quarter reading in the "Minor Prophets." Every time I read our text I think there is nothing more to fear than when the Lord Jesus says to a person or nation, "leave him alone." To me, the implication is that they have, "joined to idols," so long, so persistently that, as Esau, they could no longer find repentance. There are idols many in the nations of the world today.
Frederick Taylor in his book, The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989, writes a brief history of Berlin. He shares a moment in the German Reichstag just before World War I. One of the less popular members of the body, who had withstood mocking for over 30 years on his predictions of coming disaster for Germany, stood and said, "'There will be a catastrophe...sixteen to eighteen million men, the flower of different nations, will march against each other, equipped with lethal weapons. But I am convinced that this great march will be followed by the great collapse (at this moment many in the chamber began to laugh)-- all right, you have laughed about this before; but it will come....What will be the result? After this war we shall have mass bankruptcy, mass misery mass unemployment and great famine.' The record states that his words were drowned out by mocking laughter." History shows just how the German People paid for, "at this moment many in the chamber began to laugh." Germany for them was invincible. Yet the industrial, scientific might, and attitude of German supremacy among men and nations was the German's Achilles idol. I know of another nation so inclined.
Mockers are those who have, "....joined to idols." You probably know mockers, those at the water coolers, family gatherings, even in pulpits who have mocked Jesus Christ and His Words, mocked the prophetic warnings of yesteryear and today. The prophetic has been replaced by the "friendly" in many congregations. They are like those who probably mocked Noah, Lot and the the Prophets, people who spoke warnings but were never heeded. I pray for you and me that we not succumb in the slightest way to those who mock the "God-Breathed," Words, weather in or outside Christendom. This, "....joined to idols," rules in the United States today. It rules in the earth. It is exactly what Satan did with Eve in the Garden. I heard Geraldo Rivera on Fox some time ago mock Ben Carson for believing in the "myth of creationism" rather than the "enlightened scientific" fact of evolution-- what not only absolute stupidity, but absolute idolatrous mockery. This is the world we live in. The media, cable television, schools, and many politicians are ruled by mockery of the Word of God.
Yes, I say it again and again. You and I have a choice, a daily choice as to whose words we will believe. Is it Darwin or the Bible? Is it CNN, MSNBC, FOX, or the Bible? Is it religious pundits or the Bible? You and I have not only the privilege, but also the obligation to read, accept and obey The Word of God for ourselves. When I stand before, "the judgment seat of Christ," no one else will be accountable for my life but me. The practicality and awesome life-saving words of Jesus, "Abide in Me, and My Words abide in you," is our salvation in the midst of an ever-growing darkness. Yet the promise of our Lord Jesus is as life-changing and powerful today as ever, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Whom and what are you following today?
Father, in Jesus' Name, I confess that I am just as susceptible to the subtle deception of this world system as anyone. Thank You, Jesus, that You are my,"....Light of Life." Amen.
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Truth as to what is going on in Israel today: jhs58.blogspot.com
This is my fourth quarter reading in the "Minor Prophets." Every time I read our text I think there is nothing more to fear than when the Lord Jesus says to a person or nation, "leave him alone." To me, the implication is that they have, "joined to idols," so long, so persistently that, as Esau, they could no longer find repentance. There are idols many in the nations of the world today.
Frederick Taylor in his book, The Berlin Wall: A World Divided, August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989, writes a brief history of Berlin. He shares a moment in the German Reichstag just before World War I. One of the less popular members of the body, who had withstood mocking for over 30 years on his predictions of coming disaster for Germany, stood and said, "'There will be a catastrophe...sixteen to eighteen million men, the flower of different nations, will march against each other, equipped with lethal weapons. But I am convinced that this great march will be followed by the great collapse (at this moment many in the chamber began to laugh)-- all right, you have laughed about this before; but it will come....What will be the result? After this war we shall have mass bankruptcy, mass misery mass unemployment and great famine.' The record states that his words were drowned out by mocking laughter." History shows just how the German People paid for, "at this moment many in the chamber began to laugh." Germany for them was invincible. Yet the industrial, scientific might, and attitude of German supremacy among men and nations was the German's Achilles idol. I know of another nation so inclined.
Mockers are those who have, "....joined to idols." You probably know mockers, those at the water coolers, family gatherings, even in pulpits who have mocked Jesus Christ and His Words, mocked the prophetic warnings of yesteryear and today. The prophetic has been replaced by the "friendly" in many congregations. They are like those who probably mocked Noah, Lot and the the Prophets, people who spoke warnings but were never heeded. I pray for you and me that we not succumb in the slightest way to those who mock the "God-Breathed," Words, weather in or outside Christendom. This, "....joined to idols," rules in the United States today. It rules in the earth. It is exactly what Satan did with Eve in the Garden. I heard Geraldo Rivera on Fox some time ago mock Ben Carson for believing in the "myth of creationism" rather than the "enlightened scientific" fact of evolution-- what not only absolute stupidity, but absolute idolatrous mockery. This is the world we live in. The media, cable television, schools, and many politicians are ruled by mockery of the Word of God.
Yes, I say it again and again. You and I have a choice, a daily choice as to whose words we will believe. Is it Darwin or the Bible? Is it CNN, MSNBC, FOX, or the Bible? Is it religious pundits or the Bible? You and I have not only the privilege, but also the obligation to read, accept and obey The Word of God for ourselves. When I stand before, "the judgment seat of Christ," no one else will be accountable for my life but me. The practicality and awesome life-saving words of Jesus, "Abide in Me, and My Words abide in you," is our salvation in the midst of an ever-growing darkness. Yet the promise of our Lord Jesus is as life-changing and powerful today as ever, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Whom and what are you following today?
Father, in Jesus' Name, I confess that I am just as susceptible to the subtle deception of this world system as anyone. Thank You, Jesus, that You are my,"....Light of Life." Amen.
**************************
Truth as to what is going on in Israel today: jhs58.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
