ODJ: how are you?
September 25, 2010
The Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them (v.1).
READ: Hosea 3:1-5
How do you respond to the greeting, “How are you?” Most of us simply reply, “Fine. How are you?” Others develop trademark comebacks, such as “Better than I deserve.” I know of one fellow who answers, “I’m just the Lord’s prostitute.”
What?! This provocative reply is an inappropriate response to an innocuous greeting—too much information!—but it does make an important point. The fellow is comparing his life to Gomer, the wayward woman whom God told the prophet Hosea to marry to “illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods” (Hosea 1:2).
Israel had been unfaithful from its inception. On its “wedding night”—the very night that Moses was receiving their covenant from God on Mount Sinai—the Israelites melted their earrings into a golden calf and worshiped it. Who commits adultery on their wedding night?!
The Lord was deeply hurt by Israel’s adultery, and he told Moses to “leave Me alone so My fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them.” Moses begged God to remember the oath He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And “the Lord changed His mind about the terrible disaster He had threatened to bring on His people” (Exodus 32:10-14). But He wasn’t happy. The Lord was as aggrieved as any lover who learns that His spouse has been sleeping with another.
We may not worship a golden calf, but we cheat on the Lord whenever we sacrifice Him or our families and friends on the altar of career, wealth, or pleasure. It comes down to what gives us ultimate worth and security. If it’s anything other than Jesus, then we’re committing spiritual adultery. We then need to confess our wandering ways, beg Christ’s forgiveness, and ask Him to empower us to forsake all others. —Mike Wittmer
How can you tell when you’ve turned one of God’s good gifts into an idol? What can you do to return this good thing to its rightful place?
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