A Look at Hosea

-

 

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.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more