The Lord‘s Love for Israel
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
5 They shall not return to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
10 They shall go after the Lord;
he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit,
but Judah still walks with God
and is faithful to the Holy One.
(ESV)
12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
The Lord‘s Indictment of Israel and Judah
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us—
5 the Lord, the God of hosts,
the Lord is his memorial name:
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,
he loves to oppress.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
10 I spoke to the prophets;
it was I who multiplied visions,
and through the prophets gave parables.
11 If there is iniquity in Gilead,
they shall surely come to nothing:
in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;
their altars also are like stone heaps
on the furrows of the field.
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.
13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,
and by a prophet he was guarded.
14 Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds. (ESV)
Hello True North! I wrote a blog about how to spend your time this summer. Check it out and leave a comment here: http://www.churchforhighschoolers.com/blog/seize-the-summer/
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
It is so sad to think about how God loves the people of Israel and called them from the very beginning of Genesis, and yet here they are rejecting him. What a heartbreak to love and watch people walk away. We must consider how God feels about this.
The part of this verse about God calling his son from Egypt clearly refers to Old Testament Israel. But it is also used as a prophesy to Jesus when it is quoted in Matthew 2:15. Think about how God loved the world to give his son up for us. And yet, I wonder how many people walk away from this. Instead of receiving God’s gift of live in his son, they reject Jesus. It is sad to think about how people treat God like this.
I pray that I will always respond to God’s love for me by loving him back with all of my heart.
Hope to see you all at Wednesday night at Salt Creek for our first Beach Night as we talk more about who God is from Hosea.
“I pray that I will always respond to God’s love for me by loving him back with all of my heart.”
I pray this also ALL of my <3
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
heavy.just,but longsuffering,angry,yet so compassionate, his ways our NOT our ways, the Holy God who created us in his image, is not like us, HE IS HOLY, and I am awestruck.
me too!
Awesome comment Johnny!
11:2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
This reminds me of a bunch of people I know, who when they are invited to church or campus lunch they grow more bitter with each request. I don’t want to be this way, and I need to respond swiftly and with an eager heart to the calls of my God.
12:6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
I love this verse, because it is another verse of advice for Israel, whom God is angry with at this point: Seek Help!!!!! Only with the divine power of God can we treasure love and justice, and if we wait for God He will continue to purify our souls for Him.
God help me to realize that this life is completely out of my control and that You are the only source of guidance and perfection. Please guide me this week and help me to do what is pleasing to You.
my prayer also! chapter 12 vs.6 was my verse also that touched my heart.<3
hm, good point Dommy! Thanks for your comment!
Great comment!
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
See even though the despise God Gods love is everlasting.
Great to see you on SOTD James!
Passage: Hosea 11:3-4
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
The Lord stresses that He never stopped loving Israel, He is a God and master who both loves and disciplines His people. He “taught Ephraim (also known as Israel) how to walk” Meaning that He was always there from the beginning, watching them grow as a people. And He also healed them as a father does with their child. However, they did not know it. “Chords” as it says in this passage can be referred to as an alternative for the harsh yoke. As a kind farmer might do, He removes the yoke from His animals, and prods them with a light chord instead. He eased the yoke on them when they felt his wrath and cried out for mercy. This is a great analogy of how our God really is. He loosens the rope on us, and gives us decisions! And many times we abuse this privilege. The Israelites very often abused they’re freedom, turning to sin and the world’s desires. We need to recognize that the freedom we have received to do whatever we want while living on earth is a gift. Our holy and perfect God gives us the freedom to live the life we choose. He loved the Israelites, as it says in Hosea, and shows that He is both a loving and all-powerful God. He bent down to feed His people, showing Himself as both the discipliner and provider. God reveals to us how strong His love is for His people, yet they still turn away from Him. In consequence, our God used the chords and yoke to put them back in line.
The Lord led the Israelites with chords of kindness, but they abused it time and time again. Sometimes they had just forgot what God had done for them, and some of them deliberately turned away, so they could chase after their sinful desires. My prayer is that as the Lord gives us freedom today, that I will not abuse it as the Israelites did. I need to remember what the Lord has done for me in my life, and always be turned towards Him. This world is not an opportunity for our gain, it is a test of who we really are. God is perfect and Holy, worthy of all our praise. I make this also my prayer, that I will continue to always be praising God for the work He has done in my life.
Amen <3
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
No matter what God did for Israel they always wanted to go their own way. They wanted to serve the gods of the nations, not the God that redeemed them from Egypt. The more they were called the more they went away. God would judge them and they would repent and return for a time but then they would stray again and start worshipping other gods. I DON’T want my life to look like this! I want to always obey God and put nothing before him. When the world and its gods look tempting I need to remember what Christ did for my on the cross. NOTHING is worth that. There is no better news. I was running towards hell and God chose me and redeemed me!!! This demands my undying devotion!
Meisha Meisha has it goin on! Thank you for the reminder. :)
12:6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
We need to remember to “HOLD FAST”
and TRUST the only one trust worthy.
R*E*V*I*V*A*L***X! prayin
12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind
and pursues the east wind all day long;
they multiply falsehood and violence;
they make a covenant with Assyria,
and oil is carried to Egypt.
