So Help Me God

“Though you are a whore, Yisra’el, let not Yehudah become guilty.  Do not come up to Gilgal, nor go up to Beyth Awen, nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As YHWH lives!’” Hosea 4:15  (ISR)

Swear an oath – Israel’s history is bound up with prophetic legacy.  God spoke to His people through the prophets.  God’s guidance and instruction came by way of the prophets.  In the last days, God continued that legacy with His Son.  But it wasn’t a very happy history.  Reading the words of YHWH in the mouth of Hosea is shocking, to say the least.  Israel is a whore?!  I don’t think a prophet would last too long in today’s churches with a message like that.  There’s even more accusation when God directs His people to stay away from Gilgal and Beyth-Awen (both names have significance – you can look for yourself).  But the lesson for today is found in the expression “As YHWH lives.”  It’s the equivalent of our modern “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”  Hosea’s prophetic judgment is this:  if the one who proclaims such an oath does not live according to God’s instructions, the oath is worthless!  Calling on the name of the Lord to vouch for our testimony means absolutely nothing unless our actions are aligned with His instructions.  Once more we see that saying something has little consequence unless it is backed with doing something.

Hosea’s declaration isn’t music to our ears.  It’s the rasping sound of chalk squeaking on the blackboard.  It grates on us.  How many times have we sworn an oath (shava’) that doesn’t match our behavior?  “Until death do us part.”  What does such a promise mean when half of the time it is broken?  “Guaranteed pure.”  Does anyone believe the advertising any more?  “I would never plagiarize,” claimed my student.  Apparently he thought that being a minister exempted him from telling the truth.  His work was filled with word-for-word copying from internet sources.  What kind of witness was this man to his congregation?  But he’s no different than a lot of us when we bend the truth to fit our needs.  Hosea decried such behavior, not simply because it violates the Lord’s commandments but also because it blasphemes His name.  Blasphemy is not cursing.  It is using God’s name to vouch for something that isn’t true no matter what the subject or the circumstances.  “Let your ‘Yes’ be “Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No,’” said our Messiah.  He knew why.  Do we?

Lying, bending the truth, is attempted verbal seduction of another.  It is breaking a covenant with God.  Lying is spoken adultery.  Using God’s name or character to ratify the act only adds to the insult.  Lying is so easy, especially when it isn’t serious.  A quick word that protects us from embarrassment.  A tiny bend in the truth that bolsters the ego.  No one thinks of these in the same terms as adultery.  Maybe we need to revise our imagery.  The next time the opportunity to twist the truth comes along, think of being caught with the wrong person in bed.

Topical Index:  lying, swear an oath, shava’, blasphemy, Hosea 4:15

Just a prayer note:  Tomorrow my daughter, Rachel, goes to boot camp for the Navy.  Would you mind saying a prayer for her?  This is a big transition for her and she is anxious to do what God calls her to do while she serves for the next 4 years.