The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 4:10-11,
"They [the Israelites] will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves to prostitution; old wine and new wine take away their understanding.".
The people of Israel abandoned the Lord and will suffer the consequences of their choice. Here we read the Israelites deserted the Lord to pursue sin. Pursue the Lord or pursue sin, both cannot be done. God makes clear through Hosea he is a "black and whiter".
Many today see the varying shades of gray to consider in an issue. From the lofty perch of enlightened education and reason, these folks feel free to weigh the multiple shades of gray to be considered as choices befall them. Those who tend to see only black and white in an issue are looked on with contempt by these "enlightened" ones, with the accusation that the finer nuances to an issue have escaped these "black and whiters". Apparently they lack the enlightened reason these erudite intellectuals possess. Somehow, these shades of gray seem only to offer grounds to pursue that which appeals to the baser instincts of the sinful nature of mankind.
A man's morality determines his theology. Looking for cover to pursue sin by finding the finer shades of gray in any choice is not just a facade, it is self-deception. The truth is that our Creator is a "black and whiter". Something is either holy or profane. A thing falls inside of what God finds acceptable or it does not. There is no "center ground", no place where we can bring the two sides together. We either pursue God, or, as the Israelites did, abandon God to pursue sin. As the Israelites engaged in their prostitution, they had to desert the Lord. You can't serve two masters. It is either sin or righteousness. I appreciate deeply how Paul put it in Romans 6:17-18, "Thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." We all will serve one or the other.
One of the wonder qualities I love about our Lord is that he is a "black and whiter". This quality of his does not spring from a presumed simple and flat perspective. Far from it, in a depth of pristine precision, wisdom and insight no man can approach or match, it leads right back to a simple clarity of black and white, right and wrong, holy and profane. I don't have to consult the intellectual elites and weigh all of the issues of gray. There is no shadow with our God. He has articulated quite clearly in the pages of Scripture the faith he is looking for in us to make us his people. He has provided simple and straightforward direction for those of us who have embraced him in faith. Those who find otherwise are simply missing a view of one of the many-splendored beautiful qualities of our Lord.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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