READING FOR FEBRUARY 19, 2026: HOSEA 4, MATTHEW 14, PSALM 10:1-11 HOSEA 4 The opening phrase of this chapter should be a constant reminder to us in order to live a meaningful life: “Listen to the word of the Lord.” There are myriads of words coming at us from the media and our culture in general. To what and whom are we giving our attention? By evaluating our “listening habits,” we might be able to discern our character and spiritual maturity. The word of the Lord in this chapter is a severe indictment against Israel and a warning to Judah—and perhaps to us as well. Let’s see if there is a case building against us.
The charges against Israel are many: faithlessness, disloyalty, murder, stealing, adultery, lazi- ness, environmental neglect, and a curious one that is mentioned repeatedly in the chapter-lack of knowledge. Imagine lack of knowledge on the same list as murder and adultery. The text says all--including prophets, mothers, and even children--will be destroyed for rejecting knowledge. Do we think knowledge of God’s word is only the concern of paid ministers? Do we assume even paid ministers always know and obey God’s word? Let’s think again.
In a 2010 report released by LifeWay Research, “39% of evangelical pastors indicate spending less than four hours a week in personal devotions unrelated to teaching preparation, con- trasted with 47% of mainline pastors.” Of course, some would be significantly higher. Those studying the Bible in this three-year reading plan are to be commended. Hopefully it is making a positive difference in our lives. The text says Israel’s lack of knowledge led to increased sin, shame, infidelity, idolatry, sexual immorality, an eventual complete ruin (vs. 14).
Verses 15-19 plead with Judah not to associate spiritually with Israel and pick up these same qualities. Obviously, Christians must engage with nonbelievers, especially as it relates to shar- ing the Gospel in a loving way. How can a Christian abide by these verses in Hosea 4 while obeying the command Jesus gave us to share the Gospel with unbelievers? Paul suggests church discipline is necessary: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister [in Christ] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or sland- erer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people” (1 Cor. 5:9-11). This is hard.
MATTHEW 14 As a tetrarch, Herod Antipas had governing responsibility for one fourth of the territory previously governed by his father, Herod the Great. We already met the father from the story of the birth of Jesus. John the Baptist’s ministry was so prominent that he came into personal contact with this Herod Antipas. Since the focus of John the Baptist’s ministry was to call people to repentance, he was true to form and called out an obvious sin of Herod’s:
READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 19, 2026 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 14, PSALM 10:1-11 divorcing his original wife and marrying his brother’s wife. This led to John’s imprisonment and eventual beheading, which still happens on occasion in the Middle East.
What are some principles to be drawn from this story?
- Jesus proclaimed John as great as any man in human history. Thus, it seems that Jesus approved of John not toning down his message of repentance for such an important man. Again, those of us who believe we should never judge another person’s behavior need to consider this. Perhaps review this study guide’s discussion for Matthew 7.
- There can be a human price to be paid for speaking truth, especially to those in power.
- Herod’s sense of entitlement led to forcing him to do what he did not want to do: be-head John. Sin isn’t the way to freedom but will lead to bondage. Take John’s way, not Herod's. (By the way, one of Louise Luke’s ancestors was also beheaded for his faith.)
Jesus’s feeding of the 5,000 and His walking on the water are two of the most famous stories in the Bible. Perhaps just an observation about each is in order:
- Despite what we have been taught, America’s founding fathers were not all Christians. Thomas Jefferson, for example, created his own version of the New Testament by cutting out all the miracles. Many who are embarrassed by the supernatural today interpret this feeding of 5,000 without the miracle. They suggest it was the donation of the loaves and fish by one person that led everyone else to generously give their food to the cause. This interpretation makes no sense. Be forewarned, there are ministers today who also deny the miracle of the resurrection. This teaching is totally unchristian!
- We, in our limited human capacity, cannot possibly understand reality and cannot ima- gine our potential, without the help of God. This leads us to distorted perceptions of our current experience and undue defeatism about the future. The disciples’ misperception of reality led them to think Jesus was a ghost. When Peter focused on the natural world instead of Jesus, he began to sink. How can we gain an accurate view of the total reality and of our highest potential? READ, MEDITATE ON, OBEY THE BIBLE.
PSALM 10:1-11 The first half of this Psalm is indeed only half the story. It portrays the visible dominance of the those who either 1) don’t believe there is a God (vs. 4) or 2) don’t believe God is involved in our daily lives (vs.11). This might be an accurate picture of America. But, remember, Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. In response to a related quest- ion: “Is religion the most important thing in your life?” only 16% of all Americans said yes in 2022 vs. 20% in 2013. For those in the mainline denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, the figures were 6% in 2023 vs. 8% in 2013. Do we need to close our church doors? As the late radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say, stay tuned, tomorrow we will learn “the rest of the story.”
