7:1 When I would heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria;
for they deal falsely;
the thief breaks in,
and the bandits raid outside.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
3 By their evil they make the king glad,
and the princes by their treachery.
4 They are all adulterers;
they are like a heated oven
whose baker ceases to stir the fire,
from the kneading of the dough
until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king, the princes
became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand with mockers.
6 For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue;
all night their anger smolders;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen,
and none of them calls upon me.
8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9 Strangers devour his strength,
and he knows it not;
gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,
and he knows it not.
10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
nor seek him, for all this.
11 Ephraim is like a dove,
silly and without sense,
calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.
12 As they go, I will spread over them my net;
I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;
I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry to me from the heart,
but they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
they rebel against me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they devise evil against me.
16 They return, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. (ESV)
Israel Will Reap the Whirlwind
8:1 Set the trumpet to your lips!
One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because they have transgressed my covenant
and rebelled against my law.
2 To me they cry,
“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They made kings, but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.
My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6 For it is from Israel;
a craftsman made it;
it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
shall be broken to pieces.
7 For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
it shall yield no flour;
if it were to yield,
strangers would devour it.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
a wild donkey wandering alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Though they hire allies among the nations,
I will soon gather them up.
And the king and princes shall soon writhe
because of the tribute.
11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
they have become to him altars for sinning.
12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds. (ESV)
Hosea, chapter 8:
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
I need to have the highest regard for the Lord. Recently I was under a teaching that warned and reminded me to have and maintain a HIGH VIEW OF GOD. Disturbingly, I am all too easily desensitized by the world around me, and I fall prey to the constant lure and trap of wanting to personify God, which would in turn bring Him down to MY level, MY playing ground. So often, in my prideful attempts to understand God (as though I even could!), I reduce His hugeness, His power, His very essence of being GOD: Creator of EVERYTHING, having dominion and sovereignty over it all; my Master and my Savior.
When I commit this sin, God indeed sends His fire. It may not be immediate, but ultimately, I end up reaping whatever I sow. Again, God brings me to a place where I need to have FEAR of Him, which lays the groundwork for gaining His wisdom, which lends me discernment and obedience.
Truly, we do have an awesome Master! :)
8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
When the Israelites were conquering the land, God instructed them not to mingle or intermarry with the other nations. He commanded this because he knew their hearts would be led astray from the worship of the True God, to the worship of foreign gods. Here in this chapter we see the Israelites mixing themselves with the foreigners. They were inconsistent in their worship, sometimes honoring Baal (a foreign deity) and sometimes honoring God.
They are described here as “cake not turned.” A cake that was never turned over (imagine a pancake), would be completely burned on one side and raw on the other. The cake would be good for nothing and not worth consuming. Because of the Israelites inconsistent devotion, they were described as this useless cake. A similar illustration is found in Revelation 3, when God is describing the church in Laodicea. The people of this church are described as lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. Just like half-raw cake, lukewarm water is good for nothing.
In Revelation, the Lord commands the people to be zealous and repent (3:19). The Israelites needed to put aside their worship of other gods and be zealous solely for the Lord. Let’s make sure that today we are not living as half-baked cakes. I want to be zealous for the one True God and make sure that my life is free from distractions.
ELLO… I read
I like verse 2,”But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.”
I like this verse because it tells us that GOD sees everything we do. Nothing can be kept a secret from GOD and HE knows everything bad that everyone does down the the “smallest lie.” GOD knows everything we do and will judge us according to what we have done. I need to make sure that whenever something that tempts me to sin comes along that I pray and that GOD lets me find a way to get out of that sin so I may be rewarded instead of failing and deserving punishment. Nothing can be hidden from GOD and HE knows everything.
CYA
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
God really doesn’t like his sheep straying from him. He should too. God is the one who made me and he wants me to know that. He also wants me to know that he does not like people going against him. He would ring destruction to them. He says he would redeem them, but they speak lies against him. This reminded me of what Pastor Ben said in the Blog. People are committing adultery against God. They are loving themselves and worldly things over God, but they say they are a Christian. God wants us to follow him and we should. God delivers, but first we have to be willing to lay everything down for the Lord. First we need to turn away from sin and lies so that God can redeem.
