The Paths of Righteousness

Psa. 23:3 “he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

The Lord leads us in right paths, but we must then follow. What good is a leader if he has none to follow? He has given us the ability to walk (v.4) but the will to follow is ours. He has led us to the path, but to embark upon the journey is up to us; we must follow the path. The Lord gives us the wisdom to see the end result of both ways, following, and stopping, and He gives us the strength to follow, but ultimately it is up to us to take the initiative. We could not have a better leader, so the fault is not in Him; we cannot say that we have lost our way, for He has brought us along to the paths; we have no valid reason for not following except our own stubborn will, and therefore He is just in judging us. That is the pattern for our entire lives, He leads, and we follow. Never mind where the path goes, just follow; never mind if the way is weary and tried, just follow; His paths are just and true, and always right. Sometimes we take the “scenic route’ while other times the way is long and tedious, and dull, but still we must follow; we must decide to follow, trusting our Leader to know the way, and submitting ourselves to Him.

We walk too in His blessed footsteps, that is what it is to follow. As we see the tracks ahead of us, let us step in the same print that His foot has made, and one by one, walk in the very same footprints. Let us place our feet in the very print His foot has made in the ground; in the fresh white snow; and even in the invisible depths of the sea; wherever He leads, we must follow, for this is the only good path we will find. Yes, as He leads us, He always leads in the paths of righteousness, for with Him there is no other path; though there are many others for us to see and follow, He has but one, and that is the path of Truth. He is the Way for us to follow; the Truth that we mentally seek; and the Life which we ultimately live. Christ is our all, and in all.

1 Kings 18

“Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.” (v. 38)

This account of the “Battle of the gods (God)” is one of my favorite Bible stories. I can see it now though, the scholars of today will say that “this word for ‘water’ did not mean water in the original Hebrew, but it came from an archaic usage for the word kerosene!” That’s how our modern-day “scholars” explain away the miracle’s of God. They would likely go on to say “Everyone knows that water cannot burn”, thereby explaining how this could not have been possible. They do not deny the event, but the miraculous intervention of God in it. The danger in running to the scholars is that we tend to allow “educated idiots” to translate the Bible for us, and something as ridicules as that is the result of it! Elijah had asked for a total of twelve barrels of water to be poured upon the sacrifice, just to show that our God is God, and the God of gods. Now I do not say that I know any scholars that have claimed that, but many of their other claims are as silly when it comes to referring to the Greek or Hebrew. Why we put so much trust in them, I will never know.

1/16 The last of the "Quips"

Now notice, if you will, that there is a message in Hosea for all of us. If you follow many of these “quips”, you will see what the Lord expects from His children, and note that they seem to “flow“ into a rich and sweet dialogue. Let’s take a look:

First we have the indifference of God’s people: “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.” (Hosea 2:8). We fail to see the Lord as our provider, and forget that our welfare is in His hands; we are not thankful. There was no awareness of God in her life. Therefore,

”I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope:” (2:15) The “valley of Achor is a valley of sorrow; the word “Achor” means sorrow. Judgment is coming in the form of sorrow, and trouble, and chastisement from the Lord toward His people. This is the reward of indifference, You see, it boils down to this…

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: (Hosea 4:6). We do not recognize the Lord in all His glory; our lack of knowledge of God will be our destruction--the destruction of our joy and our blessings; the destruction of our happiness and prosperity in this life. It is partially because of our lusts for the “party” spirit…

“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” (v.11). “Partying” turns our hearts away from the good and true, and prompts us to seek after folly and steals our heart. The most precious gift we can give the Lord is our own heart. You see, he wants true worship…

“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Our “sacrifices” that we render to Him are nothing when they are done with a heart that is divided. We need to repent, and turn back to God as Israel was to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14…

“They return, but not to the most High:” They returned to their religion, as we often do, and not to the Lord. “Religion” is not always practiced in truth--from the heart. Return, and repent, and seek the Lord in truth, for they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, but then the Lord says…

“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:” (Hosea 8:7) they worship the wind; as if the worship would blow away with the slightest breeze, and the slightest whim. The wind shall be the inheritance of fools; the sowing and reaping of mans doing, and not unto the Lord. The Lord admonishes us to…

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12) It is time to seek Him. In v.1 of this chapter we see that Israel was called an “empty vine” They were fruitful, but only unto themselves. I am afraid this describes much of our labor today! We are bearing fruit, but for our own benefit and our own glory, and not for the Lord. Then the Lord must remind us that He, and He only is Lord, “for there is no saviour beside me.” (Hosea 13:4).

