For the judgement applies to you

For the judgment applies to you
And the revolters have gone deep in depravity, but I will chastise all of them.
Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God.
For a spirit of harlotry is within them, and they do not know the LORD.
Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also has stumbled with them.
They will go...to seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.
They have dealt treacherously against the LORD,
....On them I will pour out My wrath like water.
Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
Because he was determined to follow man's command.
I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.
(Excerpted from Hosea chapter 5)

This passage is speaking to the nation of Israel, which included both kingdoms at this time, so these were the people of faith who had moved away from their devotion to the Lord their God. As you look at the parallels to today it is amazing to see that the people of faith, including the church of today, have not changed at all...we still drift away from the Lord and forget about His sovereign hand in our lives…as well as His grace, mercy and provision…
Looking at some of the key points that could be correlated to our day -
1) the revolters have gone deep in depravity - look at what is happening to the church in terms of what is now acceptable today: abortion, homosexual clergy, running the church as if it were a business...the ‘revolters’ have taken much ground !
2) for a spirit of harlotry is within them, and they do not know the LORD - the spirit of harlotry is putting anything above the Lord (not seeking Him and His Word first in our hearts, minds and souls and resting on the things of this world instead of relying upon Him in all things). And how are we doing this: placing a higher emphasis on ‘what’ we are doing instead of Who we are worshipping, how successful we have become based upon our means and methods, how much ‘power’ we have obtained through our efforts and our wisdom, placing silver and gold (ie: material things and our lives of comfort seeking) before the Lord
3) Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him, and Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity - pride and iniquity: the issue of pride needs no comment for we have enough of that going around…but I believe it comes back to the three roots of sin - lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life - the church has surely not been immune to these - bigger, better, more and we must be comfortable and well entertained...
4) They have dealt treacherously against the LORD – how have we dealt treacherously ? We have watered down and even in some cases forsaken the powerful Word of the living God and traded it for the wisdom of man. Where are the standard bearers in our day that are calling out from the watchtower saying ‘stand firm, be bold and courageous for the Lord thy God is with you’ …‘do not seek after the things of this world but set your mind on things above’…‘the Lord’s Word is truth, do not stray away from it, do not water it down, hold fast to it’...and finally "love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as your self’.
5) Because he was determined to follow man's command - if this does not tell it like it is in our day and age. We would much rather listen to man and his wisdom than sit in the light of God’s Word. We would rather have our ears tickled than be fed the pure milk of the truth of God’s Word. We even promote ‘translations’ (I use the word loosely) that are leading a generation further away from the solid foundation that is the Word of God...
6) I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. - what will it take for the church to turn and acknowledge our guilt and seek after His face ? We are very good at seeking after His hand in this day and age – focusing on what we can get not what we can give ! What will the affliction have to be before we earnestly seek Him ? ? ?