Faith, Trust, Alliances

Scripture:
Hosea 8:5-7 (ESV)

I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
For it is from Israel;
a craftsman made it; it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
   shall be broken to pieces.

For they sow the wind,
    and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
    it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield,
    strangers would devour it.

Devotional:

Idols, worshiping false gods, making poor alliances, trusting in the wrong people or things, does any of this sound familiar?  How often have you or I been there done that?  The Jewish people put their trust, hope, and alliances in the wrong places.  They built idols to worship.  As a result, look what happened.  They became a conquered people.  Other nations could not save them.  The gods they worshiped could not save them.  Hosea is giving them warning of their follies and what the consequences will be.

Have you ever thought about the people you hang out with?  What about those you turn to and trust?  Are we trusting and blindly putting faith in another god?  In today’s fast pace society it is really easy to get caught up in everything going on around us.  I know I tend to get caught up in technology.  I love playing with new stuff.  If I am not careful, I can put too much into money or material things.  After all, if you need something just go buy it.   If you want it purchase it.  With too much wealth it would become too easy to not trust in God for my provisions.  We can also put our trust in the wrong people.  It is important to seek council from the right person.  We become like those we are around the most.  That is why it is important to make sure we are around Godly men and women.  In doing so we gain more wisdom and help hold one another accountable.  Together it is easier to stay on the right course.  With the wrong crowd it is easy to stray off course.

Hosea gives us a lot of insight on many things.  Today focus on two things.  First who is it you are with the most, your alliances?  Second what do you put your faith and trust in?  Are you choosing wisely?  It isn’t too late to make changes…

Who Would You Choose?

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 8:1-4 (ESV)

Set the trumpet to your lips!
    One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because they have transgressed my covenant
    and rebelled against my law.
To me they cry,
    “My God, we—Israel—know you.”
Israel has spurned the good;
    the enemy shall pursue him.

They made kings, but not through me.
    They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
    for their own destruction.

Devotional:

We elect leaders all the time.  As kids we pick team captains.  Clubs pick someone to be the club president or leader.  We have CEOs that run businesses. Board members are chosen and elected.  Some nations even elect their leaders.  But how many of these “leaders” are chosen by God.  Let me put it this way. How often do we seek God in choosing someone to lead?  How often do we pray before selecting a leader for a business or country?  Do we look to see if that leader is a man or woman of God?  Do we verify that they live a life of integrity?  Most importantly, do we ask God about them? 

Israel chose leaders without seeking God and look where it got them.  They eventually went astray.  They abandoned God.  They turned to earthly means and other nations.  In the end nothing saved them.  There is only one who can save.  Do we have eyes on Him?  It doesn’t matter what you are doing.  In all things we need to place Christ first.  God needs to be in the forefront of all that we do and that includes choosing a team captain, CEO, or…  Finally is God first in your Life?

Who Do You Call?

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 7:8-16 (ESV)

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;
    Ephraim is a cake not turned.
Strangers devour his strength,
    and he knows it not;
gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,
    and he knows it not.
The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
    yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
    nor seek him, for all this.

Ephraim is like a dove,
    silly and without sense,
    calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.
As they go, I will spread over them my net;
    I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;
    I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.
Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
    Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
    but they speak lies against me.

They do not cry to me from the heart,
    but they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
    they rebel against me.
Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
    yet they devise evil against me.
They return, but not upward;
    they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
    because of the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Devotional:

When invasions came and enemies approached Ephraim failed to turn to God.  They sought refuge, protection, and deliverance from other countries.  They did not turn to God.  Their reliance went elsewhere.   Today let us think about one thing.  When times of trouble comes who do you turn to?  Who is it that I turn to?  The obvious answer should be God.  Take a moment and reflect over the years in your life.  Think about all the times you had troubles or things didn’t go well.  How did you handle it?

I wish I could say that every time I had troubles in my life I cried out to God.  That God waved his hands and the troubles were gone.  The truth is that more times than I care to admit I tried to fix things myself and my way.  Only then did I turn to God and say, “I can’t fix it God.  What can you do?”  Sure, there are times when I turn to God first.  I start out by praying and crying out to Him.  As I grow older and hopefully wiser it happens more often and becomes a natural first step.  God doesn’t promise to take away our troubles, strife, and hardships.  He does promise to be with us.  He does promise to make us stronger if we allow Him to work in our lives. 

