1. No love of God in the land (1-3)

If there is no faithfulness, no love, and no acknowledgement of God in the land, a nation is godless. A godless land is full of cursing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery and violence. The land mourns, and birds and fish die.

2. Like people, like priests (4-9)

When priests and prophets do not teach the word of God, but only feed on the sins of the people, the people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Those who ignore the law of God cannot be God's servants.

3. Ephraim is joined to idols (10-19)

The idolatry invented by Jeroboam had become deeply ingrained in Israel's culture. Baal worship had been added by Ahab. These, with the Canaanite religions, encouraged free sex and drunken orgies. Spiritual adultery destroys people. When people are not faithful to God, they will not be faithful to human commitments either. Ephraim persisted in unfaithfulness to God until the nation was destroyed.

Application: Lord, turn our nation back to the Bible, so that we may not be destroyed from lack of knowledge.
One Word: Don't reject God's word