February 27

Journey-through-the-Bible-with-us

READING FOR FEBRUARY 27, 2026: HOSEA 10, MATTHEW 20, PSALM 15                                        HOSEA 10 Ever wonder why we need so many warnings in the Old Testament about going astray and the consequences that attend to that wrong path?  Some ideas spring to mind:

  • We think it can’t happen to us.                                                                                                                             “Let the one who thinks he stands watch out that he does not fall” (1 Cor.10:12)  
  • We minimize the consequences even if it happens. 

“The Lord will judge His people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb.10:30).

  • We are often unaware of the ways we can gradually move away from God.

“Pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Heb.2:1).

  • We believe that an inclusive, loving God accepts all people.                                                                        “The one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”(John 3:36)
  • We don’t hear much about it from the media or even in churches.                                                       “People are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come” (1 Thess. 5:3)
  • Our focus is on being happy, pain-free, and financially secure now.                                                                “I will say to myself, ‘You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded ’”(Luke 12:19-20)

In this chapter, Hosea points out that Israel used the fruit it produced to increase its wealth and even embellish pagan altars. As elsewhere in the Bible, we learn that the deceitfulness of wealth can lead to drifting from God: “The deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). Hosea hopes they will finally perceive the worthlessness of their leadership, even as they mourn the loss of their object of worship (golden calf) and place of worship (high places of Aven).  

Twice in this chapter and once in the previous one the sin and injustice at Gibeah are men- tioned. What happened there? The gruesome story takes place In Judges 19-21. A Levite gave his concubine to a gang of lewd Benjaminites who raped and killed her. The Levite then cut her into 12 pieces and sent the pieces throughout Israel. This sparked a deadly civil war in which the rest of the tribes defeated Benjamin. It seems like this event stands as a symbol for all of Israel’s sins over the centuries. Does our church or our nation have any similar past sins that we should remember and from which to repent? Chances are likely that we do. God told Israel He will still punish them for this corporate and apparently unrepented sin. 

The final verses are difficult for this writer to interpret; other commentators seem more certain about them. The NIV states that God will drive Israel, but Judah will plow. John Calvin thinks God will drive Israel into Assyrian exile immediately, but that Judah still has some time to plow, sow, and “reap the fruit of unfailing love” (vs 12) If they act now. Although Calvin seems alone in this view, this writer agrees with him. WE ALSO NEED TO ACT NOW TO OBEY!                                                  

MATTHEW 20 Here is yet another kingdom of heaven parable. We need them all because the kingdom is so multifaceted. This parable stresses that 1) it is God who decides how we qualify  

READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 27, 2026 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 20, PSALM 15                                for the kingdom, not us; 2) His decisions are fair by virtue of who He is; 3) anyone who accepts his offer qualifies; 4) as long as we are living, it’s not too late to accept His offer; and 5) it is totally by faith through God’s grace, not our hard work, that gets us into the kingdom. 

This last point can be hard for those of us who, maybe secretly, feel our harder work, merit, or family connections count toward acceptance into the kingdom. If there is a hint of this in our thoughts, we don’t understand the Gospel and are in grave danger. After telling this parable, Jesus comments on the core event of the Gospel making kingdom entrance possible: His death for our sins on the cross and His victory over death with His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:55-57).

Stories like the one with the Zebedee mother contribute to proving the truth of the Bible. How like her we are all tempted to be. As we have seen throughout Matthew, Jesus wants us to aspire to greatness in the Kingdom, but here He clarifies that He loathes the idea of getting ahead of the next guy. Stop it, Mom! The silver lining is that Jesus was able to articulate another valuable truth: whoever desires to be great should become a servant—not top dog. Jesus then models his servanthood and compassion by healing two hushed-up blind men. 

PSALM 15 We just considered a parable that emphasizes it is by accepting God’s offer we gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Or as in Ephesians 2:9, by grace through faith we are saved. We could read this Psalm and get the idea if we just do good deeds A, B, C, D, we are saved or admitted into the kingdom. A helpful expression is “What is implicit in the Old Testament is explicit in the New Testament. Let’s take a brief detour to the New Testament. 

Romans 3:21-22 gives us this sense of revealing the Gospel explicitly beyond its more implicit Old Testament witness: “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.”  Hebrews 11 explodes with the faith of Old Testament heroes who in turn performed great deeds as a result: “For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness” (Heb. 11:32-33).

Back to Psalm 15, perhaps the interpretive key to this chapter is the phrase in verse 4, “those who fear the Lord.” This expression could be considered an Old Testament equivalent to the phrase “through faith” or “those who believe.”  It is from this stance of faith/fear from which the list of good deeds flow: practicing righteousness, integrity, not slandering, not shaming, not charging interest, not taking a bribe, speaking truth, and not doing evil. David shows his faith by his works (James 2:18).