Israel turned away from her first love.  Israel suffered because of it.  Who do you turn to?  Who is your focus on?  Think of it like this.  Your car will not run and is in the middle of the street.  You can struggle and struggle to push your car down the block or to the side of the road. Around you are a few small kids who can help you push.  Three or four of you push and push. You struggle to move the car.  Off to the side of the road waiting and watching are a couple of large men.  They are obviously body builders who lift massive amounts of weight.  They could easily help you push the car down the road.  Do you struggle by yourself or possibly with the help of a few children?  Do you call to the side of the road and ask the body builders for help?

God is more than big enough, smart enough, wise enough to handle whatever comes your way.  Will you struggle on your own?  Will you call upon God?  The car gets pushed not teleported.  God will help you.  He will be there with you.  You do not have to go at it alone.  Do you go at it alone?  Who do you call?

Does God Remember?

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 7:1-7 (ESV)

when I would heal Israel,
    the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
    and the evil deeds of Samaria,
for they deal falsely;
    the thief breaks in,
    and the bandits raid outside.
But they do not consider
    that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
    they are before my face.
By their evil they make the king glad,
    and the princes by their treachery.
They are all adulterers;
    they are like a heated oven
whose baker ceases to stir the fire,
    from the kneading of the dough
    until it is leavened.
On the day of our king, the princes
    became sick with the heat of wine;
    he stretched out his hand with mockers.
For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue;
    all night their anger smolders;
    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
All of them are hot as an oven,
    and they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen,
    and none of them calls upon me.

Devotional:

How long do you remember the wrongs others have done to you?  How long do you hold it against them?  Here God is saying that He remembers the evils they did.  While the nation is wallowing in sin judgement comes.  “But they do not consider that I remember all their evil.”  God has a memory that does not fail.  He remembers everything.  He knows everything.  Israel has left her first and true love.  Her sin is great.  God’s judgement comes upon the people.  God also remembers us, and he remembers our sins.  He knows everything we have done.  His judgement awaits us.

I know what you are thinking.  ‘But wait, I thought God doesn’t remember our sins.  He casts them as far as the East is from the West…”  Well maybe you are right and maybe you are wrong.  My question to you is where is your faith?  Is Christ your savior?  Do you worship other gods?  Who is your first love?  If you think you don’t have to decide, guess again.  Indecision is a decision of omission.  Judgement comes to each of us.  If you stand on your own, you stand condemned in judgement.  If Christ is your savior, then God does cast your sins away and remembers them no more.  God chooses to forget.  So, do you want to stand as the Israelites did in Hosea?  Do you want God to remember?  Do you want to face God’s judgement?  Jesus is the way, the life, the truth.  Jesus faced and took on God’s judgement for you.  Because of what He has done we are redeemed.  We are cleansed and can be with God.  God wants our relationship with Him.  He wants us to believe.  Judgement comes regardless.  Does God remember, or did He forget?  You choose…

If We Turn To Him

Hosea Continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 6 (ESV)

“Come, let us return to the Lord;
    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will raise us up,
    that we may live before him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
    his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
    as the spring rains that water the earth.”

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

    What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
    like the dew that goes early away.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
    I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
    and my judgment goes forth as the light.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
    there they dealt faithlessly with me.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,
    tracked with blood.
As robbers lie in wait for a man,
    so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to Shechem;
    they commit villainy.

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
    Ephraim's whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.

For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I restore the fortunes of my people,

Devotional:

A fallen people sent into exile.  They had forsaken the Lord and strayed.  God’s judgement would come, and the people of Israel would suffer the consequences of their actions and rejections.  We too have rejected God and His teachings.  Judgement will come.  Romans 14:11 “for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’”  Hosea 6 begins with “Come let us return to the Lord…”  We too can return to the Lord.  God will heal His people.  The beginning of the chapter refers to healing and restoration.  “…on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”

Jesus died for our transgressions; judgement has been given.  We are guilty.  Romans also states that all have sinned, the wages of sin is death.  We have sin in our lives.  We will see death.  There is one hope.  Hosea 6 shares with us that there is healing, and a way will be provided.  Jesus came and He died.  But on the third day he arose from the dead bringing with Him new life.  Jesus took on our judgement.  If we turn to Him we will be saved.

