Hosea 5:6
“They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.”
This is a difficult passage. It would terrify anyone. How can we avoid this? Jesus said in Matthew 15:8,9, ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ This is the problem, they respect culture over God’s Word. This is happening in many churches today. “They teach as doctrine the precepts of men.”
I know a couple who goes to one of those churches. They are moving, so I’ve been praying for an opportunity to challenge them to find a church that has a high view of scripture. I haven’t found any openings.
What makes this conversation difficult is that they cling quite strongly to the apostate views. Neither are open, but one is hostile. It would take God’s intervention for there to be an opening.
We need to honor and obey God’s Word. It’s supreme. Not cultural influences. Jesus also says in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?” The title, lord, implies obedience. There are lords and subjects. The lord is the boss. If we call Him Lord, then we are to do what He says. The bible is His Word. We are to obey it.
The earlier reference said that “these people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me”. It took a while for me to understand how to love God. I’m not one given to emotion. I would see others in worship with absolute love and joy on their faces. Jesus’ words in John 14:21 were very helpful, “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.” I might not feel all loving, but if I obey Him, then He sees that as loving Him. Wonderful.
So to love Him I obey Him. When the passage says that their hearts are far from Him, that means they aren’t obeying Him. Our words need to match our actions. If we love Him, then we obey Him.
I Samuel 15:22 has a sad commentary on king Saul. God had blessed him in battle, but he didn’t completely obey. He was to kill all the people and not take any of the the livestock. When Samuel challenged him about that, he said that they took the animals to sacrifice to the Lord. Here is Samuel’s response, ‘But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.”‘
Some give large amounts to the church and think that is what God wants. Others do great humanitarian works and feel that puts them in a good place. Not so. He wants our obedience and our hearts.
Sometimes obedience is difficult. He wants to help us. Pray to Him and He will assist. So much of christianity is God driven. His Holy Spirit empowers us. We need to ask and trust.
Lord, help us to be obedient to You. Thank You that You help us.