The Lord Will Punish Israel
9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel!
Exult not like the peoples;
for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.
You have loved a prostitute’s wages
on all threshing floors.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them.
3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,
and their sacrifices shall not please him.
It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;
all who eat of it shall be defiled;
for their bread shall be for their hunger only;
it shall not come to the house of the Lord.
5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,
and on the day of the feast of the Lord?
6 For behold, they are going away from destruction;
but Egypt shall gather them;
Memphis shall bury them.
Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;
thorns shall be in their tents.
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come;
Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool;
the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
and great hatred.
8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
and hatred in the house of his God.
9 They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved.
11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow;
but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.
14 Give them, O Lord—
what will you give?
Give them a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts.
15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
all their princes are rebels.
16 Ephraim is stricken;
their root is dried up;
they shall bear no fruit.
Even though they give birth,
I will put their beloved children to death.
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations. (ESV)
10:1 Israel is a luxuriant vine
that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—
for it has departed from them.
6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.
7 Samaria’s king shall perish
like a twig on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars,
and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have continued.
Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will discipline them,
and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
11 Ephraim was a trained calf
that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
Judah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
because of your great evil.
At dawn the king of Israel
shall be utterly cut off. (ESV)
3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
These are the same people who called God a moth and look what is gonna happen to them.
oh ya first comment
Nice Pole Position James! Keep up your intensity!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
I need to make sure the I am involved in the works of the Lord. I want to sow righteousness and reap steadfast love! I want to seek the Lord and have him rain righteousness on me. Following God does not promise to be easy. Look at what he asked Hosea to do!!! But God promises to bless those who obey him. I want to be faithful to serve God because if I please God it doesn’t matter who I displease.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
The people were continuing to sin in their lives and not feeling guilt and repenting of the sin, but they were still beliving that they were followers of God. They had false hearts and for that the Lord will destroy them! I need to be in God’s word daily and constantly fearing the Lord more than anything else in this sinful world so that I will not have a false heart!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
This verse is so awesome because it shows how amazing God is! It says if we have steadfast love, and are living righteous, upright lives, then God dwill come and rain righteousness upon us!!! That sounds pretty awesome to me:)Lord I pray that I can really learn what it is to be a righteous person with steadfast love for you, I have so many great examples of people who fit this description at True North and I pray that you would help me to strive to be like them and improve myself, not just be satisfied with my relationship with you!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
This is not only how the Israelites were supposed to live like but we are supposed to live like this as well. Praying every morning can help you sow righteousness, reap love, “break up” the fallow ground and seek our Lord God the Father.
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
What they said said in this verse is pretty intense. They dont believe God can do anything for them. Thats pretty bold to say when God has already shown his glory. God was not happy with the tribes at all. What I can take out of this is the last line. ‘What could he do for us?’ God does many miracles daily, even if our eyes are blind and our stubborn hearts wont admit it. God is truely doing so many things for me each and everyday, but I am too caught up in this world to admit to his amazing wonder! I know in my heart God is there to protect me and he has this plan set out for my whole life. But so easily do Christians seem to forget that detail of being a Christian and choose to do their own thing. God does many things for me, more than Ill ever understand. Its time to stop being so stubborn, and admit to His awesome wonder!
Great Comment Kelsey! :)
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
The Israelites continued to ignore their need for God as they pridefully trusted in their own numbers for protection from their enemies. They placed their confidence in the army they had built up rather than in the almighty God. The interesting part of these verses is that despite their confidences, they were still overtaken.
Throughout the Old Testament, we see repeated stories of the Lord bringing victories to the people of Israel despite incredible odds. Judges 7 describes one of these victories. Gideon was leading a group of Israelites to fight against the Midianites. The Lord commanded that Gideon take only 300 men into battle, so that the Lord would be given the glory for their victory. When Gideon arrived at the Midianites campsite, the Midianites were in great abundance and their camels were without number (in other words, too many to count). However, despite being completely outnumbered, the Israelites defeated the Midianites.
It’s interesting to think about the different outcomes in these two stories. Here in Hosea, we see that despite great numbers, the Israelites were defeated. While in Judges we see that with their confidence in the Lord, the Israelites defeat the Midianites with only 300 men. I need to remember this when I have a tendency to place my confidence in something other than the Lord. I serve a mighty God, who is in control of all things! May I remember that every day!
11 Ephraim was a trained calf
that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
Judah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Reading this prophecy brings me to analyze my own life, and my own relationship with the Lord. I do give thanks that He saved me, and it is my moments of sin that come to mind, and I am brought to a place where I reflect on how I must seek the LORD more and more–with ALL MY HEART, ALWAYS–that He may come and overtake my life and heart, and rain righteousness upon me…
Oh, how it is so my nature to love to thresh. Isn’t it our rebellion, rooted in pride, that brings us to flail about, tossing ourselves about in this life, like a toddler having a big tantrum…? Only for ME, when this happens spiritually, it’s more like a teenager who KNOWS better, but still CHOOSES to not control herself. Groping initially for some pathetic excuse, like blaming it on my circumstances, the people around me, my genes, or whatever ridiculous, unacceptable, and/or preposterous rationale I’m hoping to bait myself, the world, and ultimately God into believing. And I can be found almost always, in the midst of a sin, with a prideful heart: whether it’s that I think I know better, or I think I am untouchable, or I think I’m stronger than the temptation that comes my way…
Here’s the kicker: in my salvation, God spared my neck.
