Iniquity By Default

"You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way, in the multitude of your mighty men."

Hosea 10:13

I forget things or misspeak, but God does not.  He knows all things, having created the world and all the processes therein.  Reading this verse holds forth an important principle by what God through the prophet did not mention.  A farmer typically ploughs furrows, sows seed, and reaps the harvest.  This passage references ploughing and reaping but does not mention sowing at all!  The fact is unless we plant good seed we cannot expect good things to grow.

We see evidence of this all the time:  we turn over the soil to plant flowers or a vegetable garden and all manner of weeds and grass sprout up.  These weeds ought to be pulled because all these do is propagate after their own kind and rob the good plants of nutrition, sunlight, and space.  God used the illustration of ploughing and reaping in the lives of people many times in the Bible.  Paul wrote in Galatians 6:7-8, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."  We reap what we sow, but we also reap what we have not sown--good and bad.

The preceding verse says in Hosea 10:12, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you."  To reap mercy the children of Israel needed to sow for themselves righteousness.  Because they had forsaken God and trusted themselves they had no righteousness which only comes from God.  They did not have the resources within them to do righteously, therefore they reaped iniquity when they sowed nothing.  Hosea 10:4 also conveyed the results of their sinful speaking:  "They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field."  Hemlock was a poisonous, noxious weed which sprang up in furrows.  They had not sowed righteousness so severe judgment from God would be the result.

Hosea 10:13 also teaches what we reap we also eat.  Because they ploughed wickedness they would reap iniquity and eat the fruit of lies.  This all came about because they had forsaken God in whom is all righteousness and wisdom.  They placed their faith in themselves rather than trusting the obeying God.  The did not follow the example of Abraham who believed God and his faith was accounted for righteousness (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, James 2:23).  Without God man cannot sow righteousness and thus will always reap iniquity by default.  Like noxious weeds that spring up in the furrows, so judgment grows for those who depart from God and His ways.

If we want to be partakers of God's mercy and eternal life, we must be made righteous by grace through faith in God.  In our natural state we can only plough wickedness and reap iniquity.  Praise be to God who desires to be found by those who seek Him with their whole heart.  Jesus is coming and our righteousness springs from Him.

Perilous Wealth

It is tragic when people do not have basic necessities for survival like clean water, wholesome food, or adequate shelter.  Billions of dollars of financial aid and countless volunteer efforts go towards helping those in need near and far.  As real the risk is for those who lack, there is also a risk for those who have.  It is ironic those who have great abundance also run the greatest risk of forgetting who they need most:  God.  In the Law of Moses God provided warnings for the wealthy.  Having our needs met by God can cause us to be filled with pride and forget God who provides life and all we possess.

Through Moses God warned His people in Deuteronomy 8:10-14, 17-18:  "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. ¹¹"Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, ¹² lest--when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; ¹³ and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; ¹⁴ when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage... ¹⁷ then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' ¹⁸ And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a sewing needle than for a rich man to enter heaven for good reason.  Poverty and wealth both have their pitfalls, but wealth can blind even God's people to their fundamental need to rely upon Him for all things.  Poverty may lead people in their desperation to theft and degrading employment, but wealth works to lift up man with pride.  Pride leads to self-reliance and self-confidence rather than faith in God who gives man power to acquire wealth.  Conceit leads to self-deception and to forget about God in daily activities.  Wealth makes man a god unto himself, a self-exalted deity to do what he pleases.  Lack prompts a man to seek God to supply his needs, but being full makes this need for God less obvious.

Australia is largely a population of "haves" rather than "have nots."  This warning to the wealthy is one we ought to take to heart because our natural resources, homes, food, technology, education, and employment have been supplied by the grace of God.  He has blessed us so abundantly with peace and prosperity we believe we are entitled to it.  Though we are an admittedly secular society God is the gracious source of the peace and all good things we enjoy.  Because we generally do not acknowledge God as our Creator and King we are tricked into believing He has no place amongst us.  It is God's grace which will one day deprive us of what we view as basic human needs and rights so our eyes in desperation will look to Him again in faith.