In the Old Testament, when you refer to going away from God you would say you are going east. And that is what happened. Israel kept going further and further away from God. He would reach out in love and they would run off and sacrifice to Baal. He was patient and was waiting for them to return. I pray that I will reach out to my relatives and friends who are not saved and be patient with them in love.
Beach Nights Tomorrow!!! :]
wow! me too!
EAST OF EDEN! Sorry, just had to say that. XD
Dommy made a great point that we need to respond to Christ not with a hardening heart, but with a willing heart. He is the king of kings and Lord of Lords…surely the Isrealites knew this. BUT they gave themselves a king and left God in the dust. May Jesus be the king of kings in my heart and may I have a willing heart to do what He asks me to do in alllllll situations. God may Your son Jesus come back soon! Maranatha.
I Found kind of a before and after story in the first chapter, Isreal was new, and they were on fire for God and he loved them and cared for them and helped them to grow. God “taught Ephraim to walk”(11:3) and guided them in their growth and maturity. However, once sin entered into their lives, they did not try their best to fight it off, and sin took over. The outcome of this, was that now “6 The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.”. With isn in their lives, God turns away from them after he has called them back so many times yet they keep rejecting Him! I need to be so thankful to God for all that he has done for me and in my life, and I need to make sure that when sin gets into my life, I am always begging for forgivness imidetly and turning away from this sin, and not being content to live in this sin!
That is great insight into Israel. We see at first they were walking with God. Sin will destroy us all. It is so important to be confessing our sin to God that we might come back to him and not get lost in our sin. Good job and keep it up. :)
Hosea 12: 12
12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;
there Israel served for a wife,
and for a wife he guarded sheep.
This verse stood out to me this morning, as I was brought to a place in my heart where I see what seems to be this very intentional picture of Jesus. Jacob went out for his wife. And he served for her. For 14 YEARS he served. This reminds me of my Servant-Leader, Jesus. He came for us, His church-Bride, and He SERVES us, FOR us. For a LONG time (Jacob only served 14 years for his beloved. I say only, as though it’s nothing. But the truth is, Jesus serves us for all eternity. The perfect Servant-Leader. So in comparison, Jacob’s service for Rachel is indeed nothing, and this is how we ought to see the service He calls US to. We ought to be looking at our trials and suffering as opportunities for and assignments/commandments of SERVICE that He lives out through us, to gain His Bride).
Jacob guarded sheep for his wife. This, TOO, reminds me of my Shepherd, Jesus. Jesus guards us, His flock: wayward and wandering, curious and clueless, groping and grazing about…And He watches and guards us, to preserve us as His church-Bride.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful…
“(God speaking) My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”
-Hosea 11:8-9
This verses give us a little insight into who God actually is, and that he has multiple traits like people do, although He is not a man.
Knowing God is a difficult thing.
Is God just an arbiter of justice, sending forth wrath, angry at the sins we commit daily…well yes, but is he not also the God who out of love sent his Son to die for us sinners so we could live? Who is God, and does he hate the sinner…or does he love the sinner? Which one? The Bible says: both.
As Pastor Bobby talked about at one of the beach nights last year, God is both just and loving at the same time, In fact, both characters meet together in perfect harmony in God’s character, because God never compromises His sense of justice for His love, nor does He compromise His love for His sense of justice.
But from the verses above we can see that God has compassion on those who are in sin, His dealings with us are not just formal ones where we are the lowly creation, but a true relationship. God is a jealous God, and longs for the people of Israel to repent and return to Him.
So God’s longing for Israel to repent and restore the relationship shows that God is a jealous God, wanting to restore the relationship with His people.
Amazing comment! I always had trouble understanding God’s jealousy and equal love/justice for us, His creation. But your post was spot on! awesome :)
Awesome comment Spencer! That was encouraging!
“In fact, both characters meet together in perfect harmony in God’s character, because God never compromises His sense of justice for His love, nor does He compromise His love for His sense of justice.”
Great explanation Spencer!
Hosea 11:1-2 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.”
This is so sad! Here in verse one, God is reminding Israel of how he loved them all, and how he rescued them from the Egyptians. He took them out of the hands of their enemies and placed them into his arms, into safety. He led them through the desert with a cloud by day, and fire in the sky at night. He gave them bread that fell from the sky, and made sure that they had enough every single day!! And when they needed water, he gave them water, from a rock! Yet what did the Israelites do?! They turned their backs on God. They went away from him, completely forgetting all he had done for them, and was currently doing for them, and they started serving other false Gods to fulfill their own satisfaction.