He Is Waiting For Us

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 5:11-15 (ESV)

Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,
    because he was determined to go after filth.
But I am like a moth to Ephraim,
    and like dry rot to the house of Judah.
When Ephraim saw his sickness,
    and Judah his wound,
then Ephraim went to Assyria,
    and sent to the great king.
But he is not able to cure you
    or heal your wound.
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear and go away;
    I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
I will return again to my place,
    until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
    and in their distress earnestly seek me.

Devotional:

Israel will be in distress, in exile, a conquered nation.  Israel will turn to other nations and people to help or rescue them.  It will not do any good.  God’s wrath and judgement will come to them.

How often do we seek something else?  For some when they get sick or hurt instead of going to the doctor, they find the self help cure.  We seek old remedies and look to others.  When our car breaks down, we try to fix it ourselves.  In some cases, we can find that essential oil or vitamin that can help. But there are times when you just must see the doctor.  Fixing your car is the same way.  Some people can do oil changes or replace breaks.  Some can even do more than that.  But unless you are a mechanic there comes a point when you just can’t fix it. 

We get these crazy ideas that we do not need God.  We think if my good outweighs my bad I am OK and good to go.  Some think salvation is in their own hands.  A belief that I do not need anyone, or anything is common.  The thought that there is nothing out there after death, there is no heaven or hell is dangerous and an effective tool for the enemy. 

The truth is that Jesus is the way the truth and life.  There is no other way into heaven.  We have no other options or choices.  Until we turn to Christ, we are just fooling ourselves.  Hosea 5:15 “I will return again to my place, until…”  It may seem that God has abandoned us.  We may seem alone.  God may have returned to His place.  But he has not abandoned us.  He is waiting for us “they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.”  All we have to do is acknowledge Him.  We need to confess our sins.  We need to accept Christ as our Savior.  The truth is God hasn’t abandoned us or left us.  He is not going to force Himself upon us.  He will be there.  He will not abandon us.  He is just waiting for us to turn around…

Which Are You?

Hosea continued...

Scripture:

Hosea 5:1-7 (ESV)

Hear this, O priests!
    Pay attention, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
    For the judgment is for you;
for you have been a snare at Mizpah
    and a net spread upon Tabor.
And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,
    but I will discipline all of them.

I know Ephraim,
    and Israel is not hidden from me;
for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;
    Israel is defiled.
Their deeds do not permit them
    to return to their God.
For the spirit of whoredom is within them,
    and they know not the Lord.

The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
    Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;
    Judah also shall stumble with them.
With their flocks and herds they shall go
    to seek the Lord,
but they will not find him;
    he has withdrawn from them.
They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;
    for they have borne alien children.
    Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.

Devotional:

“Hear this, O priest!”  Chapter five opens with God calling them.  He is grabbing their attention.  God is informing them & Israel that enough is enough.  They have strayed from Him.  They have taught falsely to the people and as a result been led astray.  God’s punishment is at hand.  God will judge the priests, and all who will lead His people astray. 

Those that lead and teach are held to a higher standard.  They will be severely dealt with.  2 Peter 2:1 (ESV):

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Peter gives warning to those who would teach falsely.  Their destruction will be swift.  Throughout the Bible God gives warnings about false teaching and leading His people astray.  Today we have many false beliefs and teachings.  Christians are being led astray all the time.  Our enemy will give partial truths to weave his deception.  I see a lot of similarities from Israel before they were exiled and our society today.  We have false teachers. We have accepted lies as truth.  We have lost our first love, Christ. 

If we think we can skip judgement, or it will not happen to us we are mistaken.  Israel was the superpower of the day.  They were on top and didn’t think anything would happen to them.  Why do I think that?  Simple if they were seeking God first.  If they remembered their history, they would not have wandered from God.  Look at people you know and that are around you.  Believers who know they can fall or are in the middle of their own battles tend to cling closer to Christ.  Those who are on top of the world tend to forget they need God.  Which are you?  Do you need God, no matter where you are at in life?  Or are you on top of the world thinking you can do it yourself?  I know I do not want to be counted among the false teachers.  I do not want to be one who thinks I can do it.  I want my life to center around Christ.  I pray all that I share comes from Him.  I pray that my words are in fact His. 

