Hosea has been telling Israel that they need to repent for the last 5 chapters- that the Lord is faithful to forgive and is righteous and just. Yet, Hosea also chronicles the arrogance and stubbornness of the Jews, continually running from God and engaging in idol worship. Chapter 10 and 11 is where the Lord again reaffirms his love and affection for Israel and again calls them to repentance.
"Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you."- 10:12
God just wants Israel to do what is right and he will bless them for it. I had someone at work tell me today that she had felt estranged from God for the last couple months- praying less, feeling his presence less, and thus spending less time with God. She had a relationship go south, got depressed about being single, and had known that she didn't incorporate God into the relationship the way he needed to be. She recognized, in hindsight, that she allowed herself to drift from God to potentially get what she wanted, in her time. This passage shows us perfectly- sow righteousness and reap the fruit of unfailing love...and the time is now. It might not be what we're necessarily looking for, but it will be exactly what we need.
Chapter 11 has so much awesome content! What passage did you like most? I'm going to pick the one that most moved me.
"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused." - 11:8
We can substitute our names in place of Ephraim! We can see God's heart here, bared for all to see. He has been cheated on by his bride and now his plea is 'how can I give you up'. Admah and Zeboiim were sister cities to Sodom and they were overthrown when it was destroyed. There is no sin too great that God wouldn't have compassion on us...such voluminous love!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Hosea 10 & 11
Posted by Jason at 8:16 PM
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One of the passages that stood out for me was part of Chapter 9:7 which states, "... the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac." This is ever present in our society, today. Those who dare stand up for what is right (righteous) are subject to scorn, persecution, libel, etc. See how Dr. Dobson and the late Rev. Jerry Falwell have been treated in the public square. These men have borne the scorn, but the scorn is really more against the message and He who sent it through these men. This passage reminds me of what the Lord could say of the United States. I believe He says it to all nations.
Another passage that stands out for me is Chapter 10:12. It states, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righeousness on you."
From the above, righteousness always, without fail, bears fruit for us. We sow, we reap, but where did the fruit come from? God does the work of growth. He brings about the fruit. Man will never be able to do that. We see here an analogy between the physical and spiritual elements of our lives.
He even brings about fruit from people that don't believe (or trust) in Him. In our study today, Pastor Jack was talking about being a child of God's...that not everyone is a child- you have to be saved to be a child of His. However, he blesses all of his creation- with differing forms and amounts of blessings.
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