And by His grace, He calls me to the yoke. To be steered and guided, even if it means I fight it at first. There is a path and a route He calls me to, and I must take on His yoke. He commands me to plow. This proves to be hard and tiring. Especially when you don’t have a team to help you out in the field. Another great demonstration for why we need our church family!
God calls me to harrow for myself. In the context of this field parallel that God gives us through Hosea, to harrow soil is to break it up. And it’s the hardened soil that is harrowed, so that it can be softened and put to use, to be used to plant seeds, and cultivate and reap a harvest. It is good to harrow ourselves, before God imposes the harrow onto us.
He calls me to sow righteousness for myself. He has provided me with His Word, and He has made it SO CLEAR what He calls righteousness. I need to be in the Word, filling my mind and heart with His ways, and I need to be asking my God-appointed Helper to live it out in me, and guide me to His path of righteousness.
He calls me to reap steadfast love. Steadfast: stay the path; do not deviate! Love. Not the way I think I should love, or I might think someone warrants my love, based on who THEY are. No, God calls us to HIS love. And He defines this for us in Scripture, one place specifically is I Corinthians 13, and then He speaks of love by way of John, as well. This is no lofty undertaking. And again, it takes the indwelling of and obedience to His Holy Spirit within us.
And He calls me to break up my fallow ground. Fallow means that the soil has been inactive and unproductive or unyielding, and hasn’t been put to use. At this point, the soil has been harrowed, which we talked about above. So of the soil of my heart is soft and ripe and ready for planting, it’s time to DO THE WORK to plant the seeds…watch the field in vigilance, be on the lookout for predators like weeds or those bunnies, bugs, and other such thieves and thrashers who want to come in and destroy the potential harvest. No laziness. No half-hearted tending.
In all this, I am counted as seeking the Lord. OK, so what about the rain? The garden STILL needs to be watered! And God KNOWS this. And HE brings our rain. And when He brings it, it is to rain righteousness upon me. Righteousness is not automatic. In following this passage, God says He brings it AFTER He tells us to live for, in, and by Him.
Praise You, Father, for bringing the rain. The righteousness that You bless us with as a refreshment after some grueling endeavors and undertakings to prime the soil-the fields-of our hearts, so that You can bring forth fruit from us in tenfold. Thank You for calling me to such a harvest, and Lord, forgive me in my moments of weak tantrum, when I am found loving to thresh against You.
I made it all the way through your awesome comment and it was worth it!!! Nice comment:)
Thanks, Shossa! It was great to officially meet you last night at the study. I am looking forward to seeing you more this summer, and getting to know you better…
WOW THIS IS A LONG COMMENT!
The title of these chapters is crazy. The LORD will punish Israel, not maybe or might, but WILL punish. Watch out Israel. God WILL punish me just like the Israelites if I do not listen to him.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
because of your great evil.
At dawn the king of Israel
shall be utterly cut off.
God is serious about punishing the Israelites. He is a just God and will give us what we deserve. I do not want what I deserve, with God as the judge, his wrath will come down like a sword and strike me dead. All because of my great evil, like the Israelites. I once was for myself, but now living for God.
It is good for us to fear the Lord and all that He brings upon us. Great comment, Bells!
WOW! These two chapters are really intense. I noticed kind of a cause and effect going on in these chapters.
CAUSE: Israel “played the whore, forsaking [their] God” (9:1), they “came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shame, and because detestable like the thing they loved” (9:10), they “uttered mere words, with empty oaths they [made] covenants” (10:4), and they have “trusted in [their] own way and in the multitude of [their] warriors” (10:13). All in all, Israel gave into the sinful desires of their hearts and gave up living for God. The way Israel was acting really reminded of Romans 1:24-25 “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” Israel exchanged the truth that the Lord their God is the ONLY true God, and they started serving and worshipping other false gods and idols.
EFFECT: Notice how in the beginning of verse 24 it says that “God gave them over to the sinful desires of their heart”. That is exactly what happened here; God gave Ephraim over to the sinful desires of their heart and turned away from them, leaving them in complete desolation and destruction. All throughout chapters 9 and 10, Israel’s punishment is being listed. They “shall not remain in the land of the Lord” (9:3), “no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!” (9:11), they “must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars” (10:2), “judgement [will] spring up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field” (10:4), “Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol” (10:6), “Samaria’s king shall perish” (10:7), “the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed” (10:8), “nations shall be gathered against them” (10:10), “the tumult of war shall arise among [their] people, and all [their] fortresses shall be destroyed” (10:14), “the king of Israel, shall be utterly cut off” (10:15). All because Israel denied their God, and worshipped false gods, they are in complete destruction!!!
I need to be making sure that I fear the one and only true God, and Him ONLY!! I cannot be serving two masters like the Israelites were trying to do. I will only end up in destruction. Whenever I stop trying to trust and rely on God, I am only going to be cut down. It is only when I am relying on God’s strength to get me through something that I will make it through.
Great comment, Mady!
AWESOME comment, Mady!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
God gives them many warnings to reduce their horrible sin that keeps separating them from the Lord, and to seek the Lord. I can relate this to home if I would rather be in video games in stead of God’s word, I wouldn’t like that and try to fix it by like trying to read at least one passage before doing something like that.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
we need to make sure we are involved by the works that God will do. we should be willing to help our Lord no matter how tough or easy it will be. we are servers of Christ and need to be ready for when anything comes in our way.
Great to see you on S.O.T.D everyday!!! :)
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
I like this verse a lot. It gives me great motivation. We need to be seeking the Lord like no other thing. Now that it is summer we have so many different options of what to do or just the option to do nothing. But what are we going to do with our time. Are we going to seek the Lord this summer. That is what i want to do. I want to know the Lord like i have never known Him before!~!!!!