This doesn’t mean we will not make mistakes or get something wrong.  We must focus on Jesus.  We need to take what other people teach us and compare it to what the Bible says.  Do not take what is taught for granted.  Verify and double check.  We can teach one another.  We can help one another.  We need to hold one another accountable.

Which are you?  Is God your focus?  Are you on top of the world and do not need anyone?  It must be lonely up there…  Again, which are you???

What Are You Searching For?

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 4:10-19 (ESV)

They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
    to cherish whoredom, wine, and new wine,
    which take away the understanding.
My people inquire of a piece of wood,
    and their walking staff gives them oracles.
For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,
    and they have left their God to play the whore.
They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
    because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the whore,
    and your brides commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,
    nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes
    and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,
and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.

Though you play the whore, O Israel,
    let not Judah become guilty.
Enter not into Gilgal,
    nor go up to Beth-aven,
    and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
Like a stubborn heifer,
    Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
    like a lamb in a broad pasture?

Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone.
When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;   their rulers dearly love shame.
A wind has wrapped them in its wings,
    and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Devotional:

People are searching for something.  People search for anything.  There is a void or emptiness inside that cannot be filled.  The priests and profits allowed the Israel nation to go astray.  They sought other gods and worshiped idols.  God was displeased, hurt, and angry.  His chosen people left and sought out a new “husband.”  Eventually though they would find themselves empty.  Something big would be missing.  In the end they would eventually realize their mistakes.  God would allow hardships and even exile.  God would turn over His people to their enemies.  Unfortunately, ignorance is not an excuse.  Ignorance does not give you a “get out of jail free” card.  The end of verse 14 states, “and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.”

Today people are searching.  People are hungry. But they do not realize what it is they are searching for.  They do not what they hunger for.  Ignorance is not bliss.  If you walk through a mine field not knowing the mines are not there will not prevent you from stepping on one.  Not knowing Jesus will not lead you to heaven.  On that last day of judgement each and everyone of us will stand before God.  Claiming ignorance will not give you a pass.  Romans 14:11 (ESV) “for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’”

Are you hungry?  Are you searching?  God is the only one who can fill and satisfy that void in your heart, in your life.  Do not let false teaching lead you astray.  Do not let lies fill your head.  Seek out the truth.  Seek out the only one who can save.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and life.

Always Be In The Truth

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 4:7- 9 (ESV)

The more they increased,
    the more they sinned against me;
    I will change their glory into shame.
They feed on the sin of my people;
    they are greedy for their iniquity.
And it shall be like people, like priest;
    I will punish them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.

Devotional:

The priests’ sinned, they failed to teach God’s people His ways.  Israel has gone astray partly because of the priests.  One thing is for sure.  God will not tolerate false teachings and leading His people away from Him.  Throughout the Bible God warns against false teachings.  In Ezeliel 13:9 we are told this,

My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.

In Jeremiah 23:16,

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.”

God is clear not to lead His people in false teachings.  That was happening and what Hosea warned against.  Look around us today.  Do you see people like those profits?  How much false teaching is there?  Never take someone else’s word for something.  Verify what you are taught by comparing it to what God says in the Bible.  If it doesn’t match up, then don’t listen.  If your church or small group is not teaching truth, it is time to move on.  It is OK to question.  It is OK to confront someone.  We must do it in such a way that we do not fall into sin.  We still need to love and be there to support.  We are to correct one another when necessary.  2 Timothy 2:23-26,

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  And the Lord's servant[e] must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Be sure not to fall into false teachings.  Verify what is taught.  Verify what you teach.  In a loving and caring way, it is OK to approach others to try and help them see what they are doing is wrong.  Do not be confrontational.  Do not do so in anger or bitterness.  Do not be harsh.  But always be in the TRUTH.  Always verify what you are told, taught, or teach with the Bible.  God loves everyone.  He wants all of us to know Him.  He wants everyone to be saved…

Ignorance is Not Bliss

Hosea continued...