As reading through Hosea, and when thinking back on times when I’ve read through books like Exodus and other Old Testament books, my original thought was “What is wrong with the Israelites?! Do they not realize how gracious and merciful and amazing their God is? Do they not see all he has done for them? They are so incredibly selfish, and they’ve got some serious problems!!” But then I started thinking about how I could apply this to myself. I wanted to make Israel’s story with God more than just a moral story for me, and get deeper into it. Then I realized, I was being SO hypocritical by making these judgements on the Israelites, when I do the exact same thing to God in my own life. Look at all he’s done for me: he’s blessed me with a home, Christian parents, an amazing little sister, so many incredible brothers and sisters in Christ and great friends, food everyday, clothes to put on, and all of these other things that I don’t really need but I’ve been blessed with anyways! The greatest thing God has given me is his Son though! And what do I do to God? I worry, and I fear, and I doubt, and I stress out. I try to handle things all on my own, and go to God as the last resort. He has done so much for me, so I need to stop turning away like the Israelites did, and realize that I have an incredible Father in heaven who WILL help me if I turn to him and stop trying to rely on myself!!
Great comment Mady!
Maddy Adler you are such an encouragement! Great comment! (: It is so awesome to see how much you are growing in the Lord!
Mmm thank you for reminding me that I have more in common with the Israelites than I think. Great comment!
That should be a constant thought on all of our hearts, way to go Mady! : D
Great comment, God really used it to encourage me to trust in Him!
Great comment Mady! Its so true how we critisize people in the Bible when we can account for the same type of things!
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
God is SO good to us. So many times as with the Israelites He had every reason to pour out His anger on us for our sin and yet He is compassionate and is in complete control of His wrath and anger and will not pour them out carelessly but only in perfect justice according to His plan. I think of Hebrews 4:15 that says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses…”. God is not a man and He is not given to impulse but is oh so patient with His children, even able to sympathize with our weaknesses and always trying to lead us back to Himself. I’m so thankful for the Lord’s patience and withholding of His wrath until the designated time so that as 2 Peter 3:9 says that none should perish, but all (whom God has chosen) should reach repentance. No man deserves this kind of mercy, so let us NEVER take it for granted.
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
its sad to see that even after everything that God had done for Israel, he still went his own way. its important that we listen to God and here what hes asking us to do! what He commands, is what we should be doing. obeying Him and all that He does. amen.<3:)
beach night tomorrow:)
I will pray in the mornings Psalm 5:2, I will cry out and praise your Holy name Psalm 92:1-2. This should be the focus of our day before we do anything, asking God to have dominion over our thoughts, deeds and words.
The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
God is holding both northen and southern tribes accountable for their sin and the price they paid was high.
Remember Jacob was Israel’s name before God changed it.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
Aw i love this verse yet this verse is so sad, saying how much God loves them/us. But they dont wanna listen to the turth, so they make fake idols.
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
Love this verse, its saying how much our God loves us. Even when we sin, or hate him. How he died in the cross for our sins. We have to love how he loved…not bye the words that u are christians but bye the actions that you doo.
Maranatha!
I really like your comment! Sooo true, God is so incredibly loving twords us, its so amazing! :D
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
I need to be more like God in this instance. I need to contain my anger and remember that God will punish them in the end, and that I don’t need to do anything but encourage and bring others to Him. I’ve always had a problem with the forgive and forget saying, because it sounds too liberal for me. But I do need to have more patience and understanding, because I used to be in their position too.
11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
God has spoken of how it is he who has raised the Israelites. He has been faithful to them as their God, leading them. It is he who brought them out of Egypt. It is he who brought them into the Promised Land. Yet Israel has forsaken the one and true God. They have sought for themselves idols to worship instead. God is a jealous God. He wants his people to worship him. The Israelites fail to remember that God has brought them through it all, and they owe him everything. Without him, they would cease to exist, yet alone be blessed with all they have.
I don’t want to take for granted all that the Lord has blessed me with. I need to always keep on the forefront of my mind that the only reason I live and breathe is because of the Lord. Even more than that, I can look around at all of the physical things I have and know it only comes from God. All the talents and abilities I have are not of my own accord. In and of myself, I have no strength to do anything. It is only through God that I have the strength to live. It is only through God that I have life, and in the same way, it needs to be only for God that I live!
6 The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.
One of the most difficult things in life is having to watch someone make bad choice after bad choice. Many of us have probably had the unfortunate experience of watching someone spiral down in sin–maybe even despite warnings–and end up hurting themselves or others. But God has made it clear that when people turn from Him to other things, He will give them over to their lust, impurity, and dishonor. He will allow people to be consumed by their idolatry. I, of course, want to closely guard my heart against idolatry, but I also want to pray for those around me that God will reach out in mercy and draw them to Him. I pray that God will convict those around me and prompt them to turn from their false idols and repent, placing their faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. May God’s great glory be seen through the grace and salvation he extends to undeserving sinners.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
The Lord is so compassionate on the people and he didn’t punish the people. He is so just and loving to us! I need to be more loving to others even when they wrong me.
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
I need to be holding fast to love. Sometimes I get easily annoyed and I need to be more patient and understanding. God has showed us so much love and we are supposed to shine His love unto others.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
this is a sad thing that happens, the more we here about something, the more we let it go because we think we already know what is being said. so when God called them the first time, it must have been great, but after it happened over and over again, it became something that wasnt special and they began to leave him
the Lord gives us so much and sometimes i find myself taking it for granted, and not being thankful. the Lord provides for me and i need to recognize that and never forget what he does and did for me.
for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
sometimes i think of God as a perfect man and not as the all powerful all knowing mighty just enormous holy God that he really is. he is so holy and so above us. this verse reminds me that God is not a man but a holy omniscient omnipresent loving just powerful mighty God. the world is his footstool. he is so incredibly huge that he uses the world as his footstool! that really puts in perspective how big he is. and i need to praise him and please him everyday.