10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
The Israelites have continually played the role of the prostitute in relationship to God as they turn to the things of the world and demonstrate their unfaithfulness to the Lord. The Israelites have been interested in living it up in the world as much as they can. They were spending their lives chasing after the lusts of their eyes. Whether it be material wealth in gold and silver or idols of false gods, they Israelites dedicated themselves to seeking after whatever seemed best to themselves. In these two chapters, God has foretold of the punishment that is on Israel’s head. They have been unfaithful; they have turned from the living God to seek for themselves the things of the world. God’s judgment will rise swiftly to bring them down. Yet here in this verse, He tells them what they should be doing. He tells them to invest in righteousness, like sowing seeds in the ground, to plant seeds of righteousness. He tells them to reap love, unconditional love that doesn’t fade away or deter by distraction. Instead, reaping it in plentiful harvest love that has a sole focus. He tells them lastly that it is time to turn from the world and seek Him! And in seeking Him, the Lord promises to bless the people with righteousness.
I need to take these words to the Israelites and examine my own life. I don’t want to be leading a life after worthless gain. I don’t want my time invested in the things of the world, soon to pass away. I want to live a life that i faithful to the Lord! I want to be sowing seeds of righteousness. I want to be harvesting a field of steadfast love. More than all else in this world, I want to be seeking after the Lord! And I know that if I seek after God, he will bless me with righteousness and continue to grow me more in himself. Every day, I need to put behind me the things of this world and actively seek out living for the Lord and growing in righteousness!
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
These chapters really bring to light the intensity of God’s judgment and might. Only God will last. Anything else–any other alter or pillar we turn to and put our faith in will be destroyed. Christ alone is our rock and our salvation. When those with false hearts are one day judged, they’re going to feel incredibly foolish for worshipping false idols. The things of this world are going to look pathetic and ugly and shameful when compared to the full glory of the Lord. I want to keep this picture in mind when I’m talking to unbelievers so that I have a heart of sorrow and sympathy for their plight. Without Christ I too would be facing hell. Though I am thankfully saved through God’s great mercy and grace, I want to always remember that I was once dead in my sins and in need of saving from God’s ultimate wrath. All of those non-believers around me will one day be cast into the lake of fire, and if I care about them I need to strongly impress upon them that “it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon” them.
Before I say anything else I want to say how much I have liked reading the minor prophets so far there such a great book and so far Hosea has really shown me that even though I sometimes act like sin is not a big deal and our culture does to, that it is in fact a HUGE deal to God! If I want to please God I need to have the same hatred for sin He does!!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Okay, I was reading and this verse totally stuck out to me. Since it is summer and all, I figured this is an amazing verse that we should model our summer after! With all my free time I need to focus on spiritual growth and encouragement! This will make my summer truly great!! If everyone worked there hardest threw summer to grow spiritually imagine how firm in Christ we would be by the time next school year got here!!!
MARANATHA!!!!
good comment!
9:9 They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.
This reminds me of when people dont believe in Jesus Christ our God and put there faith in him, they will not go in the kingdom of heaven. God will punish them and they will go to the lake of fire forever! When judgement comes i think of hes just going to judge the people that arnt saved, but no thats not true, i really need to put that in m head.
10:3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
If they do not fear the Lord, they dont repect or care about him, they dont think he can do anything to them. If we have christians we should fear the Lord for repect,cuz we love him and he beat death!? thats AWSOME name anyone else who beat death? yea no one.So how can we not have the fear of the Lord..and if he dont like people of this world they dont care.
MARANATHA =)
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel…
Everything is all God. We can’t do anything, we didn’t do anything. He found us, we didn’t find Him. We can’t take credit for anything because we can’t do anything. God is the reason we are alive and saved. That’s why He is worthy of all our praise and loyalty.
Great to see you on here Makenna!! :D
hehehe
Hosea 9:9 “They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.”
Hosea 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.”
I really liked chapter 9 verse 9 because it reminds me of Pastor Bobby’s AMAZING message from this weekend..We are corrupted, and God remembers all sins. He will judge us in the end. There’s no way of escaping judgement day. Chapter 10:12 stood out to me because it reminded me that we cannot reap love, or be blessed by God unless we follow God’s laws and walk His path as directed. A lot of Christians try to find the easy way to walk..this also, in my mind, reflects on Pastor Bobby’s message yesterday..knowing what is in our hearts..we can’t expect God’s love and kindness unless our hearts are the way they are supposed to be. “for it is time to seek the Lord.” I need to make it my #1 goal to seek the Lord, He is my only option!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
I need to make sure I am involved with God’s work. I want God’s love and righteousness.
10:11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—
no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
God is making it so profoundly clear of how hopeless and feeble we are without him guiding us and strengthening us. The Israelites were constantly disobeying and distancing themselves from him, and as a result he stated that he would depart from them, leaving them hopeless. Reading this verse makes me realize that I really have no hope of doing anything without God. Even something so simple as getting out of bed alive in the morning, or breathing is entirely dependent on God, and he could take that away at any moment.
Essentially God is establishing the fact that we (and Israel) absolutely CAN NOT do it alone. I need to rely on him for all of my strength, knowledge, wisdom, health, everything. It is important to realize that this does not mean I can just expect God to take of everything and not put out any effort myself- as this is not the case. I need to be putting out constant effort, striving for righteousness, always remembering that none of what I do would be made possible if it weren’t for God at my right side guiding me through all of it and strengthening me.