2 To me they cry,
“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
These people are really not getting the point. God directly tells them that they are not His people and that He is going to punish them severely. Yet, they continue in their persistent sin and still claim to “know God.” They are bitterly mistaken. God lets them know of that here in this verse, calling them out for their hypocrisy.
This is like many people nowadays. If I were to go up to every person on my high school campus and ask if they were a Christian, probably about half or three quarters of them would say yes. But the sad truth is that though they claim to “know God” and be one of His people, they are still in their sins and have no desire to repent of them. One day they will realize when they stand before God that they most definitely were not God’s people when He tells them, ” ‘I never knew you, away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:23) This is a scary verse, and many people will hear this from Jesus on the day of judgment. This makes me want to be telling people of the truth and the reality of the punishment from their sins that is coming. I’m praying that God would put opportunities for me to share with people about what being a Christian truly means!
Great comment summer!!! And sadly not just on your campus but everywhere people claim to be Christians yet don’t walk the walk or like Pastor Bobby’s message this weekend, by the way they talk you can see their heart sometimes. I am praying with you and for you!
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
God knows what we are going to do do even before we do it so when we are about to do something to where you need to question if it’s right than don’t even do it if it isn’t good cause God knows everything even if you keep things from your parents.
8)
PEACE
Right on James!
11 Ephraim is like a dove,
silly and without sense,
calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.
Israel, time and again, went for help to other nations. They never could quite learn that all the help they needed was found in God. They would go to Egypt and Assyria for military help and then Egypt and Assyria would just conquer them and rule over them or make them pay tribute. Israel was not willing to trust God and cry out to him. I look at them and think, “How stupid can you get?? God has done so much for you and yet you still turn to earthly things for help?” But then I stop and look at myself. How much has God done for me? I have the entire revelation of Scripture! They only had the Old Testament (and not even all of it because some was still be written!). Christ saved me from my sin and redeemed me from hell. Yet when I’m in trouble or life is rough is God the first place I run? Or do I look for help in friends, family, music? I’m just as sinful as the Israelites. God needs to be my first thought when times get tough. I need to run to God first. He is the only on that can really help me anyway!!
Definitely! :D
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
this is all going against the Lord. if we or other people are rebelling constantly, God isnt gonna be too happy and will want destruction over you. and also the very 2 last lines in this verse remind of what Pastor Bobby was preaching last night. when was the last time you lied and why did you? its always to get out of something. but what we need to do is speak the truth. what comes out of our mouths shows people who we really are. and like Pastor Bobby said that the amount of words we speak in a day is anough to fill 50-60 pages in a book. just think, what if someone read that book? think about the last words you said and the last few days…
Nice post!
Great comment Vanessa! Keep it up!
Hi Vanessa, It was so nice to meet you last Thursday night. And then I got the pleasure of meeting your family on Sunday!! (You and Miranda have a lot in common-you both have English dads) Too bad about the game this morning-we were all ‘sick as parrots’ over the result :(
Great to see you on SOTD!! Keep it up! :)
“But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil…” (Hosea 7:2).
I believe we are often tempted to take a human perspective, rather than a “God perspective” in viewing these condemnations against Israel.
From God’s perspective, God is upholding His side of the covenant, but Israel, they’ve turned away. They’ve “cheated” on God. Now God is angry and all their sin is before his eyes, and why does a just God not just punish these sinful people?
I believe at this point it would be wise to examine myself: have I “cheated” on God, or better yet, have I worshiped God at church and then turned around and went against everything God stands for? That is “cheating”. I often times do cheat against God, and I need to confront the reality that every time I sin God remembers all my evil, and that sin, God hates. Forgive me God for my “cheating” against you, restore me to obedience in your name, Amen!
(get back in jail!) :)
Hosea 7:13 “Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.”