The Lord has blessed us with so much, and i know that i sometimes forget all of the wonderful things that he has given me. It says in verses 9 and 10 that the Lord will not respond with anger to them, and gives them the opportunity to seek him and return to him. He gives them a second chance so to speak and shows them the grace and mercy that are so prevalent in his character.
9I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
10 They shall go after the Lord;
he will roar like a lion;
If the Lord is willing to show us this kind of forgiveness patience grace and mercy, than we must show this to others. We can not forget the character of God, and allow our selfish nature to take over. This is why it is so important to fill myself with the spirit every day, and to grow in a deeper understanding of who God is, so that i can better obey his commands and live for him, making myself ready and usable by the Lord.
mmmm great comment Jordan:)) you are doing a great job of living out the Word!
ELLO… I read
I like verse 2,”The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.”
I like this verse because it shows that Israel sacrificed to other gods and made idols out of GOD’s creation. I don’t really like the fact like they did these things but I like the fact that GOD forgave them and that HE still sent HIS SON to die for people who were still HIS enemies. I don’t deserve GOD’s grace and I still sin. GOD is extremely patient and is the only one who will continually forgive us for our sins. Although that doesn’t give us an excuse to live in out sin.
CYA
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
This verse is the image I get when I think of God’s love. God’s love is so powerful, that even when we stop loving God he still loves us. When we sin against God he still loves us. God is Love.
Text about God’s unfailing love….
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:12-13
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever
-Psalm 136:26
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings
-Psalm 36:7
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5).
Looking at this verse also makes me sad because God loves his Children so much and they are falling away and making new God’s as if the one and only father isn’t enough for them. We look at this verse and maybe think “aww sad, poor God”. But in reality maybe we are like the people in this verse. Rejecting God and turning to everyday idols. This is sin. Maybe we aren’t going to God first with our problems and confessing that he is the only one worthy of our praise. Perhaps a person is an idol in your life. I like to question myself… Am i thinking about this person more than I think about God? If I am than that is Sin.
My prayer is that this summer everyone at True North will get closer to God and KNOW God more than ever before.
Maranatha!
That is so good Katie, that you realize the tendency we have in our lives to turn to our “idols” and that you are being proactive about recognizing what things in you life are vying for your attention! We all need to constantly be examining our hearts and our minds to see if in our day to day we are actually putting God first.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
Often when I think of the times it can be easy to fall to selfishness, I think of the bad times, when anxiety can take over. This verse reminds me that even when things are going well, I can be blind to what God is doing for us and how he blesses us. I pray that we will see that God takes care of us, and as a response we won’t turn away but will seek Him. His grace should empower us, not give us reason to turn to idolatry as in verse 2. What better way can there be for us to spend our summer than to walk with God?
Nice post Josh! Keep it up! I agree bro, there is no better way to spend our time off of school than to be spending it with God! Hope to see you at Beach Night on Wednesday!
12:6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
I really like this verse! We need to hold fast to love that God has given us and justice. We can’t just forget about all that God has given us and the salvation we are able to have through his son Jesus Christ. Sometimes people forget about how great God is and the simple things he has given us that we truly can’t live without, and they need to wake up and realize that it is God who has provided us with everything! Let us wait continually for God to come while getting others excited about him.
I read…
In this chapter, God talks about how He is jealous for the people of Israel and how they have left Him. As non-believers read this chapter, they can see the love that God has for them. As Christians, we can read this chapter seeing the love God has for us and because of this we should want to share it. I pray that I would have more opportunities to evangelize in my day to day life.
11:8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
Amidst all of this judgment, we see that God still cares for His people. He judges them because it is what they deserve, but He still loves them; they are still His people. In verse 1 of chapter 11 we learn that Israel is a son to the Lord. Even though as Christians we sin against God, we are still His children. Though He may chasten and discipline us (see Hebrews 12:5-7) He still loves us. This doesn’t give us a license to sin, but it should comfort us. Just as Israel was still God’s people after the neglected Him, so He will still love us and be our God even is we sin against Him. I need to keep this in mind and remember how I am the Lord’s, no matter what. I need to live with full assurance of faith, and praise the Lord for His faithfulness!
12:5 the Lord, the God of hosts,
the Lord is his memorial name:
In the Bible names play a huge role. While names today may not have any real significance, they had real significance back then. Here, amidst the indictment against Israel, Hosea refers to God as the LORD, the God of Hosts. The term LORD, (to be distinguished from Lord) is God’s covenant name (YHWH, which is believed to be pronounced Yahweh), where He revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3 at the burning bush. This name reminds us of God’s faithfulness. The God of Hosts tells us about how God controls His heavenly armies of angels, as well as the armies of Israelites. He is still sovereign over everything. This should bring us comfort, that even is the midst of judgment, God is in control. He knows what is best, and He has His plan working in our lives. Even though the Lord may be judging me, I need to remember how He is in control!