The scary thing about this passage is how swiftly and powerfully God can take everything away from the Israelites, pouring out his wrath upon them. Though I am a Christian, and as a result I have confidence that God will never take away the salvation he has given me, I do know that he WILL discipline me. I don’t want to be doing thins like the Israelites were doing, that caused this extreme fury of God to be placed upon them- but instead I want to be doing things that are always bringing glory to God and pleasing him, like he calls for us to do!
I am greatly affected and motivated by your comment today, Jackson!
God is making it clear that because the israelites were dissobeying him, he was leaving them and that they were nothing with out him. I need to make sure my life is being lived according to God’s word and that i am obeying him!
9:17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations. (ESV)
Many people today think that God is a giant Teddy bear who doesn’t mind sin or disobedience. If Christ died for sins, then doesn’t that mean that I will be forgiven anyways? Verse 17, along with many others, proves this assumption wrong. Israel didn’t listen to God, so He forsook them and judged them. Today I we don’t obey God and reject Him, He will reject us. Throughout Hosea we have seen God punish sin and abandon those who don’t obey Him. I need to remember that though Christ has purchased me with His blood, I don’t have a liscense to sin without care. I will be judged for my sins by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).
10:4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
Israel was just going through the motions. Their hearts were not in their so called obedience, and as a result, judgment sprung up. This verse presents us with another theme that is so prevalent throughout Hosea: God desires the heart, not the acts of “righteousness”. It reminds me of the Revival Winter Edition sermons on how God looks to the heart. He wants us to obey Him from faith with a pure heart. I know that for me it is easy to read my Binle or to pray just to go through the motions. But good sees my true motives and one day I will be judged for my false motives.
*Bible not Binle and God not good in the second paragraph
9:15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal; there I began to hate them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.
This really speaks against the image many people today have of God: an all-loving never hating God who accepts everyone. Here it is saying that God HATES Israel because of their wickedness and will NOT LOVE them any more. That is a good reminder not to give in to the sin that sparks such an anger and hate from an all-powerful God.
10:8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
This reminds me of Revelation, when Christ is coming back and He is punishing all those who didn’t follow God. It talks about the same thing here, saying that those who choose a life of sin instead of a life lived for God would rather have mountains fall and crush them instead of facing God’s wrath. That is how serious the punishment of God is, and it’s something I can tell people who claim they don’t care if they go to hell (trust me there are a lot).
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Mmmm I love this verse, especially coming from a book that many people see as irrelevant for us living in 2010. The saying “You reap what you sow” comes to mind here, as this verse is saying that if I put in an effort of righteousness, then God will return to me steadfast love, not only from Him to me but from me to others. By saying “Break up your fallow ground,” God is saying not to exert wickedness or to “sow your seed” among those who are wicked. Instead, I need to be constantly seeking the Lord and seeking to sanctify myself for His glory, so that He will grant me righteousness more and more each day.
Good wisdom Dominic. vs 12 Sanctification! “Break up your fallow ground” Awesome broter!
Passage: Hosea 10:13
You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
They key part in this passage is “Because you trusted in your own way” This is the root of why they are having all of these problems. They are immoral and unjust, lying and sinning, all because they have forsaken God. They think that they’re too good for God because they have a multitude of warriors and they think to themselves that nothing can hurt them. They trust in their own strength rather than God’s strength. This, even today, is still a problem among people. They believe that they don’t need a god to help them with their lives. Just like the people in Hosea, a lot of us today think that we don’t need God to help us. Our way is not always the best way. We can’t see the whole big picture like God can. We only know so much, and yet our God knows EVERYTHING.
We are imperfect humans, only capable of so much. I personally found that once i gave my life up to God, it seemed like everything went a lot smoother. With the comfort of knowing that God is there, it relieves a lot of unnecessary stress that I would otherwise have. But still, I can always improve with asking for God’s help in all aspects of my life. I make it my prayer that I can learn from the Israelites’ mistakes and instead of turning from God, I will turn TO God and trust Him with my life.
Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
So sad, that all the people put some much time building the pillars and how their hearts were false even when building the alters. So I think my priority should “build” a true heart instead of all “fancy” pillars. Because if the pillars fall your “true” heart wont, but if you have the false one it will…
I read…
By now Hosea has spoken ten chapters of admonishment to Israel! That takes a lot of boldness and endurance to be able to keep preaching bad news to people. Sometimes when I feel God nudging me to warn people of their sin, I back down. This is not a pattern, however, I need to work to always do it and only stop when they keep denying me over a long period of time. I pray that God would strengthen and embolden me for next football season, as a lot of sins from the mouth will happen there.
In chapter nine God is taking away a lot of stuff from Israel. I learned from the commentary in my study Bible that because of their idol worship God took away the things that He had always provided such as their joy (vv.1,2), their land where they performed their worship to God (vv. 3-6), their spiritual discernment (vv.7-9), their fertility (vv.10-16), and even God Himself (v.17). There are so many things that God provides for me in my life that I shouldn’t take for granted. He is the sole provider for anything good that I am; to worship/live for anything else would be so messed up! I want to keep God as Lord in my life so that He wont remove all the things that He provides for me. He alone is worthy of worship and life apart from Him is torture!
Great comment, Hunter! And? I love seeing you and your fellow alumni still commenting on here! Don’t stop (standing)!!! You encourage us tremendously!
Yes Hunter! Way to use that Study Bible and keep rocking it on SOTD!
