Teach us to Pray
Hosea 13:9-14 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? And thy judges of whom thou saidst, ‘Give me a king and princes?’ I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid. The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children. 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.
The context of the Hosea passage is two-fold: Firstly, Israel shows a persistent desire to have a human king rather than God rule over them and, secondly, they continue to let themselves be led into idolatry rather than abiding in the worship of the one true God. Ephraim’s presence in the passage is two-fold as well. Calvin notes that, as Joseph’s youngest son, his place of stature and authority should have incited all the more reverence for God. This doesn’t happen, but rather, arrogance leads to idolatry and an abject failure of leadership. This trend moves through history and lands at the feet of Jeroboam, who was from Ephraim. Although God gave and continues to establish earthly kings, He makes clear to His people that they must establish clear spheres of sovereignty. God must be seen as King over His people and his earthly appointed kings as His servants.
In 2016, when Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, by a primarily evangelical support base, I was baffled. It was not unrepented of immorality that primarily confounded me. I could understand that God might use an arrogant and licentious man to accomplish much good. I’ve read the Cyrus Cylinder. What I could not understand was why so many Christians were willing to call on someone to lead them who was, as Ben Shapiro put it, “A man without a worldview.” This indictment seemed accurate.
After the passing of each year of his presidency, I would say to my wife, “Ok. That was a good year, but who knows what he’s going to do next.” After four years I realized that in many important ways, the other shoe hadn’t dropped. A number of bold moves had been made in order to preserve the constitutionally protected right of the citizen to self-govern and the holocaust against the unborn was declared by the president to be evil. I don’t look to the state as having much more of a job description beyond punishing evil and rewarding good. Trump didn’t top the charts in this regard, but he had a couple of hits and they’re still worth playing.
There are countless sins that have perched in the branches of the Church and made nests there. American Christians are superficial, wealthy, and disinterested in God. Maybe I’m the only one. It makes perfect sense, however, that if decadence has rotted our teeth out, taking our candy away may be the best place to start.
As we prepare for a Biden/Harris inauguration, Christians around the country are mourning as if the Spirit had departed. I understand the reluctance to welcome a four year window of rampant immorality and unfettered decadence as is promised by the incoming administration. It may be that the Church in the United States is about to lose many of her comforts and freedoms. If this is the case, I lament it. But lamentation, for the believer, over the loss of wealth and freedom has to be coupled with a rejoicing that God has seen fit to give us this hour, not only for His glory, but for our good. If we do not have faith in that truth, we have abandoned the heart of the Scriptures. American Christians are in the crowd about whom God spoke to Samuel when He said, ‘They have not rejected you, but it is Me they have rejected.’
Suffering can exist as consequence for sin. That is possible. The Scriptures tell us that when we are judged by God, we are disciplined in order that we not fall into condemnation along with the world (1 Corinthians 11). There is also the fact that suffering, even unjustly, is an option for God’s people because we are following in the footsteps of the Master who suffered unjustly. If the world hated Christ, they will certainly hate His sinful, dejected, scum-of-the-earth, needy followers. Suffering may be given to Christ’s disciples for either of these reasons and more. Trial, it must be remembered though, doesn’t sneak by God. God doesn’t divorce His doing good for His people from His doing right, even if it means our own being judged by Him. It’s not hard to imagine God orchestrating crisis for the Church in America for no other reason than to create earnest prayers out us Netflix gluttons. For more on this, check out my sermon on Psalm 44.
A photographer friend of mine jokes about how often people will see his photographs and remark, “You must have a really nice camera.” It’s as if the option of him being a good photographer isn’t even on the table. American Christians need to become more conditioned in complimenting the photographer rather than the camera. A master can pick up a piece of junk and make it sing. God did many great things with President Trump. I pray He doesn’t stop after he’s out of office. But the same expectation should be proffered toward God concerning the incoming administration. If God can use a sinner like me to accomplish His purposes, then He can use Trump. And He did. Is it then an impossibility that God could use Biden? Regardless of what the magistrates plot in their hearts behind closed doors, their hearts are not their own; they are like water in the hands of the Creator. His Name be blessed forever.
