Are we to judge?

Hosea 8 to 10 Be careful repeating this saying: “do not judge.”  We don’t know the motives behind a person’s heart. God is saying I am the ultimate judge, and I alone can judge the heart. Remember Jeremiah’s words: the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; who can know it? God alone knows the heart. [Jer 17:9-10]

When God looked at the northern tribes, he saw sin and judged it while the people were harping on that same refrain. But God says I judge by the evidence, not just a repeated chorus. I found you and raised you only to see that your eyes drifted to man-made idols. This should not be! What you have sown, you will also reap. I spelled out my law for you in great detail, but you regarded it as nothing. I sent you wise prophets, but you called them fools. My prophet was sent as a watchman to remind you where you have fallen. But, just like the Ephesians, they had lost their first love. [Rev 2:4] God reminds them to seek Him early while He may be found, repent, and return to the Lord.

This is a wake-up call to us as well. Where have we judged others before judging ourselves? Have we lost our first love?   

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