Wow!! Israel has reallyyyy messed up big. To have the living God, the Creator of the universe saying “Woe to them” and “Destruction to them”, is not something anyone would want! Israel has turned completely away from God and they are relying on other false gods or idols that they themselves have made!! What they are really doing is just relying on themselves. There is no trust or faith in God in their hearts, they just think that they can get through everything by themselves! But God says they cannot. Now they are stuck in the hands of their enemies, and they cannot redeem themselves. Only God can redeem them, but they have rebelled against Him. Just like Israel, I need to not be relying on myself to get through my life and problems. God is the one who is ultimately in charge and I need to be trusting Him through everything.
Something that is really hard is not just going to God when things are bad and you feel like you need him! Notice how every time Israel realizes they are stuck in the hands of their enemies, they come calling out to God to save them!! I cannot just have God there as our “right hand man” ready to help me when I need it! I need to be completely trusting in God in the hards times, AND in the good times when he is blessing me! Because without God, I would have no good thing, and if I am not trusting in Him, he will not redeem me.
16 They return, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
This verse reminded me of the sermon from last night. The verse says, “…because of the insolence of their tongue.” The carelessness and words of their tongue, bring them to destruction. In my study bible, it had verses referenced from it like, Psalm 73:9~ “They have set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue parades through the earth.” and Psalm 17:10~ “They have closed their unfeeling heart, with their mouth they speak proudly.” These people were far from God and completely sinning and disobeying Him and worshipping other gods. But this stuck out because for some of them, their mouth was their destruction. I need to be careful with what I say and make sure I am not carelessly saying anything and I need to look at my heart because what I say is the overflow of that and I want to have a heart that is glorifying to God.
Great comment Haley! <3
Great comment!
7:11 Ephraim is like a dove,
silly and without sense,
calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.
Here Hosea describes how Israel turned to other nations when she was in trouble, rather than the Lord. When she was attacked by enemy nations, she would seek protection from countries like Egypt and Assyria. What is ironic, however, is that in 721 BC God gave Israel (the northern kingdom) into the hand of the Assyrians! God hates it when His people don’t trust in Him, but trust in other things. While I am not placing my faith in other people like I trust in God, I still do trust in myself. I run to myself sometimes rather than to God in prayer or in His Word. And based on this chapter, we see that God hates idolatry; He hates when Israel deserts Him. I need to trust God ALL the time and not rely on ANYTHING but Him!
8:13 As for my sacrificial offerings,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
We learn that God doesn’t accept the sacrifices that He tells Israel to carry out in the Law of Moses. The reason for this is not that He has withdrawn His Law, but because Israel did not do it with a whole heart. He would rather them obey Him than do all of the ceremonial rituals without true repentance and faith. And now, God would rather us love Him and obey Him than read our Bibles and go to church to just check the box. I always need to be examining my motives and making sure that I am not like Israel, but instead that I am obeying God with a pure heart and a pure conscience.
sweet comment cameron
I’ve been reading through Isaiah and the chapters that I’m reading about right now are about Jerusalem’s redemption. I just read chapter 61 where it said for those doubled on pained years they went through, they will have double the blessings. Jerusalem was full of sin and horrible conduct just as these cities were in these chapters….but once they turned away from their sin they found peace in the Lord and rewards. It’s a perfect example of how once we give our lives to God, we are rewarded with peace and treasures…treasures in Heaven! That is a place where moth and rust don’t touch it! It’ll be there eternally. My focus definitely needs to be on Heaven because that is my ultimate prize…being with Jesus, praising His name forever. How glorious it will be! AND I CAN’T EVEN SEE IT YET! I can’t focus on this world because it doesn’t last. Lord keep my focus on the prize ahead of me and help me stay on the straight path You have marked out for me. Maranatha. :)
7:3 By their evil they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery.
I have noticed how easy it is to fall into sin around other non Christians. Even Christians have the temptation too, but nevertheless, it is so easy to get off God’s path. It may seem harmless at the time, but it’s bad. Gossip is the easiest one to fall into, I think. When other people are talking about someone you don’t particularly like either, we start laughing at the things they are saying, even if we aren’t saying anything. I need to start loving my neighbors more.
I’m going to need prayers this week! Prayers that I will keep trusting God and that I will be joyful for the trials He lets me endure.
