Transgressors of the Covenant

​Above all else, God desires sincere and pure devotion.  He wants steadfast love rather than sacrifice, relationship over meaningless offerings.  He created man for fellowship.  This is God’s heart, His purposes, and His chief desire as we explored on Wednesday in Hosea 6:6.  But this was not Israel’s attitude towards God.  This was not the kind of relationship she had with her Creator. 
 
Why?  Because she broke her sacred covenant with God.  She followed in the footsteps of Adam and became a transgressor.  She dealt faithlessly with her eternal Love.  

“But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.”
~Hosea 6:7

​Israel wasn’t the only one who broke God’s covenant.  In the beginning, at the start of human history, shortly after the creation of the world, two people made a decision that initiated a cascading effect on the rest of mankind.  They chose to disobey God.  They picked the allure of knowledge over fellowship with their Creator.  They sinned. 
 
Since then, all of mankind has been faced with the ramifications of that decision.  Born with an innate sinful nature, man no longer constantly pleases God.  It is work to fight the temptations of sin and do the will of God.  It is a daily battle and decision to live for God and not for the desires of the flesh.  And though man is born with a natural desire and inclination to sin, he also has free will.  Free will to choose between darkness and light.  Free will to decide whom to serve—God or sin. 
 
Adam initially chose sin and Israel followed in his footsteps.  Israel had given up the battle between good and evil and had wholly given themselves over to the sinful desires of the flesh. 
 
But what about you?  What do you choose?  Who will you live for?
 
Even if we choose to live for God, in our own strength we cannot do so perfectly all the time.  We are children of Adam, sinners against a holy God, and transgressors of God’s covenant.  We cannot walk in fellowship or enjoy the relationship we were created for because of our transgressions. 
 
But there is hope.  While the first Adam chose sin and ushered in slavery, pain, and death to the world, God sent a second Adam to bring new life, salvation, joy, and freedom.  Jesus is that second and last Adam.  In Him comes reconciliation, restoration, and hope.  And by the washing of His blood and through His strength we can serve the LORD our God as He desires.  We can be forgiven our trespasses and can stand before the holy God without fear or shame.
 
Hallelujah, praise the Lord! 
 
So let us no longer follow in the footsteps of Adam who initially broke God’s commands and brought death into the world, but let us follow the last Adam who brings life and peace.  Let us be faithful in the battle against our sinful nature and daily choose anew to serve our blessed Creator and LORD.  For He is worthy of our devotion and desires a close relationship with us.

“For if, because of one man’s [Adam] trespass, death reigned through that one man,
much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness
reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”
​~Romans 5:17