“For now they will say: ‘We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?’” (v. 10:3). Israel must acknowledge their wrong ways, and for disobeying will have their king taken away. God shows time and time again how He is the highest of highs and will not let insufficient worship and love be acceptable in His people’s hearts. God in His infinite glory must be glorified infinitely. Without His people glorifying Him as they ought, God must punish them and lead them to repentance. So, God takes away many different things from them: joy (vv.1-2), land where they performed their worship to God (vv. 3-6), spiritual discernment (vv.7-9), their fertility (vv.10-16), and even God Himself (v.17). (Yes I did take that from Hunter Adamske’s comment because I liked what he said). In order to lead His people back to Himself, God showed the Israelites who is the source of their lives and everything that circumscribes. Because of the lack of trust in God, the peoples of Judah and Israel will be overtaken by their neighbors and will have no king. God’s justice is perfect in all that he does.
Sometimes, when I read the Bible I think to myself, “That seems a little harsh.” Especially, when I start to think about hell as a punishment for sin that I committed in a short 80 year period. But the words of the great Puritan pastor, Jonathan Edwards, ring true: “The crime of one being despising and casting contempt on another, is proportionably more or less heinous, as he was under greater or less obligations to obey him…. So sin against God, being a violation of infinite obligations, must be a crime infinitely heinous, and so deserving infinite punishment” (The Justice of God in the Damnation of sinners, 669) My eyes and thoughts must realize that God is never unjust. For if He was than He would cease to be God and I should not even give Him praise. Yet, God is just and loving and have found a way that He can redeem the guilty without giving up on His justice: the propitiation (look this word up) of sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And for that I am eternally grateful.
However, my mind knows these truths but still turns away from them to receive falsehood. Sin’s tempations have still enticed me. I must grow a distaste for the bait of the Temptor and a stronger and more unquenchable taste for God and His word. For this is the way that will have the strongest effects of denying the temptations of this world.
Amen, Jonny. Thank you for your honesty and vulnerability. It really prompts me to consider my own heart, as well!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Mhhhhmmm, this is probably one of my favorite verses so far in the minor prophets. When we become Christian, we turn away from our old life of sin and despair… life without God. Now we seek Him, come to know Him and reap the benefits of your love, trust, and faith in Him. Yet too often I stumble, the sin of this world is alluring and I forget God or think “Oh He’ll forgive me later.” but that attitude is so wrong!! I need to break up my fallow ground and turn my face to Him and Him alone, like Meisha said earlier, who cares if I upset the world?? As long as God is happy with the work I’ve done for Him through Him. Time to stop caring about what the world thinks, time to start caring about what God thinks.
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors
Like so many people have said already, the key part of this verse is “because you have trusted in your own ways. . .” and therein lies the problem. That was one of the main things I struggled with before I was saved and a something I most definitely struggle with still today. I believe that by myself in my own sinful way I can control the situation and get myself out of it. When I have this mindset I often worry because deep down I know I can’t do it and i need God but i’m tooo prideful and stubborn too admit it. Pastor Bobby or Ben mentioned this a few weeks ago in a sermon, “worry is a form of pride.” this stuck out to me and I haven’t forgot it, so whenever I catch myself worrying, I stop, step back and forget it .Trusting in God is the only way because He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omni-something-else-that-means-all-knowing that I can’t recall at the moment. Praise the Lord for His wonderful grace mercy and love. All of which redeemed me two years ago! Lord help me to focus on you and not be swept away by this world, let me remember to trust in you and carry our your will not my own through you Holy Spirit who strengthens me.AMEN.
MARANATHA.
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
I really liked this verse because it really shows the cause and effect of what happens when we disobey God. In verse 13 it mentions that the people trusted in their own ways… by trusting in yourself is probably the best way to stumble. (not saying thats a good thing) When we rely on ourselves we are pretty much saying to God, “I dont need you, I can do it myself.” Im not gunna lie, sometimes when theres a little problem in my life, I think I can handle it, its then when God does something to make me realize that I cant do it by myself and I need Him no matter how big or how small the trial is. If we continue to sin and rely on ourselves, like verse 14 says, we will be destroyed. God will take us down to china town! (not literally) When ever im going through a trial I like to think of the saying, “Give up, and give God.” Which basicly means, Give your problem to God and not yourself! Besides if we give our problems to God, he will help turn them into good for His glory!!! And there is nothing more on this earth that I want to do more than bring glory to God! :D
Can you pray for me, that I get a job! I just interviewed today. Represented Christ and talked about the campus lunches! FTW
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
This is sad, God is saying that He can’t stand these people, He rejects them. Here it says that they have planned to sin and they reaped out injustice because these people have trusted in their own ways. What they thought was right, was certainly wrong. We are corrupt, we can’t even trust ourselves. That’s why we need to be in the Bible everyday! Because we need God’s truth to tell us that we are wrong and tell us what we need to do. The Bible is Basic Instrustions Before Leaving Earth. We need to be in the Bible everyday or we will corrupt ourselves. It’s so important that we are in the Bible everyday and that we have a heart that is willing to change.
Yesterday’s message by Pastor Mike was AMAZING! I especially like the point that we can’t fret over sin. The past is the past! Nothing, no external object can seperate us from the love of Christ, if we are true Christians. God has everything under control, God will save me according to His everlasting love and in grace. It made me realize how much more I need to rely on Christ!
I am praying for you to get a job Kyle! Way to rep campus lunches! FTW indeed!
Praying for God’s will in your life brother! He has the perfect job waiting for you. Maybe not perfect by our standards but then again God’s will and standards for our life are perfect!
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
This is intense! The people of Israel have completey rejected God, they even say that they do not fear him and that a king would do nothing for them. That is a huge mistake. Because of this, God rejects them and the passage talks about how he is going to destroy Israel because they have sinned against him. This really shows how serious it is when people rejects the grace God has given us all.
