Recently I listened to a message by a good friend, George Bradley (Hosea 12:7-14:9 — Shepherd’s Gate Church PDX – shepherdsgatepdx.org). He was speaking about Hosea, one of the lesser-known prophets in the Bible. After the nation of Israel divided into two nations, during the reign of Jeroboam, the first king in the north, God used Hosea to proclaim how the people had gotten out of step with Him and how they could return to Him.
When you see soldiers marching together, you can easily spot someone who is out of step. The same is true if a synchronized swimmer is out of sync with her fellow swimmers. It’s also apparent when a symphony is warming up, compared to when the conductor leads everyone to play the same piece.
It’s not as easy to spot a Christian, though, who is out of step with the Lord. We are good at hiding our missteps. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:25–26) If we are to march in time with other Christians, we must remain in step with the Spirit. Otherwise, as George pointed out, we become a stumbling block to the gospel. The world marches to a different beat, one that appeals to the sin nature of man.
The content of Hosea revolves around Hosea’s wife, Gomer. At some point, she leaves the family to chase after other men. In time, she ends up in the slave market to be purchased as a household slave. Despite being guilty of adultery, God commanded Hosea to purchase her, not to be a slave, but to be his wife again. The book serves as a metaphor of our unfaithfulness to God and His unwavering desire to begin a relationship with us or get us back in step.
Below are six attitudes or endeavors that can either keep us in sync with God or trip us up, even for Christians.
- Sex – When our view of sex is at odds with God’s intention, we get out of step with Him, to our own hurt. Our society is aggressively waging an assault on God’s standards, trying to annul them.
- Money and dishonest business practices – Some serve the Almighty Buck. On Sunday, they may say, “God is my Master.” But on Monday morning, it looks like they bow to Money. We get out of step with God by having our own perspective about finances. “The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud.” (Hosea 12:7)
- Self-righteousness – Instead of honoring humility, it seems that boasting is becoming normative. They like to brag about what they own, what they’ve accomplished, and where they’ve been. Most people do not agree that they deserve God’s judgment. “Ephraim [northern kingdom] boasts, ‘I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.” (Hosea 12:8)
- Idolatry – Jeroboam erected two golden calves in the northern kingdom (one at the northern border; the other at the southern border). He did this to prevent the people from going to Jerusalem to make sacrifices in the Temple and not returning. “It is said of these people, ‘They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf-idols.’” (Hosea 13:2) Many times winning athletes kiss their trophy. Whatever we esteem can become an idol.
- Forgetting God – God said, “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me.” (Hosea 13:6) Sometimes, we keep in step with God only until a trial hits us.
- Looking for a political solution – “So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.” (Hosea 13:11) When our eyes are on God, we realize that the solution to man’s problems is not found in a man, movement, or political party. Yet, Christians and non-Christians often fall out of step with God by putting too much trust in man.
These areas can cause us to stumble. Inversely, adopting God’s ways keeps us in step with the Spirit. Living out of step with God is like jumping from a tall building in an attempt to deny the existence of gravity. When you recognize that you are out of step, you need to admit, “Lord, You are right, I’m wrong.” “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Say to Him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously.’” (Hosea 14:1–2)
Jesus’ first visit to our planet was to pay the penalty for our sin by dying on the cross. Though He died, He came back to life three days later. When we repent of our sin and surrender ourselves to Jesus, He brings us into a personal relationship with God. Though we possess eternal life, we can still get out of step with God by not following His standards. However, fellowship with God is restored as soon as we admit our sin and begin walking in His ways.
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