Read: Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, and Matthew 18:20; SOAP Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Genesis 2:18 New Living Translation
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 New Living Translation
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
This section of Ecclesiastes is on friendship, and it summarizes some of the beautiful benefits of living in community.
READ: GENESIS 1:26-27 AND 1 JOHN 1:3; SOAP: GENESIS 1:27
Genesis 1:26-27 New Living Translation
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
1 John 1:3 New Living Translation
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
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Read: Hosea 14:4-9; 1 Corinthians 1:25 and James 3:17; SOAP: Hosea 14:9
Hosea 14:4-9
The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. 5 I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. 6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. 7 My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. 8 “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.”9 Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths, sinners stumble and fall.
1 Corinthians 1:25
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
James 3:17
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
I want to be a wise woman. And I know that the only way of being wise is through knowing and living God´s Word every single day.
READ: HOSEA 14:1-3, NEHEMIAH 1:9, and 2 PETER 3:9; SOAP: HOSEA 14:2
Hosea 14:1-3
Healing for the RepentantReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. 2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. 3 Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.”
Nehemiah 1:9
9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
He´s patiently waiting for every soul to reach repentance. –
Reflection Question: Hosea calls Israel once again to return to the Lord. This time he tells them to take words with them – what were the words or what was the point of the words?
Read: Hosea 13:15-16 and Jeremiah 4:11-12 and 51:36; SOAP: Jeremiah 51:36
Hosea 13:15-16
Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. 16 The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army, their little ones dashed to death against the ground, their pregnant women ripped open by swords.”
Jeremiah 4:11-12
The time is coming when the Lord will say to the people of Jerusalem, “My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert, and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain. 12 It is a roaring blast sent by me! Now I will pronounce your destruction!”Read full chapter
Jeremiah 51:36 – The Lord’s Vengeance on Babylon
This is what the Lord says to Jerusalem: “I will be your lawyer to plead your case, and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, as well as her springs,
We blame God for all our problems and struggles, but actually, we are the ones to blame
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.
“But I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. And I will make you live in tents again, as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters. 10 I sent my prophets to warn you with many visions and parables.”
11 But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field.
The people of Israel had confidence in their wealth, in their financial success and didn´t want to listen to Hosea. Ultimately, they didn´t want to hear God.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
“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. –
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 –
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 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.
Me From the Inside Out 