If we will return to the Lord and honestly and truly worship Him, he promises “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” (13:14). He will raise us up in the last day, and we shall ever be with the Lord. What a precious promise! It will cause the good man to reciprocate that love, and, collectively, we can say…

“so will we render the calves of our lips.” (Hosea 14:2). We have great reason to praise Him, and offer the sacrifice of praise to Him. Those of us who will dwell under the shadow of the Almighty, (see Psa. 91) will return to Him with all our hearts as seen in Hosea 14:7: “They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine:” We shall grow in the Lord, and be blessed, and have sweet fellowship with Him. And our fruit shall no longer be our own, and for our own benefit, but He will bear fruit through us, and we will realize true worship in the Lord.

1/15 Quips from Hosea

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” (Hosea 13:14)

Finally, and I saved this one for last, the Lord has defeated Satan, death and hell, and has passed that same victory unto us! We have a promise from God for this victory, and He will not repent of it, it will surely come to pass. The passage speaks of Calvary, the summation of all the promises and hopes for the Christian through Christ. We can insert our names in the “them” of this verse, and consider it a valid promise for the church as well as the nation of Israel.
One is reminded of 1 Cor. 15, the “resurrection chapter” of the Bible. We have a more sure hope in Christ with the knowledge of a resurrection, which is the completion of the Gospel. Without the resurrection, our hope would be no more than that of many cults and false religions. Praise the Lord that He has given this promise, and fulfilled it Himself in Christ.

1/14 Quips From Hosea

“Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.” (Hosea 14:2)

We “render the calves of our lips” when we praise the Lord in truth. This thought is reiterated in the New Testament Book of Hebrews, and perhaps more clearly: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Heb. 13:15) take time to praise the Lord, we have so much to praise Him for. Thanksgiving is a type of praise; it glorifies God, and sees Him as the benefactor of our goodwill, and humbly acknowledges our position in Him, and our responsibility to Him. We can offer the praise of our lips, and thanksgiving, as a sacrifice on the altar of grace, and find comfort in the fact that we please God in so doing. We have so much to be grateful for; this verse gives us a couple of important things that we can praise the Lord for: That he has taken away all our sin, and that He has, by His wonderful grace, received us unto Himself. What more could a Christian ask for than that?

1/13 Quips From Hosea

“Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.” (Hosea 12: 5)

Our Lord stands as a great memorial to all that we are and can be. He is a pillar of truth unto us, and remains our guide, protector, sustainer, deliverer, and strengthener as well as our “all”. He is a monument of righteousness unto us, and forever looms over evil and iniquity; He guards us from that evil one, and delivers our souls from death. What a gracious grand memorial He is, and yet, what do we do with Him? We stray from His loving kindness, and seek after our own destruction. Ephraim did just that--he chased after the wind, and followed after the east wind, and he would, as a result, reap the whirlwind, as the scriptures will reveal. In a very real sense, we too chase after the wind; we seek the tangible things that flee from us; they pass through quickly as a gust of wind, and are gone just as quickly, leaving us alone and afraid with no real hope in this life. Thank God that He has become a memorial unto us; a visage we can look to for comfort and strength; He is there for us as a pillar of light by night, and an obscuring cloud by day to protect us from our enemies.

1/12 Quips from Hosea

“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love:” (Hosea 11:4)

No man can come to the Father, lest He draw them (John 6:44); the Lord draws us in two ways--with the cords of man, and with bands of love. As a matter of fact, He draws all men the same way! The “cords of a man” are those good enticements we all enjoy; they bind us to a goal, and set our eyes on it. The Lord draws with great promises and many blessings; He lures us unto Him with hopes of good things, and true peace and joy, and He always fulfills His promise to us.

“Bands of love” are much stronger, they draw us from the depth of despair and destruction to the glorious realm of the Lord’s kingdom; greater love hath no man than this…and they come from an everlasting love--the love of God (Jer. 31:3). A gentle, kind love that compels men to reciprocate it, and to draw nigh unto God; I believe these are those “bands of love” and they too are binding, but in a marvelous way--in a glorious communion. There is no greater band to bind us than the love of God which secures us forever unto Him.

1?10 Quips from Hosea-Mercy

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;” (Hosea 10:12)

Do you want mercy? Then sow righteousness. Do you crave the affection and comfort of the Lord? If so, sow righteousness, the reaping will be very satisfactory. Break up your fallow ground, and prepare yourself for the Lord to use you and work through you, “For it is time to seek the Lord”. Keep seeking; keep doing right, and God will bless you. It seems so easy for us to grow weary in well doing, but if we will remain firm, and steadfast, we will be very glad we did. It is the way of the Lord to bless righteousness, and punish sin. Righteousness begets mercy; mercy that is given without righteousness is called grace, but mercy is often aligned with truth; these two companions are mentioned together 21 times in the Bible, and very clearly stated as given to those who walk uprightly in Psa. 25:10.