Chapter 11:
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
I really liked verses 4&7 because they are both words from God, and they show precisely what is going on..God is trying to lift our stresses, help us..and yet His people are turning away from Him…He is giving them ALL of Him. A few months ago, Pastor Bobby said in a message…”God deserves all of us, because He’s giving us all of Him.” That statement affected me severely then, and now with these two verses, even more. The thing is, its so true..Christ is offering us EVERYTHING, and yet so many of us are rejecting Him, or not honoring Him, or just not making Him the center of our EVERYday lives. He deserves all of us..He deserves MORE than all of us.
Chapter 12:
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
Verse 6 stood out to me because its a reminder that ONLY by God’s help can we return to Him, and we have to continually wait for God. Another one of Pastor Bobby’s sermons comes to mind..the time when He was talking about Christ’s return..we have to be waiting, He will come like a thief in the night.
Hosea continues to keep my attention and astound me with every verse.
Mmm great comment Megan! He does deserve more than all of us and it truely is so important he is the center of our lives!
6 The sword shall rage against their cities,
consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
when we do not follow God and turn away from him we will be punished. We should follow him o matter what happens, when things are easy and when they are hard.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
God is so amazing. Even in the midst of punishing Israel for their iniquity, He has love and compassion on them. It is sometimes hard to think about how God can be both just and loving like this. I mean first He talks about how He will destroy Israel utterly, but then He says that He will still show love because He is God. I believe this has to do with sparing Judah and possibly bringing Israel back to Him in the end times. And just like God showed Israel love in the midst of justice, He has similarly shown love to me. I who was His enemy am now spared my just condemnation because God so loved me that He sent Jesus to die for me. And not only that but even though I still commit sins all the time, God does not hold them against me or ever let me fall out of His hands but only sees the pure life of Jesus in my stead. LORD, your mercy is so amazing; please help me never to forget to constantly thank you for it. Please help me also not to become complacent in my sin, however, and think that I’ll be alright with a little sin here and there. Please help me to remember your vast hatred of sin. the enormous wrath you have in store for it, as well as how much it cost your Son so that I might be free of it so that I would stay as far away as sin as possible and dwell in the new life that you have brought me into.
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
God loves the israelites but they are constantly pushing away from him and wanting everything but God. So God being just has to punish them by making Assyria there rulers.
God is a jealous God who wants all or nothing.
We need to be living for him alone and no one else.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
In the beginning of Hosea, God seems to only have the trait of punishing Israel. Which is true, although it wasnt always that way. In this verse it talkes about how God loved Isreal in the beginning. It talkes about how He took care of them, fed them, and protected them. God treated them like a child. Although, the Israelits turned against God. They had forgotten all that He had done for them. This is what made God angry. If we turn against God, we WILL be punished. But were missing one of the main points. A lot of people, by reading this, are getting the idea that God is only out to punish people. Which is not true. God is Love! Here is a verse in the bible that talks about Gods love…
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together Christ-by grace you have been saved.” -Ephesians 2:4
God is LOVE, its only after WE sin, or choose to disobey Him, He will punish us. But we are still forgiven by His LOVE for us! So instead of dwelling on how He will punishes people for disobeying (which He should), we must also remember to praise God for His unfailing LOVE!!! :)
Great post!! God is so amazing for always forgiving us and continually showering His love on us even though we sin!
Thanks! Your so right! God is awesome! :)
I read today and liked verse 6….
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
We need to hold fast to love. We need to be loving each other every day and showing each other that. Even though the Isrealites had strayed from God, God still loved them. Also, we need to be holding fast to justice. We need to do what is right and want what is right. We need to stay away from sin and not be like the Israelites. God was angry by the way that they had not done what was right.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
This verse really points out the foolishness in straying from the Lord. Why would I want to run from kindness and love. This verse motivates me to be led by the God as he leads through the clear direction of his Word!
Looking forward to be back with you all.
Praying for you and the others in Israel!!!
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
“I am God and not man.” It is easy for us to define God in terms of our own expectations and behavior. In so doing, we make him slightly larger than ourselves. In reality, God is infinitely greater than we are. We should seek to become like HIM rather than attempting to remake him in our image.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
When I am reading these two chapters I am wondering how someone could ignore God and be disobediant, but what I forget is that I can and do act like this!! I can ignor God like Israel is doing to God, though I may not be bowing down to an idol I can have something In my life that is controling my heart!! And i totaly forget that God is my Lord not anything in his world!
Maranatha
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
These verses are so sad!! God loved the people from Israel and Egypt, but no matter what the people didn’t love Him back. They were worshipping idols and totally going against what their God wanted them to do!! How could people treat their God and Savior like that after all He did for them?!?! He led them out of Egypt, He provided for their needs, but the people thought it wasn’t enough!! I want to make sure that I am not like those people. I need to be content with what the Lord has given me and show the Lord that I love Him as much as He loves me!!!
