Keep It On

“Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.” (Ho 8:3 AV)

The thing that is good here is the covenant which the God of Israel made with them, and ultimately God Himself.  They cast of that which brought them so much blessing.  The immediate context does not say they cast it off for something else.  Although that is what naturally happened.  The point being made here is even if there wasn’t something else, they would have cast off that which was good anyway.  The result is without the protective covering of the covenant promises, the second half of the verse becomes true.  The enemy shall pursue Israel.  Without the promises made to them, Israel became exposed.  This is a good lesson for all of us who believe we can leave the fellowship of the church, our Bibles, and the traditions and doctrines we have been taught for a life of neutrality.  At a time when an alarming number are leaving the sanctity of the church for a life they believe is neither sacred nor secular, this truth is a must.

What has been good for so long can be taken for granted.  Or, the motive for possessing the good could have been wrong all along.  One observation that is common is when people come to the LORD for the purpose of overcoming some deep vice that is destroying their lives, once the victory is assured and they have what they need, there is less commitment to spiritual things.  The thing that was amazing has now become the thing that is good.  But good is not enough.  We get used to the preaching.  There seems to be less truth learned.  The experiences are less than they used to be.  Every preacher has experienced this.  When he starts a new ministry, people are excited.  Then what was exciting becomes normal.  Then what was normal becomes boring.  The idea here is that what we have is good.  The motive for casting it off may help us not to cast it off again.  But the greater truth here is understanding there is no such thing as treading water.  There is no such thing as putting the car in neutral and sitting there with the air on.  There is no middle ground to be had.

Time and space will not allow this writer to give example after example of those who once burned brightly for the LORD and decided to cast off that which was good.  They may not be in the depths of their once lost life.  But they are not as blessed as they could be.  Problems with family have crept in.  Problems that would not have been there had they not cast off that which was good.  Children become a challenge and even a disappointment.  Marriages lose their luster.  Retirement has not become what one imagined.  Fear, doubt, anxiety, etc. become the norm.  No, they do not fall back into a life of profanity and vice.  But they are also not as blessed as they could be.  As for me, I will never cast off that which is good.  Never!  The battle is too important.  The heights, although not as high as at the beginning, are more precious once scaled.  That which is good is still good.  Even in the times we may not be able to see how good it really is, it is still good.