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
This phrase “Woe to them when I depart from them” really stuck out to me. James 1:17 says that every good thing comes from God; so without God nothing that we find good or pleasing in this world can exist. Being cut off from God is the absolute worst thing that can happen to someone, because God is all that is good. These two chapters talk about how Israel gets cut off from God on account of their sins. And what was their sin? From Hosea 9:1 and 10:13 I find that Israel’s sin was forsaking their God by trusting in their own ways and indulged in wicked immorality. Israel basically stopped loving God above all else, thought they were fine with their strong army and way of life and did not need to give thought to God and so became a prostitute by loving either other gods and idols, worldly pleasure, or whatever sin or other thing that was not God. And because of that God cut them off from Him, resulting in the most painful judgment possible. But when I think about it, by loving other things more than God Israel had basically already cut themselves off form God. They no longer loved Him above all else but would rather have other things than be with Him.
This sad state is sadly very common today as well. Other things whatever they may be so easily become idols as we start wanting them over God. And whenever that happens we basically become prostitutes that deny the Good God for other worthless things. And in the end that results in all immorality and punishment for apart from God no good thing can exist. This summer I pray that I would not love anything more than my God. It is easy for me to see all these “good” things in the world and start becoming obsessed with them but in the end they will not only fail to satisfy me but will also separate me from a relationship with the only good thing in the universe, which is God. I pray that I would not excuse seeking other things by saying that I love this and God, because like it says in Matthew 6 you cannot serve two masters. I pray that I would love God above all else and show that by obeying His commands first and be devoted to praying to Him and reading His Word. And LORD, please fill me with your Holy Spirit to make this possible. And when I love the LORD above all else I know that only then will I be able to experience what is truly good and satisfying.
great comment christopher
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
I want to sow for myself righteousness and reap never-faltering love!! I need to do whatever God asks of me just like Hosea did, because I want to faithfully serve the Lord!!
Reading these chapters has brought me to realize how powerful the Lord is. Reading this book has helped to have more of a fear of God!! Having a higher view and fear of God helps me to be more obediant!!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
God would have blessed Israel if they would have done what was right and if they were faithful and loyal to Him. Instead of planting righteousness, being repentant and productive in God’s work, they planted wickedness and were dependent on themselves. Over and over, God showed his mercy on Israel during times when they were repentant and faithful. When they turned from God they received punishment for their sin.
We need to do what is right by God and not what is right according to the world. We also need to be productive and fruitful for God and not just try please ourselves.
Hosea 10
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
When we seek the Lord, he “rains righteousness upon us”. The people need to stop living for themselves and follow God! They were living sinful lives and forgot about how great and awesome God is and they forgot all of the great things he has done! It is always time to seek God with all of our hearts.
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
All of the bad things were happening because they were trusting in themselves. They didn’t trust in God to help them through the hard times. When things get tough, I just need to remember that God puts hard things in our lives to strengthen our faith in him!:)
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
Their heart is false… im not entirely sure what they were being false about… but either way I take it to mean that acting in ways contradictory to the faith/Christian person you say you are will lead to destruction by the wrath of the Lord. We cannot say that we are when we are not; seemingly real but disappointingly fake under closer inspection. God is never fake, never once had crumbled under scrutiny and will continue to prove faithful and consistent as we peel back layers of His person and grow deeper in our relationship with Him; while getting to know Him better. I will try to mirror this in my own life by committing myself to keeping my life identical to His commandments, praying about my weak areas, having others keep me accountable etc etc. I pray that these verses will weigh heavily on my mind and that i can truly live by my faith.
Hosea’s message is pretty clear and easy to understand (these people were cut off from God because of their behavior). Does this sound like the world we live in today? Now read 2nd Timothy 3:1-7. Have we turned away from the Lord to focus on our own idols? Bobby preached about your book of life! What does your day consist of? How many text messages? How many hours watching nonsense on the T.V or U tube? What is your mouth like around non Christians?
I would ask everyone to read Matthew 7:21-23.
Think about your life and do you think you could hear these words?
Now read 1st Thessalonians 5:2
Now I’m going to pray for revival!!!
just by reading this passage shows how just god is and he has to punish the things that they did in the previou7s chapters. imagine if jesus had not died on that cross and if america recieved god wrath like we should.
Nice to see you posting on SOTD Spencer. Good stuff bro!
Intense, intense and wow! God we see is not just a God of love, He is also a God of wrath and doesn’t let things fly by like no big deal. At all times I need to be living for God and pleasing Him! :]
This was hard to understand. Both God and Hosea were very mad at Israel because of the course of action it took. They replaced God with a king, they replaced God with idols, etc. God is going to punish them badly for what they did. And yet, He could have “taken their necks” but He chose not to. Even when Israel was disobedient and made God very mad, He still showed grace and didn’t kill them all instanty. He still punished them because they deserved it, but He showed mercy to them by letting them live. But, soon after this was written Israel got run over by the Assyrians… They got was coming for them.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
Unlike the Israelites, we need to be seeking God in everything we do! As this verse says, we should be producing righteousness and unwavering love. We need to be willing to “break our fallow ground” and be used by God. When we do this God says he will rain righteousness upon us, he will reward us for what we have done! I pray I will work on doing these things in the verse, and seeking God in every aspect of my life!
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
There are so many things that the world offers us to tempt us. We need to make sure that we are seeking the right thing; the Lord, not things from this world. As Christians, we should be always seeking the Lord, and nothing else!
