READ: HOSEA 10:9-15, ACTS 17:27, JAMES 4:8; AND SOAP: HOSEA 10:12
Hosea 10:9-15
9 The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah, there has been only sin and more sin! You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked? 10 Now whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you, too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied sins. 11 “Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground.
I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’
SOAP Passage
13 “But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies—trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe. 14 Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall, just as when Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel. Even mothers and children were dashed to death there. 15 You will share that fate, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.
Acts 17:26-28
26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
James 4:8
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
God is so loving, so forgiving, and good to His people that He gives unrepentant Israel a choice –
READ: HOSEA 10:1-8 AND LAMENTATIONS 1:8,15, AND 18; SOAP: LAMENTATIONS 1:18
The Lord’s Judgment against Israel
How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars. 2 The hearts of the people are fickle; they are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. 3 Then they will say, “We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway?” 4 They spout empty words and make covenants they don’t intend to keep. So injustice springs up among them like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field.
5 The people of Samaria tremble in fear for their calf idol at Beth-aven, and they mourn for it. Though its priests rejoice over it, its glory will be stripped away. 6 This idol will be carted away to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed, because its people have trusted in this idol. 7 Samaria and its king will be cut off; they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave. 8 And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars. They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!” and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!”
Lamentations 1:8, 15, and 18
Jerusalem has sinned greatly, so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag. All who once honored her now despise her, for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated. All she can do is groan and hide her face.
15 “The Lord has treated my mighty men with contempt. At his command a great army has come to crush my young warriors. The Lord has trampled his beloved city like grapes are trampled in a winepress.
“The Lord is right,” Jerusalem says, “for I rebelled against him. Listen, people everywhere; look upon my anguish and despair, for my sons and daughters have been taken captive to distant lands.
The young women and men from Israel had to pay the price of the people´s rebellion toward God. We must never forget that sin has consequences. Read the full devotional
The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped. 11 The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird, for your children will not be born or grow in the womb or even be conceived. 12 Even if you do have children who grow up, I will take them from you. It will be a terrible day when I turn away and leave you alone. 13 I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre. But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.”
14 O Lord, what should I request for your people? I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth and breasts that give no milk.
15 The Lord says, “All their wickedness began at Gilgal; there I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels. 16 The people of Israel are struck down. Their roots are dried up, and they will bear no more fruit. And if they give birth, I will slaughter their beloved children.”
17 My God will reject the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless among the nations.
The early fruit of the fig tree is especially good, and Israel was special to the Lord. But this joyful experience didn’t last –
For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship foreign gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods made of wood and stone! 65 There among those nations you will find no peace or place to rest. And the Lord will cause your heart to tremble, your eyesight to fail, and your soul to despair.
Psalm 77:7-9
Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? 8 Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
READ: HOSEA 9:1-9 AND ISAIAH 10:1-4; SOAP: HOSEA 9:9
Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment
O people of Israel, do not rejoice as other nations do. For you have been unfaithful to your God, hiring yourselves out like prostitutes, worshiping other gods on every threshing floor. 2 So now your harvests will be too small to feed you. There will be no grapes for making new wine. 3 You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land. Instead, you will return to Egypt, and in Assyria you will eat food that is ceremonially unclean. 4 There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord. None of your sacrifices there will please him. They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning. All who present such sacrifices will be defiled. They may eat this food themselves, but they may not offer it to the Lord. 5 What then will you do on festival days? How will you observe the Lord’s festivals? 6 Even if you escape destruction from Assyria, Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis[a] will bury you. Nettles will take over your treasures of silver; thistles will invade your ruined homes.
The time of Israel’s punishment has come; the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility, you say, “The prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools!” 8 The prophet is a watchman over Israel[b] for my God, yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes. He faces hostility even in the house of God. 9 The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibeah long ago. God will not forget.
Hosea Announces Israel’s Punishment
What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws. 2 They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans. 3 What will you do when I punish you, when I send disaster upon you from a distant land? To whom will you turn for help? Where will your treasures be safe? 4 You will stumble along as prisoners or lie among the dead. But even then the Lord’s anger will not be satisfied. His fist is still poised to strike.
Hosea was accused of being a fatalist by Israel when the truth is Israel was gravely unaware of the pending disaster.
Gibeah is remembered for several things but one especially horrendous incident is what God was referring to here when He compared Israel’s corruption to Gibeah’s. For the full story and the answer to today’s reflection question read the brutal story, at the link below, that God included in His Word for us to read – Reflection Question: In light of what we know about Gibeah, what possible good could come from God’s reminder and comparison of Israel’s sin to that of Gibeah? — Share your thoughts in the comment bar.
