As a nation, we are drifting away from basic biblical principles which our nation was founded on. We are removing from our schools and public life various moral principles which are defined by the Bible. Some individuals even feel that it does not matter what we do as long as it does not hurt someone else. In fact, there are many self-help and alterative religious ideas in bookstores around this country that teach that we, not God or a Higher Power, are the source that determines what is right and wrong.

 

In Hosea 4:6, it states, “My people are destroyed [cut off] for the lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…seeing thou hast forgotten the Law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

 

In verse 1, Hosea records, “Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy [i.e. lawsuit in other translations] with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no Truth, nor mercy, nor Knowledge of God in the land.”

 

In Matthew Henry’s Commentary, volume 4 of a 6 volume set, copyright 1991, pages 894-5, he comments, “…They are charged with national omissions of the most important duties: there is no truth nor mercy neither justice nor charity…The generality of the people seemed to have no sense at all of the thing called honesty; they made no conscience of what they said and did, though ever so contrary to the Truth and injurious to their neighbor. Much less had they any sense of mercy, or any obligation they were under to pity and help the poor.”

 

To continue in verse 2, it states, “By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood [i.e. one murder follows another, leaving a trail of blood].”

 

To continue with Matthew Henry’s commentary, he continues, “…Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, against the third, sixth, eighth, seventh commandment, were to be found in all corners of the land, and among all orders and degrees of men among them. The corruption was universal; what good people there were among them were either lost or hid, or they hid themselves…When they break out thus blood touches blood, that is, abundance of murders are committed in all parts of the country, and, as it were, in constant series and successions.

 

Even though Hosea was speaking to Israel of his time period, we are following the same path that ancient Israel went down during that time period.

 

One example is the stone memorial with the Ten Commandments being removed from the courthouse in Alabama. No one had any issue with this stone memorial until just a few years ago.

 

It is a fact that many individuals in this country want religion completely removed from every facet of our public life such as removing “In God we Trust“ off the coins, dollars, and national anthem.

 

Our courts have already removed prayer and Bibles from our public schools many decades ago.

 

Another example is the form of entertainment that we allow our children to watch such as various video games and TV shows that portray violence, death, and destruction as a common and acceptable fact of life.

 

The evening news shows us our daily dose of murders and violence and other crimes that are going on around this country and we watch as if it is a normal part of life. We do not ponder whether these influences are positive or negative.

 

We are traveling down the same path that ancient Israel did during Hosea’s time. We are removing God and His principles from our general education system and public buildings and denying our country’s foundation which was based on Biblical principles.

 

These actions of removing God and His principles from our nation will cause us to suffer the Lack of Knowledge of right and wrong which will lead us to our destruction as a nation. It is a fact of history that as a nation’s morals decline so does the country decline as a whole to the point that it ceases to exist.

 

I strongly encourage our nation’s leaders and every citizen to return to the principles of the Bible and to focus on God as our source of moral guidance.