Going to the Refuge for the first time tonight! :)
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
God could have severly punished Israel for their sin, but God is not as quick to anger as we are, we always want to strike back at people. God is more understanding because He knows the heart of man. God is all knowing too. God is not human, God doesn’t make mistakes and He doesn’t regret what He does, like so eaisly we do. God doesn’t feel bad when He does something because like I said before, God doesn’t make mistakes nor does He do anything wrong. God still has compassion for Israel, this shows His everlasting love. God has grace for Israel, God still loves them even though Israel has done many bad things to God. They worshiped idols and rebelled against Him. God is forgiving, He is faithful to Israel.
Recap from this verse, God is: faithful, loving, slow to anger, understanding, and doesn’t error (perfect).
Proud of you brother! You can be used by God to impact te Refuge ministry. I hope that you brought your brother Robert.
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away;they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols” (Hosea 11:1-2)
If anyone actually reads my comments, then they will know that this will be different because I normally try to incorporate the entire chapters with using verses that flow. But this time I will try to incorporate the entire chapter with these two verses. But I, first, must bring up an interesting fact: Hosea clearly states that God “loved” His people, and that would imply that He no longer does. But I feel that this means God’s love is contingent on how people obey and worship God. I think this thought is paradigm shattering. God’s love follows the obedience of His people. But I thought it must be true that God loves the world or else verses like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life,” wouldn’t make sense. But, what about verse like Psalm 5:5, “The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.”, would imply that God hates sinners. How can the two be correct and keep the inerrancy of the Bible. Well, I believe through my studying of God’s love and reading the Bible that I have an appropriate answer: God loves everyone in the sense of a group. John writes that God loves the world, not specifically the individuals of the world, but the humans of the world. And, in verses like Psalm 5:5 it is clear that God hates sinners. So, God may have a love for sinners in general, but still abhors them. So, I think the whole love-hate controversy can be understood through the two ways God looks at the world: His narrow lens, and His wide-angle lens. His narrow lens sees sinners for who they are and He abhors them. While, through His wide-angle lens, He sees the entire human race and has a love for them.
Now that that paradox is cleared up I think it’s amazing to see how God can love anyone. But just because God loves humans, that does not necessitate His lack of punishment towards them. In fact, His love demands that evil must be punished. For, if God did not punish evil, then God would not truly love good. And, so, God seeing everything must punish Israel for what they are. God’s love can be shown by His justice. And I think that’s one of the most profound things I have learned this year.
Paradigm shattering indeed!
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols
This is true for so many Orange County kids. God gives us everything we could possibly need and has abundant love for us but so many people reject Him and instead follow the worldly way of life. We should be seeking God’s path for us when He is calling us to follow Him. We should also be spreading this to those who we know that are on the wrong path so that they can be saved.
Once again…all through this book i can see the people of israel and connect them to us. This book just lays it out for us. If we are to sin and turn our backs on God, he will pour out his wrath upon us. God loves each and everyone of us soooooo much. We turn our backs to him though and it is like a slap in the face. If you turn your back on God, it wont be pretty. Stay strong in the lord and you will live an awesome life no matter what happens. The best part is that you will live an even greater afterlife for all of eternity
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
God does not get his jollies out of punishing His people. Those He loves, He punishes but he doesn’t go around hoping His people sin so the He can destroy them. It is comforting to know that God loves us even in punishment and it is also comforting to know that God does not want to destroy His people. God will do what is necesary and He has every right to do whatever He does but He finds no joy in punishing His people. I want to live in such a way by His grace that I don’t make Him have to punish me.
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
As Mady so mentioned in her amazing comment on earlier todaaayy, it’s so sad to see the Israelites turn away from God when His evidence was so plainly laid out for them to see. It is even sadder still to see the striking resemblance between us and them. God has blessed every Christian out there and I think especially us True Northers. Where does the world want to live? America. Where does America want to live? California. Where does California want to live? Southern California. . . So you see, it could be argued that we live in one of the best places on planet Earth!! Yet we all still complain and whine about chores, school, teachers, friends, the lack of seasons, etc. I’m one of the worst out there. Yet I need to put this aside and see what God HAS done in my life, which is an insane amount. Obviously the best one being that He sent His son who died for me. So next time the temptations of this world seem too much, I’m going to remember how I don’t want to be like the Israelites.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High,
he shall not raise them up at all.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
Further evidence for the pain we cause the Lord with our sin and yet even more evidence for how amazing God is! Like Spencer said earlier, God is a just, jealous, and loving God. He desperately wants us to serve Him and ONLY Him. Like Pastor Bobby said last week, we cannot serve God and money and nothing at ALL should be above Him. He is just in that He will punish us for our sins, but He is loving in that He will forgive us as well. It is a true relationship and that is the most precious thing in the world. A relationship with the maker of the universe!! He cares about my itty bitty roly poly problems. . .WHOA….
MARANATHA.