So true
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
WOW! This is such an intense verse! After Israel and Judah disobey God, and start doing things they want to do, God is not happy at all. God is most deffinately a just God, and He has to bring judgement upon them. Thankfully we are forgiven, but I still have to have this image of God. Everything I do, I will still be judged for, and it will be intense. Also, on this earth if our plans that we make, arent Gods plans, it will go down in destruction. I have to have a fear of God, to ever want to do the right thing. God is almighty and He isnt just lovey dovey forgiving God. Gods wrath will come upon poeple if they dont repent, and that is truely a scary thing.
Yes! Often it’s too easy to forget God’s judgement and think He will always be some huggable teddy bear. But He’s not! Thanks for pointing that out, nice post!
So true Kelsey! Great comment. We need to have a balance of Love, Worship, and Fear of God! God is SO powerful and so JUST! And “I” deserve His WRATH!! But He chose to show mercy, and that brings me to my knees in worship and adoration and love; at the immense LOVE He first showed me-When I didnt deserve it!! (So glad you’re going to Revival!! :)
8:14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
Whoa! But I think God was thinking Woe! It feels like we are getting more and more intense!They just aren’t getting it. Israel was caught up in themselves and not in glorifying God. They trusted in themselves to build their cities and completely forgot God. Sadly there is no “get out of jail free” card so there will be punishment headed their way, which is what we will get to read more about in chapter 9 tomorrow. This is a reminder that in all that I do, give God the glory and trust in Him. He is the one who made everything and conquered death so worrying about other things is wrong, lay troubles on Him and trust in Him. If we look at Proverbs 3:5-6 it says that if we trust in Him He will make our path straight. :]
True North Today!!!
8 Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.
This is so scary!! The words “useless vessel” stood out to me because often I hear of being a “worthy vessel.” Someone fit for God’s hands to shape and work through in this world. That’s the kind of person I want to be. But sadly, God’s own people were not even like that. They loved sin sooo much it became their one priority and God was just someone who would still love them even if they sinned. But then they became useless and disobedient and did not love Him so God gave them what they wanted. And tha’ts the worst thing that could happen seeing as we don’t know what’s good for us! So many people have God’s truth right in front of them but “Oh there’s so many rules, too much work, I’m gonna have to give up what??” When given what we want, we will sin. I pray that happens to none of us, whom are already Christians, especially at True North and that we all can be more bold in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!
MARANATHA.
Loved your comments and your fervor Elizabeth! Looking forward to seeing you at beach nights!!
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen,
and none of them calls upon me.
“Hot as an oven” refers to the lust for power and intrigue that was burning in these leaders hearts. Ignoring God and his word brought a lot tension among the people. Ignoring God is just like throwing him in the dirt which is very wrong. We should always look and turn to God in any and every condition.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
After all that had happened to them, they still did not look to God for help. They decided to take it into their own hands and forgot the Creator of everything! They thought they could handle all of the hardships, but in reality we all need God to help us through anything! We can’t even handle small problems by ourselves, so what makes them think that they can handle all of those huge problems without God? When they tried to handle everything on their own, nothing ever improved but it just became worse. Everyone needs God because without him we can do nothing.
Great comment Dessy! We are nothing with out God its so unbelievably true!
Destyni, it was so nice meeting you this weekend! I prayed for you and your sweet friend Destiny (spelled differently;) that BOTH of you would be able to come to Rvival!! I am going to keeeeep praying!! I really dont want you to miss it! xo
Thanks! And yes, I am coming to revival and hopefully Destiny can too!! :)
7:3 By their evil they make the king glad, and the princes by their treachery.
Thats sooo true, when you are not around christians you fall into sin so much more and u are tempted. The people you hangout with u think you are bring them up and maybe they can get saved, but no they are briing you down more then u are bring them up. Like what Pastor Bobby one time, if you are tying to pull up someone from a wall will it be more you bring them up? or you falling down withthem.
