26 September 2010
Psalm 66, 67; Hosea 2:2-14; James 3:1-13; Matt. 13:44-52

Hosea’s prophecy is poetry regarding the unfaithful wife and it is an extended metaphor for Israel. They have chased after other gods whom they believed provided them with the abundance they have enjoyed. The prophecy is that Israel will soon be exposed for what she has been, no more than a whore. That is strong language then and now but it is exactly the image the Lord intended, an image intended to shock them into the realization of what they had done. She will lose everything and her nakedness will be exposed for the world to see. She will know that the gods she has sought, the lovers she has known, are nothing at all and care nothing for her and she will attempt to return to her husband but he will hedge in her ways. However, His love for her in not ended, as we see in that last verse, He will woo her to the wilderness and there will reclaim her as His own.

The kingdom of heaven is to be valued above all else and for those who know its value it becomes the prize of life. Its value is such that we will sacrifice everything we already have in order to obtain it. Is that our attitude towards God’s kingdom when we pray the Lord’s prayer? Do we seek first His kingdom in our lives or are we distracted by many things? It is indeed shocking when we realize how little we actually value the gift we have been given and when we compare it to all else, including the stuff under the sun that Solomon warned us about in Ecclesiastes, we know it intellectually but we don’t live into what we know. Take a look at the amount of time you give to God as opposed to the time you devote to work, sports, the internet, and everything else in life and see if you can tell that you understand the value of God’s kingdom.

How do we tame the tongue? Can anyone argue with James concerning the tongue’s power or its deviltry? In pastoring a church I can say that many more problems have been caused by what someone, myself included, has said than by anything that has ever actually be done. If we could learn to tame the tongue the rest of the world would flock to the church but they see that the same problem that infects the world is at least as great in the church. If we listened to Paul and spoke to one another words of encouragement and spoke of the Lord to one another we would be a very different place. It all comes down to what we truly value.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.