"What do you expect?" I told him. "I'm a writer. It's what I do."
"Haha! You're so defensive. I'm not questioning your profession naman ah."
I just grin. We're worlds apart, my brother and I. He's a professional musician who thrives in the night life like a vampire. I'm a teacher-slash-writer who sometimes wakes up too early in the morning. Half of the time, we don't understand each other's line of work. I don't get the "nosebleed" musical terms he uses; he doesn't get why I blog all the time. It's hilarious, I know. Oh well. I love him just the same. ^^
***
Before I went to bed last night, I opened my Bible and ended up reading chapters 2, 3, and 4 of the book of Hosea. I wasn't really expecting to find any message that would catch my attention. Well, that was the case until I read Hosea 4:6-9:
Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
What struck me in this particular passage was the fact that the Lord referred to the Israelites here as "priests." Why priests?
Priests, who were taken from the tribe of Levi, were set apart from the rest of the community because of their very important role as the spiritual leaders--the ones who communicated with God and who passed on His message to the rest of the people. Priests were in charge of a lot of ceremonies and practices done in the Tabernacle and then, later on, in the Temple. They managed the offerings, the cleansing rituals, the times of prayer--basically, they were in charge of WORSHIP.
This is where it gets interesting. In the previous passage I mentioned, the Lord refers to the Israelites as priests primarily because he chose them in the exact same way that the priests from the tribe of Levi were chosen. He set them apart!
What the Lord wanted was for the nation of Israel to be a nation that stood out as God's holy and anointed nation. What God wanted was a nation recognized for its worship to Him. Although society was divided into priests and non-priests, in God's eyes each Israelite was actually a priest because the Israelites had knowledge about who God is and therefore were the best people who could lead the rest of the world into worshiping Him.
Ideally, that's what was supposed to happen. If you look at the situation that was going on during the time of Hosea, you'd find that worship was the farthest thing from any of the Israelites' minds. The Lord looked at Israel in the same way that society looked at prostitutes. He saw them for the filth that they were. Israel was not loyal to Him at all. They engaged in sinful practices. They said one thing, but did another. In their hearts, they practiced idolatry. And it disgusted the Lord.
"They rejected knowledge!" the Lord said. What does this mean? Trace back to the time the Israelites were taken out of Egypt. Since that time, they had been witnesses to Who the Lord was. They knew about His goodness, His strength, His power, His mercy, and His wrath. They knew about His miracles, His deeds, and His love for them. That knowledge of Who God is was there for all of Israel. However, they decided to "reject" that knowledge by embracing the ways that the rest of the sinful nations were doing because they wanted to be like the rest of the world. They didn't care about being set apart and about being priests for God. They were in for the worldly lusts.
It's no wonder that the Lord was angry at Israel. I bet, though, that He was also pained by their lack of love for Him. The second half of Hosea 4:7 states, "...they exchanged their glory for something disgraceful." The way I see it, this "glory" was a special anointing given by God exclusively for the nation of Israel. It pretty much distinguished them from the rest of the people, just like how a wedding gown distinguishes the bride from the rest of the ladies in a wedding. Now, imagine how God must have felt when the nation decided to give up the special gift He gave them just so they could be like "the rest out there." It's as pathetic as seeing a bride tear up her wedding gown because she wants to look just like a bridesmaid. Get the picture? God was undoubtedly hurt by what Israel did.
So, what was the consequence of Israel's actions? Cold rejection. God decided then and there that if they were going to reject Him, then He was going to reject them. What else could he do? They treated Him and everything that He gave them like trash. What else could He do? He had no choice but to make them experience life without Him by their side. He was going to take a break--just long enough so that they could see what happens when they joined the world's bandwagon.
Ghastly huh? "Oh yes!" I hear you say. "Israel definitely got what they deserved. They needed a dose of reality!" Oh, yes. True. Israel did deserve what was coming to them. But think about this for a moment? Aren't we also like Israel in this passage? Those of us who claim to be the Lord's set-apart people and His true worshipers?
I Peter 2:9 says:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Yes, the Lord has definitely commissioned each Christian and each worshiper to be his "priests." Ever since we committed ourselves to Him and made Him Lord of our lives, He gave us the set-apart position so that we don't live like the rest of the world around us.
Let's consider how we've been living our lives lately. Have we actually been His "priests?" Or have we rejected God's presence and teachings just so that we can be like the rest of the world?
Here are some questions to ponder on:
1) What are my roles as a priest of God?
2) What actions have I done that keep me from fulfilling the priestly position that God has given me?
3) What does it truly mean to be set-apart for God?
4) What does it mean to be rejected by God? What can I do to keep myself from experiencing that rejection?
