Empty Profession or Fruitful Possession?
INTERESTING FACTS : Samuel Adams - SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; "FATHER OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION"; RATIFIER OF THE U. S. CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS
"Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men."[1]
Daily Reading : Hosea 8 - 14
TEXT : Hosea 8:1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. 8:2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. 8:3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. 8:4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. 10:13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Hos 13:9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. Hos 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
THEME : SOWING AND REAPING
Hosea 8
"This chapter, as that before, divides itself into the sins and punishments of Israel; every verse almost declares both, and all to bring them to repentance. When they saw the malignant nature of their sin, in the descriptions of that, they could not but be convinced now much it was their duty to repent of what was so bad in itself; and when they saw the mischievous consequences of their sin, in the predictions of them, they could not but see how much it was their interest to repent for the preventing of them. I. The sin of Israel is here set forth, 1. In many general expressions (Hos_8:1, Hos_8:3, Hos_8:12, Hos_8:14). 2. In many particular instances; setting up kings without God (Hos_8:4), setting up idols against God (Hos_8:4-6, Hos_8:11), and courting alliances with the neighbouring nations, (Hos_8:8-10). 3. In this aggravation of it, that they still kept up a profession of religion and relation to God (Hos_8:2, Hos_8:13, Hos_8:14). II. The punishment of Israel is here set forth as answering to the sin. God would bring an enemy upon them (Hos_8:1, Hos_8:3). All their projects should be blasted (Hos_8:7). Their confidence both in their idols and in their foreign alliances should disappoint them (Hos_8:6, Hos_8:8, Hos_8:10). Their strength at home should fail them (Hos_8:14). Their sacrifices should have no reckoning made of them, and their sins should have a reckoning made for them (Hos_8:13)." [Matthew Henry][2]
Hosea 8
"This chapter begins with threatening some hostile invasion in short and broken sentences, full of rapidity, and expressive of sudden danger and alarm: "The trumpet to thy mouth; he cometh as an eagle," Hos_8:1. And why? For their hypocrisy, Hos_8:2; iniquity, Hos_8:3; treason (see 2Ki_15:13, 2Ki_15:17) and idolatry, Hos_8:4; particularly the worshipping of the calves of Dan and Bethel, Hos_8:5, Hos_8:6. The folly and unprofitableness of pursuing evil courses is then set forth in brief but very emphatic terms. The labor of the wicked is vain, like sowing of the wind; and the fruit of it destructive as the whirlwind. Like corn blighted in the bud, their toil shall have no recompense; or if it should have a little, their enemies shell devour it, Hos_8:7. They themselves, too, shall suffer the same fate, and shall be treated by the nations of Assyria and Egypt as the vile sherds of a broken vessel, Hos_8:8, Hos_8:9. Their incorrigible idolatry is again declared to be the cause of their approaching captivity under the king of Assyria. And as they delighted in idolatrous altars, there they shall have these in abundance, Hos_8:10-14. The last words contain a prediction of the destruction of the fenced cities of Judah, because the people trusted in these for deliverance, and not in the Lord their God." [Adam Clarke][3]
TRUTH FOR TODAY : "EMPTY PROFESSION OR FRUITFUL POSSESSION?"
Nothing can be simpler than the principle of sowing and reaping. It permeates everything in life. We grow what we sow. The sheer plain, straightforward, matter-of-fact ease of this Law of God to the understanding, makes you wonder how [or why] people cannot comprehend it. Even without the Bible, you should be able to recognize and realize this Law clearly. What you plant, wherever you plant it - that is, whether it is in the mind, in your heart, in your neighbor, in your vocation, etc. - is what grows. There is nothing more unsophisticated perhaps in all of life than this truth. What you sow, you grow.
Yet, Man lives as though there is no such truth. Even if you want to have friends, the principle is there.
Pro_18:24a A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly..."
Many wonder why their life is not fruitful, flourishing, or prosperous. Some say - "Nobody loves me." Yet, that is the wrong perspective. The question is - "who do you love?" Hard work, sown in tears has great reward!
Psa_126:6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
Many professing Christians want to know God without seeking Him in the Word, prayer, and mostly - in obedience. Thus, they are either deceptively satisfied with their "religion," or exceptionally dissatisfied with their lack of peace, joy, assurance, etc. What is the problem? The answer lies with Israel in the words of Hosea.
Hos. 8:2 - "Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee."
However, they did not know God. All they had was an empty, fruitless profession and an affiliation with the LORD's Name as Hebrews. Beyond that, there was nothing.
You do not want your life to be an empty profession, but rather a fruitful possession. What good is there in saying you have something you do not? As mentioned, to know God is more than academic, intellectual knowledge. To know God is to obey Him. Jesus said -
Joh_7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
In the Bible, the emphasis is always on "doing," as we have seen. Intellectual knowledge will not help you in the day of trouble. We see this in Hosea.
Hosea 10:13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. Hos 13:9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. Hos 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Notice the Word of God - "in Me is thine help." Today, no matter what you are going through, sow righteousness - with your time, talents, money, reading, speaking, etc., and do all as unto the LORD. Let your profession be a fruitful possession.
