4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
4:2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
The LORD hath a
controversy – controversy, strife, dispute; “what we should call a lawsuit, in which God is plaintiff, and the
Israelites defendants. It is Jehovah versus Israel and Judah.” (Adam
Clarke)
Houston, we have a problem.
What’s the problem? There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God, as a result they are marked by swearing, lying, killing, stealing, adultery.
4:3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
4:4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
Therefore shall
the land mourn and the people languish. Be
sure your sin will find you out.
4:5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
Therefore shalt thou fall - Whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.
4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge – What knowledge did they
lack? “They have not the knowledge of God, nor of sacred things, nor of their
own interest, nor of the danger to which they are exposed. They walk on
blindly, and perish.” Ignorance is not bliss! How did they come to have no
knowledge?? They rejected knowledge. They said No to God and then looked
elsewhere for how to live and who to worship.
seeing thou hast forgotten, I will also forget thy children - This was intentional, deliberate. There is a high price to pay for rejecting God. Not because He is petty, but because He is life.
4:7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
4:8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
They set their heart
on their iniquity – they didn’t slip into this, or wake up one day
and find themselves idolaters, no, they
set their heart on their iniquity and quite intentionally
rejected the LORD.
4:9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
they have left off
to take heed to the LORD – they walked away from God with eyes
wide open: they rejected knowledge, set their heart on their iniquity, and flat
out said No to God. O how sin hardens the heart!
4:11 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
Sin devastates the
heart, takes it away from the LORD. This why we need to be healed of our backsliding,
because sin damages the heart.
4:12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
This is what
rejecting knowledge looks like, you turn from the living God to stocks and
stumps (idols), fortune tellers, astrology, and new age gurus.
spirit of whoredoms – the Word often names the unclean spirits (demons) who attack and tempt us and here is one, the spirit of whoredoms; this spirit whispers, “There is a better and more popular way”. Remember, the devil’s goal is to separate us from God, so he entices us, he woos us to embrace these other ways, “You don’t need Jesus, you can be spiritual without him.” O how it appeals to our rebellious spirit.
4:13 They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
Idolatry always
leads to adultery; when you turn away from the Lord and set another as your
god, you eventually fall into sexual sin. This is how the spirit of whoredoms
works, we turn away from the Lord so we can satisfy the flesh. Sadly, if affects our families as well. The people that do no understand shall fall. O that we would take heed to this warning!
4:15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
4:16 For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
Let not Judah offend – he appeals to
Judah to cling to the Lord.
a backsliding heifer - just as the cow keeps turning her head, refusing the reins, so Israel says in her heart, "I’ll not have the LORD reign over me."
Let him alone. How sad. This is the danger of backsliding, we need to catch ourselves before we reach this point.
4:18 Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
4:19 The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
they have committed whoredom continually –
he is referring to both spiritual adultery (idolatry) and physical adultery
(immorality).
Give ye – The rulers were seeking prosperity at the expense of the people. This is a common, persistent, even ancient evil, using religion to personally prosper.
There are many spiritual dangers mentioned in this chapter that are just as relevant today. We need to be diligent to avoid these pits, but most of all we need God’s mercy and grace to help us. The ancient liturgy includes the following prayer:
O Lord, the only-begotten
Son, Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
that takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy upon us.
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