(I thank you Lord God for giving me this insight from Your Word. Lord, I give all the credit to You because it was not by my effort that I came to understand and write all this. May all those who read this be blessed and desire to know and want to please You more with their lives. Amen.)
What struck me in this particular passage was the fact that the Lord referred to the Israelites here as "priests." Why priests?
Priests, who were taken from the tribe of Levi, were set apart from the rest of the community because of their very important role as the spiritual leaders--the ones who communicated with God and who passed on His message to the rest of the people. Priests were in charge of a lot of ceremonies and practices done in the Tabernacle and then, later on, in the Temple. They managed the offerings, the cleansing rituals, the times of prayer--basically, they were in charge of WORSHIP.
This is where it gets interesting. In the previous passage I mentioned, the Lord refers to the Israelites as priests primarily because he chose them in the exact same way that the priests from the tribe of Levi were chosen. He set them apart!
What the Lord wanted was for the nation of Israel to be a nation that stood out as God's holy and anointed nation. What God wanted was a nation recognized for its worship to Him. Although society was divided into priests and non-priests, in God's eyes each Israelite was actually a priest because the Israelites had knowledge about who God is and therefore were the best people who could lead the rest of the world into worshiping Him.
Ideally, that's what was supposed to happen. If you look at the situation that was going on during the time of Hosea, you'd find that worship was the farthest thing from any of the Israelites' minds. The Lord looked at Israel in the same way that society looked at prostitutes. He saw them for the filth that they were. Israel was not loyal to Him at all. They engaged in sinful practices. They said one thing, but did another. In their hearts, they practiced idolatry. And it disgusted the Lord.
"They rejected knowledge!" the Lord said. What does this mean? Trace back to the time the Israelites were taken out of Egypt. Since that time, they had been witnesses to Who the Lord was. They knew about His goodness, His strength, His power, His mercy, and His wrath. They knew about His miracles, His deeds, and His love for them. That knowledge of Who God is was there for all of Israel. However, they decided to "reject" that knowledge by embracing the ways that the rest of the sinful nations were doing because they wanted to be like the rest of the world. They didn't care about being set apart and about being priests for God. They were in for the worldly lusts.
It's no wonder that the Lord was angry at Israel. I bet, though, that He was also pained by their lack of love for Him. The second half of Hosea 4:7 states, "...they exchanged their glory for something disgraceful." The way I see it, this "glory" was a special anointing given by God exclusively for the nation of Israel. It pretty much distinguished them from the rest of the people, just like how a wedding gown distinguishes the bride from the rest of the ladies in a wedding. Now, imagine how God must have felt when the nation decided to give up the special gift He gave them just so they could be like "the rest out there." It's as pathetic as seeing a bride tear up her wedding gown because she wants to look just like a bridesmaid. Get the picture? God was undoubtedly hurt by what Israel did.
So, what was the consequence of Israel's actions? Cold rejection. God decided then and there that if they were going to reject Him, then He was going to reject them. What else could he do? They treated Him and everything that He gave them like trash. What else could He do? He had no choice but to make them experience life without Him by their side. He was going to take a break--just long enough so that they could see what happens when they joined the world's bandwagon.
Ghastly huh? "Oh yes!" I hear you say. "Israel definitely got what they deserved. They needed a dose of reality!" Oh, yes. True. Israel did deserve what was coming to them. But think about this for a moment? Aren't we also like Israel in this passage? Those of us who claim to be the Lord's set-apart people and His true worshipers?
I Peter 2:9 says:
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Yes, the Lord has definitely commissioned each Christian and each worshiper to be his "priests." Ever since we committed ourselves to Him and made Him Lord of our lives, He gave us the set-apart position so that we don't live like the rest of the world around us.
Let's consider how we've been living our lives lately. Have we actually been His "priests?" Or have we rejected God's presence and teachings just so that we can be like the rest of the world?
Here are some questions to ponder on:
1) What are my roles as a priest of God?
2) What actions have I done that keep me from fulfilling the priestly position that God has given me?
3) What does it truly mean to be set-apart for God?
4) What does it mean to be rejected by God? What can I do to keep myself from experiencing that rejection?
(I thank you Lord God for giving me this insight from Your Word. Lord, I give all the credit to You because it was not by my effort that I came to understand and write all this. May all those who read this be blessed and desire to know and want to please You more with their lives. Amen.)
Very nice! :D plus let's not forget that the knowledge that God gives us of sin and death are really more for protection and out of love rather than pure righteousness for it's own sake. so rejecting knowledge is just plain saying "we'll do the dumb thing cuz it ain't killing nobody so far"... thus making it the ultimate cold shoulder/slap in the face for God so the Lord repays in kind.
ReplyDeletewe are indeed a royal priesthood unto our God. and we best take His word seriously for our sake. :D