Crosspoint

For the Israelites will live without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol.

(Hosea 3:4 NIV)

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OK. So this one has me stumped. I'm looking at what it follows as well as how it is followed. I can see how it fits in context, but I just know with that gut feeling that I need to look at this verse alone. I just don't see it though...

I've done other things and come back. Still don't see it. It's been more than an hour. Eventually. Either that or I'm not going to bed tonight...

Talked with my brother for a bit. I read him the verse and asked what he thought. He said, "why are you doing that verse?" Big help...

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And the light goes on. To not know what to think. To not know what direction to take this. That was the point. I wish I could make everyone reading pause and think as I had to do for nearly two hours. I wish you could grasp the uncertainty, the doubt that I'm on the right track. Actually, I should say wondering if there even is a track to find. It is that search, that ability to not know where to turn that is what God is really describing as the Israelite's experience in exile.

They would have neither king nor prince... It was tradition for a conquering king to appoint a prince (a "sar" = chief, governor, master, lord, etc) over the conquered land. Assyria never did over the northern tribes. They no longer had their own king, but neither did they have someone imposed on them. Assyria didn't consider them worth it. It was a wound to their pride, but even more it was a threat to their identity. There was no leader to rally them either in adoration or opposition. They have lost themselves.

They would have neither sacrifice nor sacred stone... The Hebrew word used here (matsebah) is the same as in the Ten Commandments when God says, "You shall not make any graven image (matsebah)." Our minds have a need to link pictures, visions with ideas. When the average Hebrew would think of God he would inevitably think of the Temple and, specifically the altar. It was the one aspect of worship that everyone had a part in. The sacrifice was their sacrifice, it was their partaking in the corporate worship of God. But they had this problem staying faithful to Him. That's why the book of Hosea exists in the first place. They... we, are fickle. They would offer their sacrifice, then they would go to their sacred stones... their images, and worship there as well. No more. Not only have they lost themselves, they have lost God (and their gods).

They would have neither ephod or idol... The ephod was a garment worn by the priest when he was performing his duties. It was a symbol of his authority. It was a statement of his identity. He was the bridge and he was the guide who stood between God and man and pointed the way. That is why Jesus is called the perfect high priest. The Hebrew word used for idol is only found here and in Judges 17 and 18 where the Danites (one of the tribes of Israel) consult an idol as a guide for where they should live because they didn't like the land God had given them. In other words, it was a guide that was in opposition to God.

So the Israelites had neither true nor false identity. They had neither true nor false worship. And they had neither a true nor false guide to show them the way. How did I say it? They did not know what to think. They did not know what direction to take. They couldn't know if they were on the right track because they didn't even know if there was a track to find.

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Sometimes my identity is found in allying myself to someone or something. I am a Richardson. I am A/G. I'm a guy. Sometimes it is found in opposition. I am not a Republican conservative. I am not a fundamentalist. I am not an atheist. Sometimes I am going through the motions of genuine worship to God. Sometimes I am in open rebellion to Him. Sometimes I am following godly counsel. I'm reading my Bible. I'm hearing the sermons, I am meeting with those in authority over me. Sometimes I am letting ungodly counsel infiltrate my brain. I get on those debate boards. I'm watching too much TV. Whatever.

But you know what's scary? You know what really frightens me? Nothing. When you strip away all the stuff. When you take away my allegiances and my actions and the input. When it's just me and my thoughts. When God finally has my attention. When I learn who I am and see who He is. That is what scares me. Because there is no more pretense. Because I might even hear His voice.

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