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
Everyday i struggle so much to wait and listen for God to lead me through my daily trials. Like we went over at the workshop..i dont wait or go to God for things right away i just go to my friends and try to handle things on my own and freak out. But i need to wait and go to God for EVERYTHING and not try to rely on myself and the people in my life. God is the most important thing in my life and he is always there and knows every plan and trial i will and have gone through. i really need to depend on Him and go to him..and wait on his word. I cant do anything without God if i try to work and control things on my own they will always fall apart. So Lord please help me wait and rely on YOU and not myself for things and Lord please help me drop everything for you and just meditate on who you our as our God and how powerful and amazing you areLOrd….amen!
it is sad how God loved the isrealites so much and saved them and still they left him. it is so easy to point fingers at the isrealites and say wow they are so stupid and sinful but when we do that we should be pointing our fingers right back at ourselves. Jesus died for us! He suffered Gods wrath for us! but still we sin against Him and some of us outright deny Him. i need to understand more that gravity of Gods sacrifice and how ever sin i commite is like punching Him in the face. it is awful.
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
I love these verses. It shows all the tenderness, patience, and love that God has had towards Israel. Just like Israel, we as Christians are God’s chosen people. He has taught us with His Holy Spirit how to walk according to word, He has healed us from the wounds of sin that lead to death with the death of Jesus, He guides us in life with “bands of love” and “chords of kindness” that keep us from making wrong decisions, He has taught us how to serve Him, and He feeds us with His word. It is mind blowing that God would humble Himself to do so much for us. Like Mady pointed out, it is so foolish to not trust Him in our lives. So I am not going to be anxious anything, but instead trust in the Lord in everything, giving thanks to Him for all that He does!
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son. i need to work on obaying God.
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
What a bummer. God loves his people yet they continued to live in sin. I cannot relate 100% but I can a little. Family I love and friends have fallen away from God. When someone you love fall away from you is upsetting, then when they fall away from God, it is just so troubling. People distancing away from you is sad. For some reason God still loves him. My sinful nature would have me just forget about them and get on with my life, but being a Christians allows me to reach out in different ways to have them become closer. I am called to love because God first loved me. I am glad that he still loves me, if he gave up on me I be filled with sadness. Like God, I will always love, even if it is hard to.
12:6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
i like this verse because we do need to hold fast on to the love and justice God has given us
10 They shall go after the Lord;
he will roar like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the west;
11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria,
and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
Aslan! The image of God that is popular today is a picture of a nice old grandpa sitting in a chair waiting for you to join him up in the clouds. This is offensively wrong. God is fearsome, and even though He does not choose to reveal Himself to us (giving us a visual image to fear), we still need to remember whom we are serving.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
Thse verses are so tender and loving. They really touch my heart as God articulates His love and compassion for His beloved people. EVEN though they have hurt Him so deeply, and God is burning with anger, these verses show us a glimpse of His infinite grace and mercy.
I have been the recipient of His incomprehensible grace and I will forever praise God with a heart full of love and thankfulness. My prayer is that I would never, never forget the blessings and mercy I have received.
Awesome post Mrs. Burke!!!! Very nice words!!!
14 Ephraim has given bitter provocation;
so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds
This is a great verse. GOD punished Israel for their evil deeds, and this verse displays the LORD’s anger. The LORD is a just GOD and will not leave sin unpunished. He sent his SON so that we would not have to face his wrath, but all who are not christians will have to face the anger that is described in Hosea.
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
Such an encouraging verse for us to wait continually for our God! So many times do I get discouraged that things in my life arent going right, and I loose sight that everyday I have to be looking to whats ahead. Waiting seems to be something that I cant stand, and it seems like I am always waiting for something. I have to always always be in Gods word and continually reminding myself that waiting for my God, will all pay off in the end. I cant just sit here and not do anything for the rest of my life. I have to get up and get out telling people about Gods love, and how waiting for His return could be the best thing that ever happend to them.
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;I have found wealth for myself;in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.” 9 I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt;I will again make you dwell in tents,as in the days of the appointed feast.
These verses reminded me how God can and will take away things in our life if we become completely prideful and boastful and acting like we did it all on our own. We can’t do anything, without God. We wouldn’t even be alive without him. We need to admit that we need God and know that we get everything from him, and need to praise him for all he has done for us and not think that we did it all on our own.
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
God has mercy and grace. He loves His people, and holds back what we do deserve (eternal damnation) and gives us what we don’t deserve (eternal life & all the blessings we get). God is just, so He has to punish someone, but He loves us so much that He instead gave His Son up as the atonement for us. Here it says that God loves His people so much that He can’t destroy them because He loves them just so much. God has mercy on His people, but at the price of Jesus’s life. It’s really a big encouragement to be reminded about how much He loves me and all of His people! He went out of His way to save us from what we deserve simply because He loves us enough to do it. I don’t think we even fully understand that kind of love and mercy. I am so gratefull! (did i spell it right?)
8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;
I have found wealth for myself;
in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”
9 I am the Lord your God
from the land of Egypt;
I will again make you dwell in tents,
as in the days of the appointed feast.
These verses reminded me of what we learned at the girls study thing a little. People like to feel like they don’t need help from God or any one, so when trials come, it is hard to turn to God for help. What Ephraim did was they made it so they felt they didn’t need Gods help, they were financially stable and they didn’t think they would be invaded by another country.They didn’t realize God could take all they had away in the blink of any eye. They needed to realize, as Job i think said, that “The Lord taketh and the Lord giveth away.” Or something like that. And then he goes on to basically say the he came to this earth with nothing so he would leave with nothing. It is hard to keep that state of mind, that we will leave the earth with nothing and all we worked for will have been for nothing, but its true!