Praise the LORD, for what is impossible with men is possible with God!  God makes it possible for a wealthy person to fear and trust God even when riches increase.  We need not set our hearts or affections on what will not endure but continue to seek the LORD.  Our wealth need not be a liability but an asset for God to administer through us for His glory and the good of others.  Proverbs 11:25 contains a valuable principle:  "The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself."  God is generous to us, and the humble soul will not forget it.

God Knows How to Deliver

When it comes to temptation to sin, we can feel very alone.  In the moment we can feel powerless to find the way of escape God has provided for us.  But this pitiful self-focus is a chief source of our chronic problems, that we imagine ourselves to be the central figure in the struggle and forget about the power of God.  We think it falls to us to do the impossible rather than seeking the LORD.  Failure can lead to our resignation to sin instead of fleeing as we ought.

Last night I was struck by what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:7-9.  Those who sinned without repentance God destroyed "...and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- ⁹ then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment..."  If we will be delivered out of sin and temptation, it is Jesus Christ who must help us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus Christ is a deliverer of all who cry out to Him in faith.

Lot lived among people who did not fear God and brasenly sinned against Him, and how their conduct vexed Lot!  Yet even when he was divinely warned Sodom and the surrounding cities would shortly be utterly overthrown and destroyed, Lot tarried.  He was unable to make the decisive first move to leave his home, stuff, and extended family.  When the pressure was on Lot suffered analysis paralysis.  Left to his procrastinating ways he would have been destroyed in the fierce judgment that was coming, but the angel graciously took him by the hand and led him out.  Lot walked out on his own two legs yet he needed the help of a divine messenger to lead him to depart the dangerous place where he lingered.

Has temptation to sin ever caused you to linger?  Our minds work tirelessly to weigh options:  is it right or wrong?  Why is it wrong?  What does it matter?  Who would know?  And because sin in us is stirred up by the desires of the flesh, our minds linger over the decision.  As children of God we must acknowledge God knows how to deliver His people out of temptations.  Since we are incapable of delivering ourselves this is most comforting and encouraging.  Before Jesus left the earth He promised to send the Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Helper.  In temptation and tribulation He helps us because He leads us to follow Jesus.  We are powerless, but the LORD knows how to deliver.

The Divine Escape Plan

Temptation is more than enticement but actually puts us to the test:  it is an examination to see if we will choose God's way or not.  The Bible explains God cannot be blamed for temptation to sin, as it is written in James 1:13-14:  "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."  The fact temptation to sin appeals to us at all is because we are the crooked and corruptible ones.  God is righteous and always leads us to do righteously.  It is we who err.

The grace of God is revealed in providing a way for those who trust in Christ to avoid sin and do what is right.  See what 1 Corinthians 10:13 has to say on the subject:  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  In our flesh no good thing dwells, but when we are born again and filled with the Spirit there is life in us to resist the devil and walk in obedience to Christ.  With every temptation allowed by God He also makes "the way of escape."  Commercial buildings are required to have illuminated "Exit" signs to make the way out clear in case of emergency.  If we find ourselves in the middle of a temptation which presses upon us, our call is to look to the Light of the World who shines in the darkness.  God makes exit from temptation possible.

The reality is we live in a body of flesh which is still very prone to sin and desires it over pleasing God.  That is why Paul exhorted believers in Romans 13:13-14, "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. ¹⁴ But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts."  In every case when there is sin to put off, there is Jesus Christ to put on through faith in obedience.  The flesh says concerning forsaking sin, "But what about me?"  but Jesus says "Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Me."  Sin is not to be given any space to operate freely in our lives, just like all the gaps in a house must be stopped to keep out rats and mice.  As believers sin only has power over us when we willingly submit to it, and when we are in active submission to God we will not choose sin.