Scripture:

Hosea 4:1-6  (ESV)

Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,
    for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.
There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,
    and no knowledge of God in the land;
there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;
    they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
Therefore the land mourns,
    and all who dwell in it languish,
and also the beasts of the field
    and the birds of the heavens,
    and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

Yet let no one contend,
    and let none accuse,
    for with you is my contention, O priest.
You shall stumble by day;
    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;
    and I will destroy your mother.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
    because you have rejected knowledge,
    I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
    I also will forget your children.

Devotional:

Matthew 18:6 (ESV) …but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Throughout the bible there are scriptures against false teachings and leading God’s people astray.  The first six verses in chapter four indicate that the priests and profits were not teaching God’s laws to the people.  They had fallen ignorant and slipped away from God.  The problem is that ignorance is not bliss.  God didn’t turn a blind eye just because His didn’t know any better.  Verse six states, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge,”.  Because of the priests and profits failed to teach God’s laws and teach the truth to the people God rejected them as well.  God held them to a higher standard, and they failed.  The last half of verse six states “I reject you from being a priest to me.  And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” 

Israel became ignorant of who God is and His laws.  The priests and profits had stopped teaching the people.  They slipped and fell away from their first love.  The truth is that ignorance is not bliss.  God did not spare Israel just because they didn’t know better.  The same applies to us today.  So even if we could say we do not know anything about God or Jesus we still have sin in our lives.  Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” yes that includes those who claim ignorance.  Do not be fooled.  Do not let ignorance condemn you or your friends and neighbors…

His Love and Redemption

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 3 (ESV)

And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.

Devotional:

Hosea goes out and redeems or buys back his wife.  Hosea takes back a woman who was unfaithful.  Here God is showing Israel that a time will come when He will redeem His people.  God will buy them back.  But the price God pays is much more than several shekels.  Our redemption cost a life. 

Some might think, “so what, not a big deal…”  Others might think it such a simple matter.  But the truth is different.  Yes, it cast a life.  However, it wasn’t just any life.  The price was much more than a goat or lamb.  The price paid for our redemption was pain and suffering.  It was humiliation and agony.  Christ was beaten.  He wasn’t just hung upon the cross.  Jesus was nailed to the cross.  Jesus hung there in humiliation and shame.  He was in agony.  Yet this paled in comparison to being completely separated from God.

Christ’s death and resurrection are our redemption.  It is a gift to us.  We do not deserve it. We do not have to pay anything for it.  It is given to us.  BUT do not ever think it is cheap.  The price for your redemption, and mine, is very high indeed.  What is the most valuable thing we could ever receive?  The best possible gift given is being reunited with God.  Being given a place in heaven.  Being given life with Him for all eternity.  Hosea’s purchasing his wife and being reunited with her is God’s example of His love and redemption for us.  God went to great lengths and spared no expense for you.  What do you (we) do for Him?

We Are The Bride

Hosea Continued...

Scripture:

Hosea 2: 18-23 (ESV)

And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.

“And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord,
    I will answer the heavens,
    and they shall answer the earth,
and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and they shall answer Jezreel,
    and I will sow her for myself in the land.
And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
    and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
    and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Devotional:

In these verses God is talking about a time when the relationship between Israel and Himself will be renewed.  There will be mercy instead of no mercy.  Instead of “Not My People” Once again they will be “You are My People.”  While God’s anger and justice are real so is His love and Mercy.

Maybe its just me but this scream of God’s plan along for mankind.  He reclaimed His people not by the sword or by war.  God not only reclaimed Israel but he reclaimed all mankind.  Through the line of David came the Messiah.  Through Jesus we have been purchased, redeemed, or reclaimed.  A new covenant was made, an everlasting one.  We are God’s people, His children.  Any who accept Jesus as God’s son and believes He died on the cross and rose again will have eternal life.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

God foretold throughout the Old Testament how He would redeem mankind.  It would be through a new covenant.  Christ is the groom; we are the bride.  God is the groom, Israel the bride.

When God Ran To Me

Hosea continued...

