Let Israel know this! The prophet is a fool, the inspired man is demented because of the grossness of your iniquity and because your hostility is so great. Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; yet the snare of a bird catcher is in all his ways. Hosea 9:7-8 

Listen to this passage from THE MESSAGE. Did Israel bluster, “The prophet is crazy! The ‘man of the Spirit’ is nuts!”? Think again. Because of your great guilt, you’re in big trouble. The prophet is looking out for Ephraim, working under God’s orders. But everyone is trying to trip him up. He’s hated right in God’s house, of all places. 

Today, I’m writing to the prophets, those of you who speak the word of the Lord faithfully. Perhaps you’re paying a price.  Those you preach to are in prosperity and they are repelled by a message that calls for repentance.  They are unwilling to take up their respective crosses for the sake of Christ. Unless there is tribulation, the ears of most listeners are closed. Only a few hearken to the voice of God who calls out to a peculiar people, willing to abandon themselves to whatever it means to follow Christ. 

Take courage. Remember the many faces of Jesus. He loved. He healed. He touched. But He also spoke to the resistant faces of religious leaders.  They were so stirred up that they plotted to take His life. His words bore the nature of the Sword, tearing asunder the religious edifices that His people hid behind.  Exposed, vulnerability was expressed through rage. 

May God overshadow you with grace to stand in the fire. Do not tweak the message to make it more palatable. The Gospel has not changed.  Do not let anyone rob you of your zeal.  You are the watchman on the wall, standing guard over the bride of Christ lest they go further astray. Your post calls for vigilance and fire.  Behind the words, endearing love must be in tact. 

Enable each of Your prophets to walk in the footsteps of John the Baptist and make a straight path for Your coming. Amen