Hosea 7- Arrogance of Self Dependance

 ”Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the Lord their God, and for all this, they do not seek him.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭7‬:‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This chapter is full of heartache and continued suffering because Israel is not learning the lesson.  God has caused much discipline and inflicted punishment, yet still they are turning to others to help them.  God diagnoses their problem as arrogance…thinking so highly of themselves that they don’t need Him.

I have spent too much of my life thinking like them…I have looked at all the ways God has blessed me and WRONGLY believed that He equipped me to handle whatever was coming my way.  I even gave Him credit for the strength He gave…then tried to fix it on my own.  I looked for every possible solution, but didn’t turn to Him for help! What a fool I have been…

Lord, thank you for removing my blinders! Thank you for loving me enough to allow suffering and discipline.  Even though I hated the process, what it has yielded has been incredible.  Help me to stay dependent on You, help me to always seek You in EVERYTHING, little or life changing, I need you!

Hosea 6- Gods Faithfulness

 ”Come, let’s return to the Lord. For he has torn us, and he will heal us; he has wounded us, and he will bind up our wounds. He will revive us after two days, and on the third day he will raise us up so we can live in his presence. Let’s strive to know the Lord. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I love how this follows yesterday’s dark passage! These words leave no question that God intends to heal, restore and love us.  He faithfully shows up, just like the sunrise!  He brings new blessing and fresh sustenance to us as if we were a thirsty crop that is receiving rain.

What blows me away is that every action in this passage, after we return to the Lord, is something He does!  He is not asking me to heal myself before He can love me.  He is not requiring that I somehow stitch up my gaping wounds. He is not expecting me to drag myself out of depression or exhaustion. He is doing all of that! His only instruction is to return to Him and get to know Him.

Lord, help me remember that knowing you is the one thing you are asking me to do!  Show me when I am attempting to clean myself up and do the things that only you can do.  You are faithful in every way, help me to trust in you, rather than myself, because I fail every day.

Hosea 5- Consequences

 ”They go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord but do not find him; he has withdrawn from them. …

For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. Yes, I will tear them to pieces and depart. I will carry them off, and no one can rescue them. I will depart and return to my place until they recognize their guilt and seek my face; they will search for me in their distress.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/hos.5.CSB

This is a hard passage to read because Israel is living “according to what is right in their own eyes”.  In other words, rejecting Gods way, and doing whatever they want.  Even in how they try to worship, they reject Gods clear instruction and try their own way…it doesn’t work.

Then the surprising part, God is the one to inflict suffering as a consequence of their own choices.  I want to feel like this is unloving or unfair!  But, He finally reveals His end game: He is giving them consequences so that they will wake up and return to the blessings of knowing Him.

Lord, help me to wake up without needing to experience pain and suffering…

Help me to seek you and experience joy, peace, comfort, love and acceptance.  Show me where I am going my own way, before it leads to destruction.  I need your help because ‘my way’ always seems right, so give me wisdom and counselors to point me in the right direction.  I need you Lord!

Hosea 4- Following Him

 ”They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and they burn offerings on the hills, and under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, because their shade is pleasant...“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/hos.4.CSB

I love the beauty of nature, the peace and sense of smallness.  This entire passage is about doing what feels good, what feeds our desires and is short term delightful.  Those are the things I naturally want to do because it’s easy, and gives me a quick sense of happiness.  God what you know is the end result of this short term pleasure seeking is destruction.

Thank you for the warnings, I know you want joy, peace and delight to be my experience. I also know that only comes long term from knowing You!  God, give me the wisdom to follow you and reject the fleeting pleasures of sin.  Make my delight be in knowing You more.  May this be obvious to the people closest to me so that they can follow you and experience your peace, joy and comfort even in the middle of challenging circumstances!

Hosea 3- Awe Inspiring

 ”Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the last days.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/hos.3.5.CSB

We are so blessed to be loved by God.  I don’t deserve His love, in fact I deserve His wrath!  Yet the picture painted here in Hosea is undeniable…even as we chase after the very things that God HATES, He is still ready to pay more to get us back. To show us love and compassion.  Full of mercy, He draws near to us and tenderly cares for our needs…

God I am so grateful that is who you are, but please help me to stay in awe of you without having to go through times of fleeing.  Give me clarity to see who you are today, remove my blinders of selfishness.  I want to live every day in awe of You and your goodness!

Hosea 2- God Restores

”Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt. In that day — this is the Lord’s declaration — you will call me “my husband” and no longer call me “my Baal.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/hos.2.14-17.CSB

This passage is incredible because God has just described Israel as having rejected His blessings and chased after all the filthy lust and foolish living they craved.  He shows them the reality of their situation, and then brings them back into a place of peace and tenderly reminds them of who He is.  There is no manipulation, just clear eyed truth laid out plainly.  How gentle! How caring! How compassionate! How not like me…

The last verse of this section is the most hopeful, God does the work of removing the stain of their past.  He takes away the desire for sin, He removes the memory of desire and restores us to Himself!  Who does that!?!  Only God can find us wallowing in the filth of sin and tenderly brings us back to clean us up and bless us.

What a God we serve!  Lord may I have clarity to see where I am wallowing in sin, and quickly follow you into the peacefulness of nature to hear your voice and be cleansed and restored!  Lord may you transform my life so that those around me wallowing in filth, recognize you in me and desire to know you more and live in peace!

Hosea 1- Not by Cunning

”But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the Lord their God. I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses and cavalry.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1713/hos.1.7.CSB

What really stood out to me was how God acts to save his people: by His strength, by His power, by his own way.  It is not through “normal” means or methods.  It is not by Judah’s strengths or abilities or even intelligent strategies…but by His own hand.

God has blessed me with a strong intellect, creativity and persistence…but they have been a curse for me!  It is so easy to depend on those gifts rather than God…

Lord, help me to rely on You ALONE!  Help me to see when I am trusting in my own strength.  Make it be a flashing neon sign so that I can recognize it, repent and run to you.  God, what a blessing to rest in your care!  Allow your peace to flow through my life and  impact all of those around me for Your kingdom.