Scripture:
Hosea 2: 14-17 (ESV)

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
    and bring her into the wilderness,
    and speak tenderly to her.
And there I will give her her vineyards
    and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
    as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.

Devotional:

Th first part of chapter two continues with Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.  Israel found a new “love” and began following other gods.  But, after awhile Israel did return.  In our verses Hosea shares of God’s mercy.  The Israel nation would follow only God. 

There are times in each of our lives when we struggle with something.  We question God.  We wonder if He is real and or ask if He is listening.  We can feel that God has left us.  The good news for us all is that God has not left.  He does listen.  He is caring.  In the times in our lives when we stray or wander off, we can return.  God will take us back in His open arms.  Luke 15:22-23 ESV “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.  And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.’”  If we should run off and squander our lives away remember one thing.  God is waiting on the porch looking over the horizon for His lost son or daughter.  No matter how bad we think we are or how far we stray.  God is waiting.  He will run to you.  When I was a teenager, I heard a song by Benny Hester “When God Ran.”  I always loved the image it gave me.  I could see God running toward me to pick me up and hold me when I really needed it.  Just remember no matter what, God will run to us if we just turn to him...

Did You Leave?

Hosea Continued...

Scripture:

Hosea 2:1-4 (ESV)

Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.”
“Plead with your mother, plead for she is not my wife,
    and I am not her husband—
that she put away her whoring from her face,
    and her adultery from between her breasts;
lest I strip her naked
    and make her as in the day she was born,
and make her like a wilderness,
    and make her like a parched land,
    and kill her with thirst.
Upon her children also I will have no mercy,

Verse 13:
And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals
    when she burned offerings to them
and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
    and went after her lovers
    and forgot me, declares the Lord.

Devotional:

Israel has left God, her husband.  God equates Israel’s seeking other gods as woman being a prostitute.  After many attempts to get Israel’s attention trying to win them over God will turn the nation over to her enemies.  Israel will face exile.  It would seem God has abandoned His people.  God removes His favor. 

God will leave us to our sins.  He will allow us to seek our other gods.  Just as Israel had to face their consequences so will we.  The good news is that all we need to do is turn to Him.  If we repent, really and truly repent God will show us mercy.  We will receive grace.  We need to get our compass out and get our bearings.  We need to head true North, head toward God.  He is there waiting for us to return to Him.  We will still face the consequences of our actions, but we have grace and mercy.  God will not abandon us.  I urge each and everyone of us to head the lessons we learn from the book of Hosea.  We need to learn from Israel’s mistake and not turn away from our true love, God.

A friend asked me to do some devotionals on the Book of Hosea.  So, this is the beginning of a Daily Devotional series on the Book of Hosea.  Prayerfully I seek God's voice in writing this series...

A Whisper

Scripture:
Hosea 1:1-5 (ESV)

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Devotional:

Hosea was a profit of God in the time frame of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.  His mission field was Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  He was a profit in a time of unrest.  God was getting ready to Isolate Himself from Israel.  Exile was coming.  In our first few verses we are told that Hosea was to take a wife who was a prostitute.  This was a simple of Israel’s prostitution to other gods.  Israel was not faithful to God.  Baal worship had become significant for the Israel nation.  They lost favor in God’s eyes.  Jazreel and the breaking of the bow is a simple of God’s defeat over Baal.

In the opening of the book of Hosea God is using Hosea’s family and his life to symbolize Israel and how the nation was not faithful to God.  Take a moment in your life to reflect on moments, people, places or things God has tried to show you where you have fallen short.  God gives us a chance to correct our ways.  He will help us to refocus on Him.  God’s profits in the old testament were used to warn His people.  To help them see their mistakes and to once again follow Him.  God does the same for each one of us.

We are given the chance and opportunity to refocus on Him.  He will give us messages along the way to try and get our attention.  The question to ask yourself, am I listening?  Do I hear Him speaking?  We can ignore God.  We can get so distracted with things, even things we think are for God, we cannot hear Him.  That is why it is so important to pause, be still and know that He is God.  Psalm 46:10 “’Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!’”

I am guilty of not being still.  Often times I miss hearing God speak because I am busy and it is too loud to hear his soft voice…  I urge you to pause, take time out to be quite and listen.  You might be surprised to hear a small voice whispering…