The Hard Work of Rebellion

Scripture:
When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;
    he was exalted in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
Now they sin more and more;
    they make idols for themselves from their silver,
cleverly fashioned images,
    all of them the work of craftsmen.
It is said of these people,
    “They offer human sacrifices!
    They kiss calf-idols!”
Hosea 13:1-2a

Observation: God concludes his charges against Israel by listing them out one more time, and performing human sacrifices is ... third on the list. First and foremost, the sin is that they have turned their worship and honor away from God, and worshiped other gods, and second is they have created and honored hand-made idols.

It is interesting that, in describing the idols, it is said they are made by craftsmen. These are not rough images - the idols are not poorly or hastily constructed things - they are of the finest workmanship, the finest quality, and the finest artistry. They are excellent in their design and appearance, made by the best people available, and likely at a significant cost. In summary, there are four characteristics of the idols Israel now worship:

1) They required a collective effort from several people to create.
2) They required focused and intentional design and work to create.
3) They required significant time and resources to create.
4) They are 100 percent man-made.

In other words, there is no possible way Israel "accidentally" began worshiping idols. They could not have begun worshiping some natural part of creation as a physical representation of God and inadvertently over time turned it into idol worship. They deliberately, with intentionality, and with significant effort and group planning, abandoned God in favor of empty gods created with their own hands.

Application: My two brief thoughts about this today are that, first, there is an element of this that comes back to self-worship ... that part of what Israel was doing, and what everyone including myself is prone to do, is to worship our own skills and ability.

My second thought is that there is an entire level of effort implied by this that reveals not the anger of God, but the patience and love of God. God is about to destroy Israel, but look at the prolonged effort they went through to bring about that wrath! They didn't just ignore God, they worked really, really hard to replace God, then work even harder and with more explicit behavior to pursue their new false beliefs.

This seems exactly like the world today. To abandon God's love, purposes, and path in your life, you have to make it almost your daily mission to do something else. Some have turned sexuality from something done occasionally with a person you love into the entire daily identity of their existence behaviorally and physically. Some have turned human comforts from something prayed for into the sole work of their every waking hour at the cost of all relationships. Some have turned anger from a natural emotion to be overcome into an all-consuming definition of their being that destroys friends, strangers, communities, and themselves.

In every case, the choices being made are not equal. In every case, individuals, groups, and communities are choosing to proceed down a path that involves exceptional work, complete restructuring of lives, and emotional hardship and tragedy, instead of the pat that involves ... prayer, loving comfort, and a relationship with God and Jesus.

Before I point the finger, I WILL consider today where I may be spending exceptional effort on something that is destined to bring me hardship, and evaluate it against this biblical principle. However, in light of current events, I fear the coming wrath of God against our nation.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for communities torn apart by race today. We knew this was coming. You told us about this thousands of years ago. However, so many people are choosing the difficult and laborious path of open rebellion against you, instead of the easy path that finds rest in you. For I know your way is gentle, and your burden is light. May we simply begin to seek rest in you, oh Lord. Amen.