A Look at Hosea

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Scripture: Hosea 4:1-3 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.

Devotion:

            Although this word of the Lord was meant for the people of Israel before their exile in Babylon, it certainly sounds like a word we need to hear in our own time and place. Can it be that this word of the Lord speaks to us some 29 centuries later? And if does apply to us what can we do about it? Let us think about these things for a few minutes and see if we can determine our response if any to the word of the Lord.

            So just what happens when a people turn their collective backs on the Lord? We begin a long slide downhill until we are covered in muck and mire. In fact, there are at least five areas in which we can see how the wickedness of our own day is forshadowed in this passage from Hosea: (1) Moral depravity (2) destruction of the environment (3) debasement of leadership (4) personal emptiness (5) national ruin. I could write a book on how the U.S.A. looks like Israel in our own day. I believe we could all add anecdotes to fill multiple volumes of the evil and wickedness that exist today.

            Many people say that this virus and social unrest we are experiencing today is punishment for our many sins and it may be so. If it is what can we do about it? The solution may be for us what Hosea prescribed for the people of Israel: “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. (Hosea 6:1 ESV) Returning to the Lord, however, must be genuine. We cannot be like a man facing a judge who says they have learned their lesson and will not reoffend and receive a pardon from the judge only to commit another crime. We must offer sincere repentance and turn from our wickedness and live into the life of holiness that God has ordained for us. We must let God write his commandments on our hearts so that our actions come from a pure heart.

Prayer:

            Lord we come before you guilty and in despair over the situation that we have brought upon ourselves. But we know that you are a forgiving God. One who relents from punishment for a truly repentant people. We come to you seeking that you would see our repentance is genuine and honest. We seek forgiveness for our many crimes against you. We ask that you take our broken and wounded lives and bind our wounds and heal our brokenness. Fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may proclaim your goodness and mercy to a broken and wounded world. Refresh us, cleanse us, and embolden us to live for you and you alone.

 

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