Leadership In Chaotic Times

The opening words in the Old Testament Bible book of Hosea, the writer identifies himself as Hosea Son of Beeri. Unfortunately, we do not know any additional facts about the author. While there are some Jewish traditions that attempt to add clarification, we are reasonably confident the time period of this writing was a collapsing of Israel as a nation in 722BC.  Recently in my morning devotional practice I literally froze as I read Hosea 4:4-6. Notice his words; 

Yet let no one contend,
    and let none accuse,
    for with you is my contention, O priest.^[a]
5 You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy your mother.
⁶ My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
    because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.

Keep in mind that national Israel was divided – Israel to the north and Judah to the south. This was chaotic to say the least and about to get worse by 722BC. The Assyrian invaders would take Israel into captivity. Hosea 4:4-6 states God’s lawsuit against a Spirit of Whoredom in Israel’s worship practices. He specifically targets the Priests – “… for with you is my contention, O Priest”. The result of the judgment is “You shall stumble by day”. For Priests to stumble in the daytime is to lack situational awareness. It is to carry on priestly function that is not targeted for such a time as this.

Hosea then unpacks a linguistic feature that is called Lex Talionis – This for That! Notice Hosea’s two illustrations of this feature. 1). People are destroyed for lack of knowledge – you (Priests) have rejected knowledge – I reject you from being Priest. 2). You (Priests) have forgotten the law of your God – I will forget your children. Could it be that stumbling in the daytime is the result of not pursuing the Truth of God’s Word. There is an extreme difference from speaking a truth versus The Truth! If God forgets the children of Spiritual leaders who have forgotten His law, are we setting up ancestral conflict and struggle?

These words are the result of my recent devotional practice. I only share these thoughts to provoke thought within myself as a Baby-Boomer to other Boomers, Gen-Xers, and Millennial colleagues. In case you have missed it, our nation is on fire! National Leaders are dealing hope based upon politics. As spiritual leaders we are dealing in hope based upon God’s eternal Law. National Leaders are peddling hope based upon Constitution and Law. Make no mistake these are important foundations for our Constitutional Republic to survive. However as Spiritual Leaders we are peddling Absolute Truth that is knowable based upon scripture. Scripture is our ultimate mediator. While many things are true, all truth is not to be treated equally. For example, sugar is sweet, and Jesus is Lord. Both are true but not equally true. With a nation on fire silly sermon series are not what is needed. As I see it, a fresh prophetic message on the second coming of Christ and the making of disciples would be more appropriate! Hosea’s words reveal God’s litigation against the Priest. May we not stumble in the daytime and forget God’s Law.