4 They made kings, but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
So again, people make there own idol like money, so they wont have to follow God. Sometimes they know the truth about Jesus Christ but then they make up there own idols to make an excuse.
that is an AWSOME comment anita :D love it :)
thankyou<3
10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
nor seek him, for all this.
no matter what happens as Christians we are called to follow God and if we fall away we need good friends to help us back up so we can get back on track with God.
Passage: Hosea 7:2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
In Israel, these people show no signs of remorse. They don’t even think twice about their sin. Their conscience is so seared that they don’t really think anything of their sin because God is not in them. God places a conscience in all of us. And when we sin, we hear it. However, like the people in Hosea, i shows how it is possible to sin SO much, that the little voice in your head just goes away. When your conscience is relatively gone, you are turned completely away from God. Many people think that this life here in earth is all there is. But the truth is that they’re wrong. God remembers all of the evil we have ever done. He is a holy and all-knowing God who doesn’t forget. On judgement day, our actions will all be laid bare before God. There is no hiding from the creator of all things. God makes it clear that we WILL be held accountable for every sinful and careless thing we do, say, or even think! These people kept ignoring God, and they received the punishment for it eventually.
As I have been reading through Hosea, I have been learning a lot about the worst case scenario. Times had gotten pretty bad, and many, many people were deep into their sin. God had Hosea write this book for a reason. The reason is probably so we don’t let today get like it was back then. I pray that I will always be striving to obey God and not let careless things slip because I know that God will hold me accountable. I pray that because my deeds are laid bare before God, that they will be honoring to Him. Finally, I need to always keep in mind that this life is not all that there is. There is more than what this world has to offer and I pray that I will not want and desire the things of this world, but I will desire the things that God promises us after this life. This life is not all about us and our pleasure, and neither will be the next life. God sees what our heart is truly like, because nothing can be hidden from Him.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
This verse reminds me of how God is all knowing. He knows al our thoughts. When we think something mean or rude about someone, He knows and is hurt by our thoughts. It is important to keep my heart AND mind pure. I don’t really think about how God knows what i think, as well as what i do.
“for they sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind the standing grain has no heads it shall yeild no flour if it were to yeild, strangers should devour it” hosea 8:7
this passage is a good example of what all of us deserve and how great god’s mercy is. this also shows how totally dependent on god that at any second he could just take away everything from us.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
Christ knows every thought in my mind, every word that I say, and every action that I do. There is nothing that I can hide from Him, no matter how I try. I need to really remember that since the Lord knows everything, I have to carefully watch what I think, say, and do. Today as I’ve been serving at church and as I’ve been at home, I have really been trying to watch what comes out of my mouth, because as Pastor Bobby said in his sermon yesterday, what I say determines where my treasure’s invested in, and I want everyone to know 100% that my treasure’s with God.
I read…
In the second chapter we get a picture of what is to come if we reject God. The Israelites’ crops were not fertile because God was not with them. We need to put God first in our lives if we expect to be successful. Non-Christians might be successful on earth but after death those that reject God will spend eternity in hell. I pray that if there are things in our life that are competing for God, that we would squash them and proclaim God as our only desire.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
This is how its gonna be for judgment day. We are going to see and remember all of the things we did that God does not approve of. Every opportunity you didn’t take, all the words you didn’t say, all of the times that you rebelled against Him, those are the times He is going to look at. Then at our second judgment He’s going to look at all of the sacrifices and stuff that we did for Him.
8 Israel is swallowed up;
already they are among the nations
as a useless vessel.
Wow this is like today! God is just awesome isn’t He?
7:2 But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.
People love to emphasize moving on with life and not living in the past. While that’s a good plan for Christians, it may be harmful to non-Christians. Without Christ’s salvation God would remember our sins and count them against us. No matter how much good we did, those sins would ultimately separate us from God. That is what is happening to so many people, because they sin and then just commit to forgetting about it so that they don’t have to be responsible for it. However Christ has wiped a Christian’s slate clean, meaning that no matter how badly we live before we were Christians, we can rest easy knowing that God is now viewing us as righteous because of His Son’s sacrifice.
7:16 They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow;
Here God is describing Israel as a treacherous bow, or a bow that doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. It’s almost like firing a bow but having the arrow come back and hit you. This is what Israel is to God here; someone God sent out to do His commands but only rebelled against Him. I never want to be this way, so I plan to learn from Israel’s example and live my life the way God wants me to.