READ: HOSEA 8:1-14 AND ROMANS 9:22-24; SOAP: ROMANS 9:22-23
God Will Raise Up the Assyrians to Attack Israel
Sound the alarm! An eagle looms over the temple of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me and have rebelled against my law. 2 Israel cries out to me, “My God, we acknowledge you!” 3 But Israel has rejected what is morally good; so an enemy will pursue him.
The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel
4 They enthroned kings without my consent. They appointed princes without my approval. They made idols out of their silver and gold, but they will be destroyed! 5 O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol. My anger burns against them! They will not survive much longer without being punished, even though they are Israelites! 6 That idol was made by a workman—it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.
The Fertility Cultists Will Become Infertile
7 They sow the wind, and so they will reap the whirlwind! The stalk does not have any standing grain; it will not produce any flour. Even if it were to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it all up. 8 Israel will be swallowed up among the nations; they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.
Israel’s Hired Lovers
9 They have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey that wanders off. Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers. 10 Even though they have hired lovers among the nations, I will soon gather them together for judgment. Then they will begin to waste away under the oppression of a mighty king.
Sacrifices Ineffective without Moral Obedience
11 Although Ephraim has built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning. 12 I spelled out my law for him in great detail, but they regard it as something totally unknown to them. 13 They offer up sacrificial gifts to me and eat the meat, but the Lord does not accept their sacrifices. Soon he will remember their wrongdoing, he will punish their sins, and they will return to Egypt. 14 Israel has forgotten his Maker and built royal palaces, and Judah has built many fortified cities. But I will send fire on their cities; it will consume their royal citadels.
SOAP: Romans 9:22
But what if God, willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
With their silver and gold, they made idols for their own destruction.” (Hosea 8:4) The people of Israel were experts in living an independent life apart from God. Read the full devotional
Read: Hosea 7:13-16 and Psalm 78:32-39; SOAP: Psalm 78:38
Woe to them! For they have fled from me! Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me! I want to deliver them, but they have lied to me. 14 They do not pray to me, but howl in distress on their beds; they slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from me. 15 Although I trained and strengthened them, they plot evil against me! 16 They turn to Baal; they are like an unreliable bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because their prayers to Baal have made me angry. So people will disdain them in the land of Egypt.
Despite all this, they continued to sin, and did not trust him to do amazing things 33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied and filled with terror. 34 When he struck them down, they sought his favor; they turned back and longed for God. 35 They remembered that God was their protector, and that God Most High was their deliverer. 36 But they deceived him with their words, and lied to him. 37 They were not really committed to him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant. 38 Yet he is compassionate. He forgives sin and does not destroy. He often holds back his anger, and does not stir up his fury. 39 He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.
Reflection Question: What do you learn about God in light of His response to Israel’s rebellion? I invite you to share your answer or a question n the comment bar.
“Come, return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now He will heal us. He has injured us; now He will bandage our wounds. In just a short time He will restore us, so that we may live in His presence. Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of the dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” 💜
Hosea 6:1-3
I’m currently doing a Bible study called Faithful Love which focuses on the book of Hosea. Hosea is actually one of my favorite books of the Old Testament and I have read and studied it often. However, perhaps because it’s been a while since I’ve studied it or maybe because I’m using the SOAP method, this time things are hitting me differently. One of these things is Hosea’s prayer in chapter 6. I don’t remember noticing before what great words of wisdom Hosea prayed over the people in verses1-3. Over the past three weeks, as I’ve read and studied through the first five chapters which describe God’s people chasing after other gods, God’s anger with His people for their idolatry, and their refusal to return to Him – it has been quite easy, or at least tempting, to convince myself that I do not have idols or practice idolatry. Of course, according to the definition of idolatry, this would mean that I never devote myself to anything more than God.
The definition of idolatry, according to Webster, is “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.” An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God.
However, in reality, I have felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to at least consider a few things – people, pleasures, foods, time, etc.. – that I sometimes, if not often or regularly, tend to place before God. So, on the day when my Bible Study time included this passage from Hosea along with Lamentations 3:22-24, and 1 Peter 5:6-7, it was a heads-up, an eye-opening reminder to not be fooled. Just because we’ve dressed our idols up in the 21st century, allowing them to become commonplace – so much so that many are widely accepted in homes and communities and even churches – doesn’t mean they are any less of an idol. Maybe this doesn’t hit you the same way that it hits me – maybe you have all possibilities of idolatry under control – but if I’m honest – I don’t. I have – through the 58 years of my life -struggled from time to time with the issue. So, I find myself thankful that, like Israel, even when I have turned to other “gods” – I am, by God’s grace and mercy, invited to return to the Lord with the assurance that He will respond. James said it like this in chapter 4, verse 8 – “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”
The testimony of Scripture is that God alone is worthy of worship. Idol worship robs God of the glory that is rightfully His, and that is something He will not tolerate (Isaiah 42:8). Idolatry extends beyond the worship of idols and images and false gods. Our modern idols are many and varied. Even for those who do not bow physically before a statue, idolatry is a matter of the heart—pride, self-centeredness, greed, gluttony, a love for possessions, and ultimately rebellion against God. Is it any wonder that God hates it?
