Hosea 4:12 (NLT)
12 They ask a piece of wood for advice! They think a stick can tell them the future! Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute, serving other gods and deserting their God.
Who are “they” in this verse. Sadly, THEY are the priests of Israel that have led the people astray. Not know God, they have fashioned false gods to help them “predict” the future and persuade the people that by doing so, they could get for them, the people, more children, more land, more crops, more animals, and just all around more. Worship for the priests themselves was based on the same principle of MORE. If we can persuade them, the people, that we know what we are doing, then they will follow us, and give us more of all of the above. Being leader-takers, as opposed to leader-servants, these false priests did not have any clue on how to worship the one true God, so they could only stay in business by convincing everyone to desert God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and instead to go after gods made of wood, metal, stone, power, money, and more. The same is largely true to day. We want more, and so often there are religious leaders who say they are Christians who are eager to convince us that if only we worship a specific ideology, political affiliation, or follow a prescribed way of worship, we will have more than we can imagine. As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that is not how it works. However, we need to always be on guard to ensure that we do not fall into that trap, but instead be ready to warn others when we see religious leaders going off the rails in terms of proclaiming not the Gospel, but a false Gospel. Therefore, stay sharp, stay alert, and stay safe in the Truth that leads to everlasting life in Jesus Christ! Peace and Blessings!
In the Love of Jesus Christ, Pastor Bob – church
pastorbobtitus@gmail.com, (412) 520-5407