8:4 They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.
This passage shows me the importance of two things. First, Israel set up kings and princes without consulting God, meaning that they were doomed to fail without God’s blessing. I should be constantly checking my motives to make sure I am doing things that God has ordained, and not taking my life into my own hands. Second, these people used their money to make idols and, even more prevalent today, made money itself the idol. I want to avoid the dangers of riches so that I don’t get caught up in serving money instead of God.
7:2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
I chose this verse because I liked how God pointed out that He remembered their evil, even though they did not consider He knew. Everytime after I sin, I feel convicted and ask God to forgive me. But sometimes I can forget. The scary thing is God sees it! And God remembers it. I cant be like the people in this chapter who forget that God sees everything! I need to keep the fact that God is always watching on the forefront of my mind. This way I can sin less and focus more on God!!! :)
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
God is almighty in power and the things that he does are so amazing. He is just, loving, and holy. If we are truly Christians, we will never “forget about” God. He is supposed to be our number one priority in our lives as Christians. I need to make sure that everything that I do is for God and that I have the right attitude of bringing him glory.
2 But they do not consider that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.
Judgment day is going to be a rude awakening for most people here on earth. All their sins that they did in private and that no one knew about is going to surrounding them and in front of God. Knowing that God remembers all evil should be in the back of our minds at all time. If we meditate on the word and keep it in our mind all the time, there will be no room for evil. People may think that they can hide from their wrong doings here on earth, but nothing is hidden from God. I want to make sure that Gods book about me is not filled with evil, but with righteous thoughts and actions that can help me set an example for those who look up to me. Confessing to our sins and asking for forgiveness will help us recognize that we did something, not just simply pushing it aside. Living each day, I want to make sure that my book is filled with things I am not ashamed God will see.
Nice, Bryce.
Hosea 7:2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
God knows our hearts and everything we do, even our thoughts. Some day we will face God in judgement and will be held accountable to everything we have done. It helps me to think about this when I am living life and doing stuff.
“As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins” (v. 8:13). God Himself, being the just and awesome God, will not belittle Himself by allowing the presence of half-hearted and hypocritical sacrifices. God in being demands full praise and worship, anything less is simply denying God’s being. However, Israel and Judah have shown again and again that they have ignored the awesome joy of worshiping and good and holy God. And because of their acts, God will “remember all their evil” (v. 7:2). In His omniscience, God must keep record of all evil. Because of Israel and Judah’s sin, God must act accordingly by making so that they reap what they sow.
The disobedience of a perfect God does not go unpunished. In fact, God, though he is moved to act by His love for His people, and ultimately Himself, must punish accordingly. God’s justice is shown most accurately in the following verse: “They return, but not upward; they are like a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt” (v. 7:16) Due to the disobedience of God, God allows for His chosen people to be overtaken by neighboring forces. This is not because God is a insolent baby that is only pleased when everything goes this way, for such thinking implies that God’s plan can be thwarted. It is, however, that God must punish evil and through the repentance of Israel, and ultimately the redemption of Jews and Gentiles alike, God will glorify Himself.
I have found this truth to be most helpful: God’s desire is to glorify and enjoy Himself. If it were not so, God would be suggesting that there is something outside of Himself that one can find everlasting and unchanging joy, thus committing idolatry. God’s being being demands praise for being the most high and awesome enjoyment in this world. Their is no further joy in anything else than in God. This isn’t through the riches that God pours on us that I find joy, but worshiping and praising God is the ultimate enjoyment of my life. Understanding this one paradigm has led me to have a distaste for sin and having a more and more unquenchable taste for God and His Word.
2 To me they cry,
“My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3 Israel has spurned the good;
the enemy shall pursue him.
4 They made kings, but not through me.
They set up princes, but I knew it not.
With their silver and gold they made idols
for their own destruction.
Israel was trying to serve God and the world and failing in an epic way at it. They were searching after the things of this world and not of the Lord.
We need to make sure we are searching after Christ not this world.