1/7 Quips from Hosea

“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness” (Hosea 9:10)

As Israel was, so are we. Israel was as refreshing as “grapes in the wilderness”; a life-sustaining joy to the weary traveler, and so are we in the Lord. The Lord has taken great delight in His people, and yet we turn to other gods, and seek after self gratification. We are no longer “grapes in the wilderness” but thorns and thistles to hinder the wayfarer, and a reproach to Him Who sought us out. The beginning was good, but the end became rotten; Grapes left in the wilderness soon fade, and rot away, as a man left to himself; the grapes are there, but they must be found before they become a help to the traveler; let us seek the grapes that the Lord has provided for us, and not allow them to lie dormant, useless, and rotting on the vine. Yes, we were the delight of the Lord, and still can be if we will seek Him with our whole heart and mind and soul; we can also be a refreshment to others as we travel through this wilderness called life! It does not happen by osmosis; we must work to be what the Lord would have us to be. As we reach out to others, we represent the Lord, and are to be as grapes to the hungry soul.

1/5 Quips from Hosea

“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:” (Hosea 8:7)

Often our works for the Lord are as the wind--they dissipate as quickly, and are not tangible or lasting. They blow through suddenly, as a gust of wind, and then disappear into oblivion. Sowing the wind is grasping at straws; it is nothing; we can never put our hands on it, and make good use it in our every day lives. Further, we will always reap what is sown, it is a fact of nature, and a law of God. If we sow nothingness, we will reap the same; if we sow the seed of righteousness, we will also reap righteousness. Often, the reaping is more severe than the sowing! Such is the case here in Hosea; God’s people sow the wind, and the it is wrapped in the oppression of the world fueled by the doctrine of humanism to the extent that it returns as a great whirlwind--to destroy, and bring mayhem wherever it goes. Should this be the plight of the Christian? I think not; and yet it often is the result of our service to the Lord. We serve not in truth, and reap in despair. Is your heart in the work? Has the world turned your eyes from the true course? I hope not, lest the whirlwind come and blow away all that you hope to accomplish.

1/4 Quips From Hosea

“Ephraim is a cake not turned.” (Hosea 7:8)

The Lord sees Ephraim as “half-baked”! A cake not turned does not bake evenly; it is only partially baked, and therefore becomes a problem instead of a blessing. No one desires a cake that is only half done! Unfortunately, people can resemble a half baked cake; the term “half baked” refers to someone that is eccentric to say the least; a foolish plan not well thought out; it is an unintelligent person who lacks the ability to reason with common sense, and it describes our service to the Lord perfectly. Let us strive to please the Lord in a well doing, and hope that our names are not added to Ephraim’s in the sense of the passage in reference. “Half-baked”? It is either all, or nothing; Partial obedience is not obedience at all; partial devotion is not devotion--it is a mere whim, a passing fad; partial service is not service. Be careful that you do not become a “half-baked” Christian!

1/2 Quips from Hosea

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:” (Hosea 4:6)

Wisdom reveals to us the real knowledge of God; Proverbs 4:6 says: “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” The knowledge of God comes only from Him revealing Himself to us, and us seeing Him as He is. The question is asked then, “What of those who have never heard of God”? They are destroyed for “lack of knowledge”. But wait…it says “My people” are destroyed…that implies that God is speaking about Christians! God’s people (their lives) are often destroyed for their lack of biblical knowledge. Though the verse referred more directly to Israel, we too, the church, are called “God’s people”; we have been grafted in to the family of God. So, how are we destroyed? Satan seeks to devour us (1 Peter 5:8); he cannot have our soul, but he can surely wreck our life. His main objective is to dishonor the Lord, and one of his best ploys is to destroy the testimony of God’s people. In so doing, He belittles the power of God (or so attempts) and desecrates His Holy name--by changing and polluting His Word. Yes, the knowledge of God is the wisdom we need; it is protection from the wiles of the devil, and leads us into the paths of righteousness.

1/1 Quips from Hosea

“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)

We live by principle, but principle has no love--it feels no emotion. Too often we serve in a robotic manner; we serve our Lord, yes, but as a machine we trample over his beloved in the name of doing right! The outward acts of worship are worthless unless supported by the inward acts of love. “Mercy, and not sacrifice”; “Knowledge of God more than burnt offerings” Can you see that the Lord desires our heart-felt service as well as our traditional outward service? Be careful that you do not keep the mere letter of the law, and lack the grace that it contains; this is what the Lord rebukes in Hosea--a legalistic approach to life; a stoical, and aloof service that accomplishes nothing for the glory of God. Friends, we need to balance our lives with principle and emotion, not letting either dominate us or our actions toward others.