“Whoring after other gods” seems like a harsh and awful statement – but it is nonetheless what God said His people were doing in Hosea’s day, what James warned against in the New Testament, and sadly what I know I have been guilty of at times. However, as the author of Lamentations pointed out, God’s love is Faithful and His mercies are new every morning. This has been one of my life verses since I was 28 years old and I’m still clinging to it today. The thought of it fills me with hope – for I know because of God’s great love I am not consumed! Instead, I am invited into His presence. I’m given the gift of His Word and His Spirit and entreated to know Him more, and I have learned that knowledge is power – in this case – power against sin, as indicated by David in Psalm 119:11 where he wrote, “I have hidden Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
One thing I have realized in my fight against idolatry,if I am busy pressing forward to know God more, I am less likely to turn away to other ‘gods’.
fromtheNsideout
His Word isn’t just power against sin though, it is also the knowledge of what pleases God and it offers us the power to see sin, turn from it, and do what is right. Consider the words of Paul to Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Oh, how I pray for faithfulness to Him – a faithfulness that imitates His faithful love to me, leads me closer to Him, keeps me mindful of what is right to do, and quickly repentant of any sin. May I heed the words of Hosea and be quick and faithful to turn back to God and press on to know Him more and more. Why? Because of Hosea’s words in chapter four –
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge … and a people without understanding will come to ruin”.
7 “I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside! 2 Its people don’t realize that I am watching them. Their sinful deeds are all around them, and I see them all.
Psalm 9:15-16
The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set. 16 The Lord is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds.
Proverbs 5:22
An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
The problem among the people and leaders of Israel was they forgot that the LORD saw and remembered their sin. Read the rest of today’s blog
Reflection Question: In our reading from Hosea today, what did the people fail to consider? Is it important to remember that the Lord sees and knows and sees all that we do and think? Why or why not?
Read: Hosea 6:4-11; Galatians 6:14-16; and SOAP: Hosea 6:6
Hosea 6:4-11
“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. 5 I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. 6 I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. 7 But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust.
8 “Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. 9 Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. 10 Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!
11 “O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.
Galatians 6:14-16
14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
One day, while I was praying – and complaining abundantly to the Lord for the many hardships I had to go through – I asked Him: “What else do You want from me?”
REFLECTION QUESTION: WHAT DOES GOD DESIRE FROM HIS PEOPLE MORE THAN SACRIFICES? HOW CAN YOU ALIGN NOT JUST YOUR ACTIONS TOWARD HIM, BUT YOUR HEART AS WELL?
5 “Hear this, you priests. Pay attention, you leaders of Israel. Listen, you members of the royal family. Judgment has been handed down against you. For you have led the people into a snare by worshiping the idols at Mizpah and Tabor. 2 You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done. 3 I know what you are like, O Ephraim. You cannot hide yourself from me, O Israel. You have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband; you are utterly defiled. 4 Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord.
5 “The arrogance of Israel testifies against her; Israel and Ephraim will stumble under their load of guilt. Judah, too, will fall with them. 6 When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord, they will not find him, because he has withdrawn from them. 7 They have betrayed the honor of the Lord, bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth.
8 “Sound the alarm in Gibeah! Blow the trumpet in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven! Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin! 9 One thing is certain, Israel: On your day of punishment, you will become a heap of rubble. 10 “The leaders of Judah have become like thieves. So I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall. 11 The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment because they are determined to worship idols. 12 I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool. I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.
13 “When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria—to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them. 14 I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them.
15 Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to me. For as soon as trouble comes, they will earnestly search for me.”
18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
4 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
Philippians 3:18-4:1
Reflection Question: According to the SOAP passage, God wanted Israel (His people) to do 2, really 3 things. What were they?Ladies, remember – the answer to the reflection question and sharing your SOAP or takeaway from the day’s journey can be encouraging to the rest of us.
Be sure and check out today’s LGG very helpful Blog –
Me From the Inside Out 