That’s so true!! I love the verse, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”-Romans 12:2
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
God does not forget anything; he is Omnipotent, All-knowing, and All-powerful. Rather, as Christians, God expects more out of us. being a Christian does not mean that our sins are forgotten; its when we take up the cross and follow Him. it is then that God forgives our sin.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
It is scary to think this is how the world is becoming today. So many people do not care about God and the Bible anymore. It breaks my heart to watch the world become so dark. But I need to remember that I need to be a light in this dark world. That is why I am living, to glorify God and share the gospel with people.
3 By their evil they make the king glad,
and the princes by their treachery.
4 They are all adulterers;
Unfortunately, we sometimes sin so that others will like us and think well of us. We might even use the positive response we get from others to justify our sin. Because we get approval from people we think our actions couldn’t have been that bad. And that can sometimes lead to falling into a pattern of sin. But working to get the approval of others is just like worshipping anything else–money, slothes, music–it’s idolatry. It’s adultry. My concern needs to be pleasing God, not man. Before I do anything I should think about how much God would approve of my actions. Even if the people around me might approve of my behavior, if God wouldn’t that’s all that matters. He will remember all my evil, so I want want my rap sheet to be as short as possible on judgment day.
For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind.
Sounds a lot like us in our society today. We work so hard at things that dont matter; how we look, what we have, how we fit in, who we know, what we look like, if we’re liked, etc…
These are all vain and temporal things. We are “sowing the wind”, and if this is our main focus we will certainly “reap the whirlwind”. When these things become our primary focus and consume our thinking the bible calls them idols which we all know is in direct opposition to the first commandment.
It is so easy to get caught up in the business of life and things that “seem” important. I try to remind myself of something Ive heard Pastor Pete say many times:”It’s all gonna Burn!” None of it it is lasting.
The only trully important thing is exactly what Jesus said:
” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
I pray that the Holy Spirit will govern my mind, my heart, and my priorities, and that I will love and honor God first and foremost.
13 As for my sacrificial offerings,
they sacrifice meat and eat it,
but the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins;
they shall return to Egypt.
14 For Israel has forgotten his Maker
and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
so I will send a fire upon his cities,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
This is a great verse. In Hosea we see why it is very bad to disobey the LORD. When we disobey him, he will punish us, much as he punished Israel. GOD is loving, but he is also a GOD of wrath, and that wrath should make us afraid.
16 They return, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
God wants us to trust in Him for everything. I’m sure He takes it offensively when we don’t. Just like Pastor Mike said this weekend, we need to remember that God has a plan for us and that nothing can interfere with that.
7:13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!I would redeem them,but they speak lies against me.
Every single person will eventually see Jesus face to face and be judged according to their lifestyle. There is no hiding from God and what he knows about us; he knows everything. This verse reminds me that my heart should seek true treasure from the Lord and live like it.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
Every bad word,act,thought,and action we do is all accounted for in God’s eyes. Even when we think we are being sneaky and we “think” we are getting away with something God is watching and sees it all. When we sin against God and or anyone its like were lying to there face, because no matter how hard we try to cover things we will always get caught.
We all do stupid and sinful things because we are born sinners…so we will all mess up! But we have to learn from our mistakes and own up to them and stand up and say the truth.Its the actions and decisions we make BEFORE we get caught that really show were our hearts our.We have two roads…
Road1.repent before we get caught and confess what we did and listen to what God is telling us…our conviction.
or Road2. ignore the conviction and be in constant sin and lie to everyone we are sinning against including God.
I strongly pray i will continue to follow road1 the rest of my life.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
God is going to judge us one day. He has records of every thought, word, and action that we have ever done. We need to watch what we do and be much more careful.
16 They return, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
Exactly what Pastor Bobby was talking about in his sermon this weekend- the wickedness of our tongues. As a Christian, it is so important that we control what we say, and we can only do that with God’s strength. There are so many places throughout the Bible that talk about how much of a weapon the tongue is. I don’t want what I say to be rooted in wickedness, but rather have everything I say be use to build others up and encourage them (Ephesians 4:29). It is so important that I take Pastor Bobby’s sermon and the scripture about this to heart! I want God to be glorified with everything I say!