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols
It is sad to think about the Israelites openly reject God’s love and seeking after man-made idols, however, I wonder how often this also occurs for us. Although we may not openly or daily reject God’s love, in the moments of sin, we are allowing something to be more important than God. I need to work to identify the idols that draw my focus from my Savior. I’m excited to talk more about God’s jealousy tomorrow night at beach night. May I daily fight against the idols that pull my affections from God.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up by their arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of kindness,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
God was like a father to the Israelites. He loved them, he took care of them, he helped them… Yet they clearly still turned away and fell into darkness. He did so much for them, yet they forgot it all and pursued other things.
In the same way, God is my heavenly father. He has done (and does) so much for me- most notably sending his Son to DIE on a cross, just for me, who did absolutely nothing to deserved it but rather sinned against him. I owe my entire life to the Lord, yet how do I repay him? By disobeying what he asks of me? By sinning again and again in the same areas he specifically says not to? But hey, God will loves me anyway, so it doesn’t matter… right? No. For some reason, it is so easy for us to get this twisted idea in our minds that since God loves us, we can do whatever we please without being punished or reaping the consequences. Psalm 5:5 says that God HATES all who do wrong. (NIV) That doesn’t exactly sound like somebody who doesn’t really care if we disobey him.
What can I take from this? Well… no, I’m not going to be perfect and never sin. But definitely can strive for righteousness in everything I do, rather than just doing whatever I want. God wants us to please him and glorify him; I need to always be praying that he will help me to abstain from sin! It is a war that all Christians have to face, and not an easy one at that. However, we have the God of the universe on our side, and he is with us all the way, which is so encouraging!
I don’t want to be like the Israelites and forget the God who gave me everything and made me! He needs to be the absolute most important thing to me, above any worthless thing on this earth!
8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender
God still has compassion on those he loves even when they sin!! In this case with Israel, with all the sin they commit, he still gives them mercy and compassion because he loves them!! I am one of God’s children and no matter what I do, I will still be one of his!! I think this also can give me and maybe others the mindset sometimes that I can do this and yet God will still forgive me and everything will be ok!! NO!! I just need to remember that I am a child of God and he loves me!! He shows his love by disciplining me when i do wrong!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,
hold fast to love and justice,
and wait continually for your God.”
I am so very thankful that God shows me such patience… It seems like every day I fall short of his glory yet he is always teaching me through daily trials to trust him and wait on him for everything! What a blessing it is to know that he is an unchanging God that stays true to his word.
9 I will not execute my burning anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
The phrase that really stood out to me is “for I am God and not a man”. God does not respond the way we do. We respond with anger and emotion God repsonds with wisdom and truth. His love is steadfast and never changing. When he acts it is because he purposes to. All that he does is perfect and right.
God is not the same as us in anyway. In our culture today we have diminished God to be like our bro or friend, but he is not in any way. We must think righty about who God is. If we dont he becomes the God of our own imagination a God who is like us, and he in no way is like us. I love that verse in Isaiah 55:8 that says
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
This verse is one to commit to memory to remind me that his ways and thoughts are higher than mine. That he is not like me or “one of us” I must always have a high view of God. A view that comes from his word and not my own thoughts.
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and burning offerings to idols.
If we don’t constantly stay in God’s Word and prayer, we will spiritually fall away like the Israelites. No matter what new thing God blessed them with, they continually complained or were only thankful for a short amount of time. We need to be thankful DAILY for everything He gives us!
Through this passage I’m really starting to see the level of compassion that God has for his chosen people.
He picks them out, saves them, and greatly desires to have them follow him, but they don’t. They turn to worldly desires, and desert him, the God who saved them.
And yet despite this God does not give up on them. He says, “I will not come in wrath”, when he has every right to.
This is the God we serve. A God who will never desert his chosen people, despite what they do to him. He is compassionate towards them.. and able to forgive
2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah
and will punish Jacob according to his ways;
he will repay him according to his deeds.
The OT is largely a pattern of obedience->God is pleased->disobedience->God is displeased->Mercy. Humans cannot keep that pattern of full obedience becasue we need to be continually drawn toward God.God, however, always loves us and has mercy on those He loves (his chosen people). Mhmmmmm, God is good. Amen!
Hosea 11
7 My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
It seems incredible to me that Israel the people whom God calls His own are so quick to abandon God. He gave them so much grace time after time as they continue to seek other idols and continue in their sin. This sounds a lot like the world today as we call out to God but we seek other gods and continue to sin against the Lord. We even see this in the midst of the church where people claim to be Christians but their lives are lived for themselves and they continue to live a life of sin. I pray that Compass Bible Church and True North would not be a people prone to hypocrisy and apostasy. Just like we see with Israel the Lord God will remove Himself from among us and remove His favor from us if we live for ourselves and continue in sin.
Matthew 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’