Joel 1- Monumental Moments

 ”Hear this, you elders; listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation. What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.“

‭‭Joel‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I thought Hosea was bad…Joel starts off with utter destruction of everything good.  Not like Job where he loses all he has, this destruction is of all there is and even the future potential for anything life giving.

God tells Joel to pass on this horrible message that will have lasting impact…so devastating that your great, great grandchildren will talk about it.  It will shape 5 generations (or more) of Israelites (technically more than that because we are talking about it today!).

I want my great, great grandkids to hear about things in my lifetime, but I want them to be positive and lovely.  Lord, help me to follow you so closely that people generations later will hear stories about the awesome work You have done.  I don’t need anyone to remember me, but let me participate in your incredible transformation of our family, our church, our city, our state, country and world!

Hosea 14- Reality Accepted

 ”Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take words of repentance with you and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our iniquity and accept what is good, so that we may repay you with praise from our lips. Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods! ’ to the work of our hands. For the fatherless receives compassion in you.”“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭14‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This is a beautiful scene…the reality of Israel finally sinks in.  They see God for who He is, and accept the reality that He is the only one they can trust.  They cannot trust in their own abilities, they can’t trust in other people around them, they can’t trust that things will “just work out”, they can’t trust in going the way that seems best to them…all of these lead to destruction.  It may not be instant, but it is guaranteed.

Accepting the reality of where you actually are is a huge turning point.  Let’s all stop the pretending and open our eyes to see what is really around us and what got us to this point.

Lord help me take off my rose colored glasses and see things from Your perspective.  Help me to see the futility of my efforts and plans, and allow me to see clearly the path You have for me.  I need You to do this for me because no matter how hard I try, I don’t t see it. My way is lit up like a 6 lane highway, and Your way is a peaceful trail through the woods near a calming stream…and that is the reality I desire!

Hosea 13- I Need You

 ”I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and no Savior exists besides me. 

I fed you in the wilderness, in the land of drought. When they had pasture, they became satisfied; they were satisfied, and their hearts became proud. Therefore they forgot me. 

So I will be like a lion to them; I will lurk like a leopard on the path.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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God reminds Israel of His past Faithfulness… and immediately follows up with a description of how it resulted in them becoming proud, fat and happy…then forgetting all about God.

What is interesting in this passage is that God desires to bless them, but in the end it leads to the one thing He HATES- pride and lost relationship.  God also knows that disaster and suffering force all of us to see things most clearly: we don’t have control, we don’t possess the ability to fix/remove trouble, we actually NEED God, He is the only one who can save us from trouble.

Remarkably, the choice is ours: stay close to Him in good times and bad, or run from Him, depend on ourselves in pride, and enter hard times apart from God (maybe even caused by Him).  What is crazy, is that we naturally tend toward the latter…the most painful path.  I have often believed that my plan was good, without even consulting God.  These times always lead to pain and suffering.i

God, I need You…every hour I need You!  Every second, every moment I need YOU!  Anything good, kind, gentle, loving or thoughtful that comes from me, has been produced in you.  Help me to see when I am depending on me, and run to you for forgiveness!

Hosea 12- False Confidence

 ”The Lord is the God of Armies; the Lord is his name. But you must return to your God. Maintain love and justice, and always put your hope in God. But Ephraim thinks, “How rich I have become; I made it all myself. In all my earnings, no one can find any iniquity in me that I can be punished for!”“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭12‬:‭5‬-‭6‬, ‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Ephraim has extreme confidence in himself and that he is doing everything right.  But his confidence comes from looking at the results of his effort.  Things are going well for him so he believes that he is doing everything right. He is trusting in himself!

God has just pointed out that He (God) is the most powerful being and has all authority over everything…and our primary responsibility is to trust God only.  In the midst of trusting God, we should love others and act justly.

These statements are intensely contradictory…but Ephraim is blind to it.  It seems so obvious, blatantly clear and yet he is more confident in the success “he” has created.  What a dangerous place to live…

God, I know I have this same tendency…I have idolized success and accomplishment which has brought me nothing but pain, regret and suffering.  Please keep my blinders off, help me to recognize when I move into that mentality. Help me to instantly run to you and repent.  I am done with false confidence…I want to rest in and be confident in you, the God of Armies.

Hosea 11- Our Loving Father

 ”It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the hand, but they never knew that I healed them. I led them with human cords, with ropes of love. To them I was like one who eases the yoke from their jaws; I bent down to give them food.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What a tender description of how God has cared for His people.  It is just like an adoring father or mother lovingly raising their toddler.  This is not often the picture of God that is painted on the Old Testament, but much more like how Jesus helps us see Him.

What a blessing to have God as our loving, compassionate, caring and patient Father.  It’s a blessing because, I need that.  I need His patience far more often than I should as I find myself distracted from His path.  I need His care when I finally look up and realize that I am broken and need compassion.  I need His love at every moment, but it is especially necessary when I need forgiveness.

Lord, help me to know you  more as a loving Father.  Help me to comprehend your love especially when I am running to you for forgiveness.  Help me, like a child, to turn to you first in every situation.

Hosea 10- Worship of Gods Blessing

 ”Israel is a lush vine; it yields fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better they made the sacred pillars…” 

“Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground. It is time to seek the Lord until he comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain. You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in your large number of soldiers,“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬, ‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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Israel is accused of following their own way once again, which resulted in producing more sin and injustice.  When they received blessing, rather than make them thankful to the one who blessed them, it made them chase harder after their sin or more accurately, it made them worship the blessing.

I know I have done this same thing in the past.  When the lord blessed me with success, suddenly all I wanted was more success.  I was so drawn to success that I was willing to sin to get more success.  That is a pretty good definition of an idol right there…willing to sacrifice what you know is right to get what you want.

Lord, help me to continue to pursue the antidote: seek You and do the work you have called me to do.  God, give me a confidence in the work You are doing, and leave the results in Your capable hands.  Allow me to live every moment in your presence so that I may know you more.

Hosea 9- Sin’s Darkness, Gospel Light

 ”They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins. My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they will become wanderers among the nations.“

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭9‬:‭9‬, ‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I hate to ruin the punchline, but this passage is such a stark contrast to the Gospel. Hosea’s message is intended to shock Israel from the path they are on, to get them to come to their senses and return to God! The Good News of God is these terrible consequences are immediately reversed when they begin to seek Him.

Even more exciting is the opportunity we have to seek God through Jesus!  Jesus has paid the penalty for all of our sin; past, present and even future. Not only does He take on the responsibility of our sin, but God begins changing us into people who LOVE to seek Him…who want to obey, who are blessed to spend time with His people, who are energized when they are self sacrificing, who experience peace even in stressful times and are filled with joy in hard times.

Lord I am so thankful that because of Jesus, I am not like the Israelites in this passage!  I could not stand to be rejected by you or have to take on the punishment my sin deserves…I would be crushed.  What a joy to know that you made a way for me, help me to know you more and live confidently in your peace.