Tag: Israel

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 6, Tuesday Conqueror of Death, Mighty to Save

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Read: Hosea 13:4-14 and Mark 10:45; SOAP: Hosea 13:14

Hosea 13:4-14

 “I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. 5 I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. 6 But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. 7 So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road. 8 Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.

9 “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper. 10 Now where is your king?
    Let him save you! Where are all the leaders of the land, the king, and the officials you demanded of me? 11 In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury, I took them away. 12 “Ephraim’s guilt has been collected, and his sin has been stored up for punishment. 13 Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb!

14 “Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death? O death, bring on your terrors! O grave, bring on your plagues! For I will not take pity on them.

Mark 10:45

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Israel foolishly turned to its earthly governors instead of turning to God.

Read the full devotional –

This is the link I refer to in my SOAP recording today. It was a very helpful resource for me and I trust it will be for you too.

Commentary on Hosea 13:14 – God Will Deliver

Reflection Question: Why did Jesus come from Heaven to earth?

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Friday — A Heart Test

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Read: Hosea 12:12-14; 2 Kings 7:7-9; Micah 6:16 and SOAP: Hosea 12:14

Hosea 12:12-14 New Living Translation

Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
    and there he earned a wife by tending sheep.
13 Then by a prophet
    the Lord brought Jacob’s descendants[out of Egypt;
and by that prophet
    they were protected.
14 But the people of Israel
    have bitterly provoked the Lord,
so their Lord will now sentence them to death
    in payment for their sins.

2 Kings 7:7-9 New Living Translation

So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives. 8 When the men with leprosy arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. 9 Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.”

Micah 6:16 New Living Translation

You keep only the laws of evil King Omri;
    you follow only the example of wicked King Ahab!
Therefore, I will make an example of you,
    bringing you to complete ruin.
You will be treated with contempt,
    mocked by all who see you.”

 The people of Israel had been so wicked and had made such atrocities, they “were being repaid for his disgraceful deeds” (Hosea 12:14).

Read the full devotional
Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 5, Tuesday — God Never Gives Up

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READ: HOSEA 11:1-12, PSALM 145:8-9, MICAH 7:18-19; SOAP: HOSEA 11:8-9

Hosea 11 New Living Translation

The Lord’s Love for Israel

 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt. 2 But the more I called to him,  the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. 3 I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. 4 I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. 5 “But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. 6 War will swirl through their cities;
their enemies will crash through their gates. They will destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. 7 For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me.

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?  How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me,  and my compassion overflows.
9 No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.
10 For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion. And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. 11 Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord.

Charges against Israel and Judah

12 Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys God and is faithful to the Holy One.

God has always been a good, loving, caring Father. –

Read the rest of the LGG devotional here

Psalm 145:8-9

 The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry, and filled with unfailing love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation.

Micah 7:18-19

Where is another God like you,
    who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
    overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
    because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
    You will trample our sins under your feet
    and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

REFLECTION QUESTION: WHAT WAS GOD’S CHANGE OF HEARt BASED ON IN OUR SOAP PASSAGE TODAY?

I invite you to share an answer to today’s question and/or your thoughts on today’s passage –

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Thursday Finding Fruit in the Desert

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Hosea 9:10-17

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 –

Read the full devotional

Deuteronomy 28:64-65

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? 

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 4, Tuesday Pressing On In Faith

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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 the full devotional

Thoughts on today’s reading? Share them in the comment bar –

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 3 — Monday Seek His Face

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READ: HOSEA 5:1-15; PHILIPPIANS 3:18-4:1; SOAP: HOSEA 5:15

Hosea 5:1-15 — The Failure of Israel’s Leaders

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.”

SOAP THIS VERSE

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 –

https://lovegodgreatly.com/seek-his-face/
Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 2, Wednesday Go Again and Love

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READ: HOSEA 3:1-5; JEREMIAH 3:6-10; SOAP: HOSEA 3:1-5

Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” 2 So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine 3 Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me.” 4 This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests, or even idols! 5 But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness.

Hosea’s Wife Is Redeemed – Hosea 3:1-5; NLT

Judah Follows Israel’s Example

6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. 7 I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. 8 She saw[a] that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. 9 Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. 10 But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Jeremiah 3:6-10 New Living Translation

Poor Hosea received another command from the Lord: “Go again and love a woman who is an adulteress.” 

For more insight on what God was thinking read today’s devotional
REFLECTION QUESTION: WHAT LESSON COULD HOSEA AND GOMER POSSIBLY LEARN FROM GOD’S COMMAND TO HOSEA, “GO AGAIN AND LOVE?” – leave your thoughts in the comment bar

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Faithful Love: Week 2, Tuesday With God There is Always Hope

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READ: HOSEA 2:14-23; SOAP: PSALM 71:20-21

Hosea 2:14-23 The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel

14 “But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. 15 I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. 16 When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’
instead of ‘my master.’ 17 O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips, and you will never mention them again. 18 On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords, and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. 19 I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. 20 I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord. 21 “In that day, I will answer,”
says the Lord. “I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds. And the sky will answer the earth with rain. 22 Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees. And they in turn will answer, ‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’ 23 At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.’ And to those I called ‘Not my people,’ I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’ And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”

New Living Translation

20 You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,

    but you will restore me to life again

    and lift me up from the depths of the earth.

21 You will restore me to even greater honor

    and comfort me once again.

SOAP Psalm 71:20-21 New Living Translation

Hope. I read today´s Scripture, and my heart fills with hope. God is telling Israel that, once it has felt the discomfort of its deprivation, then it will listen to the voice of God again, and He will allure it back to Himself.

Read the full LGG Devotional 

Reflection Question: Do you believe there is always hope with God? Why or why not? (Share your answer in the reply box)

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Faithful Love: Week 1, Friday Children of the Living God

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READ: HOSEA 1:8-2:1; EZEKIEL 37:20-28; SOAP: HOSEA 1:10

Hosea 1:8-2:1

After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. 9 And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi—‘Not my people’—for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God.

10“Yet the time will come when Israel’s people will be like the sands of the seashore—too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ it will be said, ‘You are children of the living God.’ 11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be—the day of Jezreel—when God will again plant his people in his land.

2“In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’

New Living Translation

God is not like us. When He makes a promise, we can be sure He will keep it until it is fulfilled. – 

To find out how – Read Today’s LGG devotional

Reflection Question: What promises does God make at the end of Hosea 1? What do these promises tell us about the heart of God?

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Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Faithful Love: Week 1, Thursday God Extends Mercy

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READ: HOSEA 1:6-7; 2 CHRONICLES 29:1-2 AND 32:20-23; SOAP: HOSEA 1:7

Soon Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name your daughter Lo-ruhamah—‘Not loved’—for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. 7 But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.”

Hezekiah Rules in Judah

Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.

Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword.

That is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land. 23 From then on King Hezekiah became highly respected among all the surrounding nations, and many gifts for the Lord arrived at Jerusalem, with valuable presents for King Hezekiah, too.

 “The expression of God’s love is certainly unconditional, but our enjoyment of that love is conditional and depends on our faith and obedience.

Read the full devotional

Reflection Question: How did God say He would show love to the people of Judah? We invite you to share your response in the comment bar.