You know, it’s a funny thing about titles. We get so caught up in what we’re called, we sometimes forget what we’re actually doing. I once met a young man, sharp as a tack and with a confidence that could light up a room. He’d just been promoted to a sales position and he couldn’t stop talking about how he was the best. The best he’d ever been, the best his previous companies had ever seen. He loved sales, he said, because sales was who he was. I believed him. He was articulate, smart, and so full of conviction. A few months later, I ran into him and asked how the new job was going. He beamed, telling me he was already on the company’s sales leaderboard. “That’s great!” I said. “Sales, after all, is who he is.” But here’s where it gets interesting. I later had a chat with his manager, and I congratulated him on the new salesman’s success. The manager’s response was not what I expected. He cocked his head, a gentle furrow in his brow. “What do you mean?” he asked. I explained what I’d heard—that my friend was “killing it” and had made it onto the leaderboard.
Hosea 4-5 Meaning
The manager smiled, a warm but knowing smile, and let me know it was the exact opposite. My friend was the worst-performing salesperson in the company—in fact, the worst he’d ever worked with. “He’s not a salesman at all,” the manager said. “How can someone be considered a sales professional if they don’t sell anything?”
The Priest Problem
That simple, almost mundane story, is a perfect illustration of a deeper truth. It’s the same conflict we see in the book of Hosea, chapters 4 and 5. The nation of Israel had the title of “God’s people.” They were His chosen race, a holy nation. But what were they doing?
In these chapters, the word “priest” appears four times. This isn’t just a coincidence. It’s a key to understanding what God is getting at.
The divinely appointed function of a priest was service-based worship. Their calling was to serve God by serving others, offering sacrifices, and acting as a bridge between a holy God and a broken people. In other words, their identity was wrapped up in their service.
This language—“a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”—is found not only in Exodus 19, when God first established His covenant with Israel, but also in the New Testament. 1 Peter 2:9-10 echoes this very sentiment, telling us, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
And where did Peter get that idea? From Hosea! Hosea 2:23 says: “And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”
Theological big words aside, the point is this: both the Old and New Covenants are about a partnership between us and God.
Sin or Service?
Israel’s greatest crime wasn’t just that they sinned—and they did. They committed sexual sin, worshipped idols, and were unfaithful in countless ways. But God’s deepest complaint wasn’t just about their misdeeds; it was their failure to be solely committed to serving Him.
Their worship was divided. They believed in Yahweh with their minds, but their hearts and hands were busy with other gods. They were priests who weren’t performing their priestly duties. They were God’s people who weren’t acting like it.
It’s a stark reminder for us today. Are we guilty of the same sin? We are saved by grace through faith. It is not our works that save us. See Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
But what comes after? See verse 10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
The whole point of our salvation is for God’s glory and for our partnership in His Work. He saved us so that we could be His priests and prophets in a world desperately in need of hope. Our relationship with Jesus is meant for service.
What Can You Do?
Just like my salesman friend who had the title but wasn’t selling anything, we can call ourselves Christians without actually living out the calling. We can believe in Jesus and still fail to serve Him.
Remember the joy of your salvation! God has called us to be His agents in this world. Are we going to be like Israel, with a divided heart and distracted service? Or are we going to be devoted, solely, to serving the Lord out of gratitude for the life He has given us?
The Apostle Paul urged us in Ephesians 4:1: “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” It’s a call to action. It’s a call to service. It’s a call to live out our identity as God’s people.
Do we think we are “good” just because we have the title of “Christian”? Or are we living like Christians who are eager to serve the Lord, grateful for the grace He has shown us?
What is one small act of service you can commit to this week to show your gratitude for what God has done for you?
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