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face
this verse stood out to me because it shocks me how one day I will be judged for all the wrong doing i have done. this verse will also help me grow closer to the Lord because now i will always remember that i will be judged for everything that i have done and will do. so if i am about to do somthing i shouldnt do i will remember that i will be judge and it will help me not to do it.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face
Going off of what I said yesterday about verse 3 of chapter 5, we cannot get anything past God!! We can hide nothing from Him!! Thinking that God knows all my thoughts is almost like Pastor Bobby said in his sermon about a book being written about what you say!! When we say things that shouldnt be said, sometimes we think that we are the only ones that can hear it but God hears all things!! I want my thoughts to be clean and pure so God will aprove of them!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
they would be regarded as a strange thing.
I have learned that whenever and wherever the Bible is forgotten, that nation will eventually fall to ruin. Just like Israel abandoned the Law, turned to idolatry, and then was taken captive; I too can fall more and more into sin without constant exposure to the Bible. When my time in the Bible decreases it becomes easier for sin to grip and deceive me; this eventually leads to spiritual ignorance and a new sinful habit. If I am going to grow in faith this summer I will need to rely on the words of God and increase my time in His essential, wise, truth filled, and sustaining/invigorating word!
12 As they go, I will spread over them my net;
I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;
I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
I really liked these verses because they are such a great reminder that God is scary! He is definetly something I need to be fearing! He is going to punish sinners for etetnity in hell, and I am lucky enough that I have heard the great news of the sacrafice He made for me so that I could be forgiven of my sins! Lord I pray that as this summer goes on that i will continue to grow in my walk with you and stay strong in my faith so that I don’t fall away and rebel against you!
>Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
>Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
>I would redeem them,
>but they speak lies against me.
Sometimes it’s easy for people who read the Old Testament to think that God is impatient, unloving, and eager to punish, that at the slightest provocation he reacts with outrageous anger. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s possible to miss the backstory — Israel’s consistent disobedience and hardness of heart. This condemnation doesn’t come after the first offense. We’re talking many years of continuous stubbornness. “They have strayed” doesn’t mean “hah! They did it once! I have an excuse to obliterate them!” It means that’s the path they’ve chosen to take — and they’re showing no signs of deviating from that course. The same for “they have rebelled.” God would be perfectly just in punishing at the first offense, but he doesn’t. Instead, listen to his heart: “I would redeem them.” He’s willing and ready. But what is their response? They lie about him. God’s justice is a very real and good part of who he is. He will not tolerate sin forever — nor should He, otherwise He’d be evil himself. He shows that he’s willing to execute that justice when he pleases. Praise God that He had mercy on me while I was still dead in sin. Now that’s a reason to sing!
oh man… it looks like a lot of people are commenting on this, but whatevs.
It’s really standing out to me right now.
God knows everything we’ve done, and everything we will do, and at some point we’re going to be judged for them.
That’s a scary thought..
and it should be. It should get us to the position of complete awe of God..and trusting in him because we know that we have nothing else to depend on
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
god wont forget anything that we bad. So we need to remember these things and repent them.
That is totally true! It reflects what Pastor Bobby talked about this weekend..everything we say, even the small whispered words will be accounted for and we will either be condemned or praised for what we say! I pray that every word we say glorifies God & honors Him forever. Great comment!
10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
nor seek him, for all this.
I can’t believe how honest and flat out that is.. They do not return to God. That is one of the saddest things ever. Hearing it upsets me..why can’t we humans just give up our pride and accept that God is the only way?!??! I don’t pretend that I’m above this..all humans are fallen, sinful, and we have pride. We refuse to accept that Christ is the way the truth and the life. If a teen in highschool accepts that Christ does exist, there’s still like a 20% chance that they are afraid to admit it. I personally know people who are afraid to admit their relationship with God to their friends. Christ’s love is worthy of all of me. All of EVERYONE…I need to remember that Christ is the only way, and I’m one way that the people around me will be informed of Christ’s love!! He’s worth everything, all of me.