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
God is almighty in power and is just. He will punish us accordingly and if we do not trust and repent in Him, we will be apart from Him forever. We need to be relying on God’s plan for us.
The wrath of God is being played out in these final chapters. Israel is as good as gone. The people of Israel live lives of evil and it is incredible how the have gone from the chosen people to the hated people. I believe that the Jewish religion turned its back on God when they decided not to accept Jesus christ as there savior. It is so confusing to see these people go from being saved by the lord and so joyous to condemning him and living lives of sin and prostitution. Hopefully the graduating seniors dont end up the same way
Amen brother! We need to keep all of our graduating seniors in our prayers. You will be one yourself soon enough. Good post Zach!
I enjoyed reading this chapter. Some verses stood out to me. Like verse 12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
God needs to be our top priority. We need to produce righteousness and stedfast love in everything we do. We need to strive, to be willing to be a light for him or as the verse says “break up your fallow ground”. For if we do this the Lord will come and rain righteousness upon us. Mainly we need to have our full attention on God and not let anything distract us. And God will reward us.
2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,
and the new wine shall fail them
We cant live alone on bread and water; without the Scriptures, life can be horrible. like that rich man at Matt 28 who could not part with his worldly possesions in spite of the fact that he “followed” most of the Commandments; the guy in psalms that was repeatedly scorned as a fool for not listening to the wise people (mom, dad, God, etc.) and so on and so forth.
7 The days of punishment have come;
the days of recompense have come;
Israel shall know it.
The prophet is a fool;
the man of the spirit is mad,
because of your great iniquity
and great hatred.
8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;
yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,
and hatred in the house of his God.
This is a great verse. Here, the Israelites rejected the prophets of GOD because of their own iniquity and wrongdoing. They did not want to hear the condemning words, and had hard hearts towards the LORD. Because of this, they were punished. The same is true today. We need to listen to the LORD’s commands even when we don’t like it.
10:3 “For now they will say: “We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king-what could he do for us?”"
This verse relates to how society functions today. “we don’t need a person telling us what do, we can do it ourselves” but this is very wrong (as displayed by the Israelites). The people have lost their fear of God and his wrath and are doing what they want, when they want. But this is completely wrong. God has a plan for everything and trying to do ANYTHING without him is like trying to… ride a bicycle with no wheels, you just can’t.
I really got this after a few sermons by Pastor Bobby and Ben (where Bobby talked about how us worrying is prideful and Pastor Ben’s “Life is ?” sermon). But yeah, I realized that I really needed to be relying on God more because he is the man with the plan and me trying to run things is like being guided by the blind (Luke 6:32). God is always in control and at times, I still need to realize this. I pray that I would just stop worrying and let God take control, his plan and will playing out in my life. I also pray that I would be living out my life giving all glory to God.
Great comment T Moore! Multiple analogies = LegiT!
second that motion Spencer! Legit! Worry is sin and a distrust in God!
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
We always need to make sure our heart is in the right place, by always keeping our heart focused on HIM and HIS ways. The Lord is so powerful, almighty, and strong, He can do anything like break down alters and destroy pillars.
GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME<ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!!
It’s pretty intense how God is totally punishing them…I mean, wow. It just reminds me of how angry God gets whenever I sin, and yet He still shows mercy on me every single time. He has the time to kill me in an instant and yet, He chooses not to. SO incredible. I’m so shocked that He hasn’t yet! How He is full of grace and love every single time, so much that I never will understand. God will always be there for me no matter what happens and it truly amazes me every time. Jesus’ death truly leaves me in aw because I just don’t get it. How blessed am I that I have been chosen! God chooses these people that are like me, who sin and they are just as blessed as I am, that is for sure! May God open my eyes to my sins just as He does for the Israelites…Maranatha. Please, Lord come soon!
Feelin’ this Bethany! And feelin’ that you’re staying on despite graduation!! Keep this up!!!! dB- )
9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel!
This is an interesting way to start to a chapter isn’t it? Contrasting with what Paul says in Philippians 4:4, Hosea says to Israel “Rejoice not!”. But why not rejoice?
In life there is a time to rejoice, but there is also a time to feel the weight and conviction of sin. The World rejoices when they sin, but as Christians we should feel sorrow within when we of act out against God. The Israelites cheated on God, and they should not be proud of that.
Unfortunately, Israel didn’t have the Spirit of God with them, which prompts conviction and leads to godly sorrow and repentance, but this should make us (it definitely makes me), appreciate the gift of the Holy Spirit within us to convict us of our sin so much more!
In truth, Israel couldn’t stop their cheating on God; the were slaves to sin! But God knew, and not only that planned out ahead of time the gift of the Holy Spirit that he was going to give to all who were in Christ. Praise God for the Holy Spirit, so we can have conviction and repent!
Mmmm. We’re so blessed to havebeen given it.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
God blesses us so much. He gives us everything we need. He gave us His son. We are so blessed and I need to thank more.
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will bereave them till none is left.
Woe to them
when I depart from them!
Wow….51 comments, yet A TON in each.
Chris had a good point, having God depart from you is basically the worst thing that can happen to you right now. I see this all around me and even fall victim to it, but the world puts nearly everything above God nowadays. God used to bless this nation, but now i think He has left or is leaving. It’s scary to think about what this once great nation may become in the future, but until then i have to remember to hold to the one thing that will last.
13 You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors.
I had the privelege of being shown this today when I was talking to Hailey Tweter of True North. I realized that I was spending a lot of time around nonChristians and I totally can see the results. I trusted in my own way. I knew that I was in the wrong but for some reason, ignored that fact more or less because I figured it wasn’t “that bad”. I thank the Lord so much for her, and I am praying with my heart and soul for another friend of ours who might be falling off God’s path.
“Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.”
God hates sin. And he hates it when we take part in it.
haaaaaaates.
And that’s not such a good thing for us sinners, because it says “he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins”
God hates the sin and he’s going to punish us for it.
Therefore we should be taking measures to avoid it, because our God is a consuming fire.
Preach it brother! Evangelism this weekend??
16 Ephraim is stricken;
their root is dried up;
they shall bear no fruit. [...]
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him.
Every single day, I fall short of God’s commands. I think it’s no big deal, I’m only human…but reading this verse really caught my attention. It’s a HUGE deal when we don’t listen to God – just see what happened to Ephraim! God rejected him because he disobeyed Him…it’s sobering to see the consequences of sin, and to realize that God will help me overcome my shortcomings if I earnestly seek His aid. I constantly need Him, and nothing else, as the guiding light of my life. :)
11 Ephraim was a trained calf
that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
Judah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
As I was reading these chapters, these verses reminded me of the amazing gift God has blessed me with in my salvation!! God chose me to be saved and he plucked me out of the world to be one of his children!! How awesome is that!! I dont take enough time to sit back and think about why I have my salvation!! I thank God for my salvation and that he blessed me with being apart of His kingdom, but why was I given this?? What can I do to take complete advantage of having this amazing gift??
SHARE IT WITH OTHERS!!
This is what Christ calls us to do as it says in Matthew 28:10!!
God spaired my neck in this life!! He spaired me from being thrown into the Lake of Fire when I am judged after I die!! God spared me so I need to be everything I can be doing to honor, praise, and thank Him for it!!
During the times that I sin I feel so lousy afterwards because that is the guilt I am feeling for basically letting God down!! The last thing I want to do is dissapoint the one that saved me from my sins and is keeping me alive!! But I do, and God still forgives me for it because I am a child of His which brings me back to thanking Him for bringing me to Him in in the first place so that he may forgive me of my wrongdoing!!
It is so important to always be thanking the One who keeps us going each and every day and the One who is the reason we are here in the first place!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sick post Mark! We need to thank God every day for His grace and love that redeemed us from death.
I read today and liked verse 15….
15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;
there I began to hate them.
Because of the wickedness of their deeds
I will drive them out of my house.
I will love them no more;
all their princes are rebels.
We need to stay away from sin!! We need to hate it , because it is not what God wants of us. We need to constantly be on guard every day for what might be a trap from the devil. Also, we need to constantly be in prayer so that we might be able to turn away from sin when the temptation is set before us. I thank God that He is always by my side when I need Him to help me stay strong.
10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.
This verse reminded me just how the israelites became corrupted by worshipping baal, the things we let our time take up and focus on can easily corrupt us. This summer I want all my focus on God.
10 When I please, I will discipline them,
and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
Even though Israel is declared by God to be His people, he does not hold back punishing them when they sin. Even though it is unpleasant, i am grateful God disciplines me when i sin, so that it will be clear to me what i am doing and my sheep-like mind will know it is immediately time to turn around
It is not human to seek discipline unless we are also seeking the Lord. Very mature post Matt!
13 You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
This is a good reminder that I will reap whatever I sow. Everything that I do now can affect me later in life, and every decision I make will affect my relationship with God, so I deffinitely need to make sure that I do the right thing
17 My God will reject them
because they have not listened to him;
they shall be wanderers among the nations.
This seems to be the story with the Israelites throughout history. They reject God and then they wander. So often we want to believe that God will except us for who we are, that he is ok with our sin and loves us even when we don’t love Him. In reality the Bible tells us a completely different story. God expects us to obey Him. We can’t reject God and expect Him to be ok with that. That is just a follish thought. Unfortunately many people believe and teach things similar to this. Let’s remember how God really views sin and let us continualy follow God and obey His Word.
11 Ephraim was a trained calf
that loved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
Judah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
The metaphor used in the beginning of this verse shows that we must not stray from the Lord’s path of righteousness because He is a jealous God. We must work hard in His name and do good works because if we seek Him in everything we do in our lives then by His grace we will be showered with His righteousness.
13)You have plowed iniquity, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and the multitude of your warriors.
Self-reliance or trustin in self is not a recommended course of action, especially for Christians. As you can see in the verse of above trusting in humans way always has a bad ending. Heard a great sermon about prayer today. One of the sub-points was when praying we shouldn’t try and impose our will on God by praying for this or for that. But rather we should pray that we would exemplify the character of God in the situations that God puts us in according to his Sovereign will. Don’t pray to get out of something pray rather to persever and bring Glory to God no matter where you are. Hope that makes senses. It was said much better in the sermon.
Hosea 10:12
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
I like how I this passage Hosea is used by God to instruct Israel to seek the Lord and His righteousness. He also says that if they act righteously and flee from their sin they will receive the reward of God’s grace. Israel was not being faithful to God’s law but His grace and mercy were enough to restore them if they sought the Lord with all their heart. We are called to work for righteousness thru the grace of God and not by the works of our own hands. What an awesome guaranty God gives to His children who are faithful and walk in His ways. I pray that after this past weekend students were convicted in their heart to seek righteousness. As we learned this weekend at True North out from the heart the mouth speaks. As Christians if we work towards righteousness we will store up for ourselves treasure in Heaven. Do not store up for yourself wrath from God for allowing evil to come out from your mouth.
Proverbs 15:28 28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
Galatians 6:7-8 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.