Wanting the Solution Without The Answer

“Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?” (Ho 10:2-3 AV)

This passage is directed towards the northern ten tribes of Israel.  In Hosea, they are often referred to by their roots.  Ephraim was one of the two tribes from Joseph and was one of the original ruling tribes in the book of Judges.  When Solomon passed away, Rehoboam took the throne of all twelve, but quickly lost the ten northern tribes as judgment on Solomon’s house.  Jeroboam was given the throne of the ten northern tribes an out of spite, took Ephraim down the road of idolatry.  He did so that his kingdom would not desire the temple in Judah resulting in reunification.  Every king in the history of Israel (Ephraim, Samaria, the northern kingdom) did evil in the sight of the LORD.  The heart of the people was divided because they know they are suffering without a king, but to have a king which would do the right thing means to submit to God.  Revival would take care of the problem of an ungodly king.  What they want is the solution without the answer.

Very few people want to put in the hard work necessary for what they truly desire.  Whether it is good health, a sound family, a career that provides all their needs, etc.  It takes effort.  It takes discipline.  When we talk of spiritual things, it takes faith.  It takes faith to trust God’s way is the best way.  We want what others have.  What we do not want it the needed conformity to the principles divinely appointed to attain such results.  We want the blessings of obedience without being told what to do.  This is our nature.

One of the most profound experiences the LORD gave to me as far as my health goes was when I had a personal trainer given to me as part of a benefit for volunteering as a hospital Chaplin.  They didn’t pay us.  But, the gave us a few perks.  One of them was access to the hospital’s cardio-rehab center.  It was a gym with a whole lot of equipment and monitors.  What we also had was a personal trainer with a medical background.  He did some basic measurements like weight, height, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation.  He then developed a regimen for me to follow.  It was slow.  It was incremental.  The results were also very profound.  It took about a year and a half when I noticed a huge result that I had never had before.  Being a deer hunter, I always recoiled at the reality that I had to drag a dead deer out of the woods.  With the weight of all the equipment one takes into the woods, he is adding an additional one hundred plus pounds to the task.  Prior to my rehabilitation, I couldn’t go one hundred yards before I had to stop and get air.  After the rehab, I was able to drag a deer two miles without stopping or getting winded!  But it took faith in my trainer and discipline of the will.  No matter what we are trying to accomplish in life requires both.  In particular, it starts with faith.  This is where the children of Israel failed.  They wouldn’t have faith in God and His law.  When Christ came, they trusted Rome more than Jesus.  We need to stop envying others or complaining about what we do not have and accept the answer that leads to the solution.