Hosea 5:14-15 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me.
God compared himself to a ferocious lion that would tear his people to pieces. His purpose wasn’t only to punish, however, but also to restore. [I]n their misery they will earnestly seek me, he said.
A survey was given to hundreds of Christians to help discover the most effective means of spiritual growth. Prayer, Bible study and church were the expected answers. But the most effective means of spiritual growth for those who were surveyed was pain. God wants his people to grow through prayer, Bible study and church, but he also uses suffering. Whenever God allows us to suffer, we should use it to turn more fully to him.
Hosea 6:4 Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
God complained that the love of his people was fleeting. They’d make an occasional effort, but it never seemed to last. They’d make promises, but not keep them. They’d have good intentions, but not follow through. Their devotion to God was inconsistent, and their love was unreliable.
I had a friend who was put on trial for a serious crime. I went to court with him and heard him pray as never before. By the grace of God he received a minimal sentence, for which he was extremely thankful. But as soon as his life became stable again he drifted away from church. Our love can be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
Hosea 7:2 [T]hey do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds.
People who’ve committed terrible sins may see their need to be saved more clearly than those who've only committed little sins (Luke 18:13). Whoever commits murder will probably feel their guilt more than someone who’s only been rude. But what if all our little sins add up to even more than all our biggest sins? If we only sin three times a day, that’s over a thousand sins a year. Imagine standing before God with over fifty thousand sins. We forget our little sins, but God remembers every one. Even the best of us need to be forgiven every single day.
Hosea 9:9 They have sunk deep into corruption.
The nation of Israel was guilty of idolatry, immorality, materialism, injustice and many other sins. They should’ve been a light to the world, but became a source of darkness. Like falling into quicksand, they sank into corruption.
Children get a taste of corruption and develop an appetite for more. Puberty accelerates the process and, by adulthood, we’re proficient. The tendency of sinners is not toward ever-increasing righteousness, but ever-increasing wickedness (Romans 6:19), wrote Paul. Unless the process is reversed, we’ll become moral monsters over time. Hell, of course, is full of horrible monsters who used to be beautiful children.
Hosea 13:14 I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?
The tragedy of sin is that it always leads to death (Romans 6:23). This seems final, but isn’t the last word for those who belong to Christ. Paul quoted this verse and applied it to the resurrection of believers (1 Corinthians 15:55). Since Christ died for our sins, and rose from the dead, those who trust in Christ will also rise.
A seventy-three year old farmer in Kenya was tending his bean crop when he was attacked by a hungry leopard. This would signal the end for most people, but the farmer fought back. He thrust his hand into the leopard’s mouth, ripped out its tongue, and watched it die in its own blood. Christ also went into the jaws of death and killed it by his resurrection. I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live (John 11:25), he said.
Hosea 13:6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.
Prosperity should result in gratitude, and bring us closer to God. But it often has the opposite effect. [W]hen they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods (Deuteronomy 31:20), wrote Moses. And, the deceitfulness of wealth choke[s] the word, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:22), said Jesus. Everyone wants more money, but it’s seldom very good for us.
Missionaries have noticed that wherever the gospel is received, life seems to improve. Children are clothed, roofs are fixed, and people go to work. This can be called redemptive lift and comes from obeying God’s word. Obeying God’s word normally leads to greater prosperity than disobeying God’s word.
But missionaries have also noticed that, after growing prosperous, some of God’s people turn away from him. Their newfound wealth makes them less dependent on God, and more inclined to what money can buy. Godliness gives birth to prosperity, and the daughter eats the mother. This is what happened to Israel, and it can happen to us as well.
Reflection and Review
How does suffering help us turn to God?
Why do people sink into corruption?
What is redemptive lift?
God compared himself to a ferocious lion that would tear his people to pieces. His purpose wasn’t only to punish, however, but also to restore. [I]n their misery they will earnestly seek me, he said.
A survey was given to hundreds of Christians to help discover the most effective means of spiritual growth. Prayer, Bible study and church were the expected answers. But the most effective means of spiritual growth for those who were surveyed was pain. God wants his people to grow through prayer, Bible study and church, but he also uses suffering. Whenever God allows us to suffer, we should use it to turn more fully to him.
Hosea 6:4 Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
God complained that the love of his people was fleeting. They’d make an occasional effort, but it never seemed to last. They’d make promises, but not keep them. They’d have good intentions, but not follow through. Their devotion to God was inconsistent, and their love was unreliable.
I had a friend who was put on trial for a serious crime. I went to court with him and heard him pray as never before. By the grace of God he received a minimal sentence, for which he was extremely thankful. But as soon as his life became stable again he drifted away from church. Our love can be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
Hosea 7:2 [T]hey do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds.
People who’ve committed terrible sins may see their need to be saved more clearly than those who've only committed little sins (Luke 18:13). Whoever commits murder will probably feel their guilt more than someone who’s only been rude. But what if all our little sins add up to even more than all our biggest sins? If we only sin three times a day, that’s over a thousand sins a year. Imagine standing before God with over fifty thousand sins. We forget our little sins, but God remembers every one. Even the best of us need to be forgiven every single day.
Hosea 9:9 They have sunk deep into corruption.
The nation of Israel was guilty of idolatry, immorality, materialism, injustice and many other sins. They should’ve been a light to the world, but became a source of darkness. Like falling into quicksand, they sank into corruption.
Children get a taste of corruption and develop an appetite for more. Puberty accelerates the process and, by adulthood, we’re proficient. The tendency of sinners is not toward ever-increasing righteousness, but ever-increasing wickedness (Romans 6:19), wrote Paul. Unless the process is reversed, we’ll become moral monsters over time. Hell, of course, is full of horrible monsters who used to be beautiful children.
Hosea 13:14 I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?
The tragedy of sin is that it always leads to death (Romans 6:23). This seems final, but isn’t the last word for those who belong to Christ. Paul quoted this verse and applied it to the resurrection of believers (1 Corinthians 15:55). Since Christ died for our sins, and rose from the dead, those who trust in Christ will also rise.
A seventy-three year old farmer in Kenya was tending his bean crop when he was attacked by a hungry leopard. This would signal the end for most people, but the farmer fought back. He thrust his hand into the leopard’s mouth, ripped out its tongue, and watched it die in its own blood. Christ also went into the jaws of death and killed it by his resurrection. I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live (John 11:25), he said.
Hosea 13:6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.
Prosperity should result in gratitude, and bring us closer to God. But it often has the opposite effect. [W]hen they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods (Deuteronomy 31:20), wrote Moses. And, the deceitfulness of wealth choke[s] the word, making it unfruitful (Matthew 13:22), said Jesus. Everyone wants more money, but it’s seldom very good for us.
Missionaries have noticed that wherever the gospel is received, life seems to improve. Children are clothed, roofs are fixed, and people go to work. This can be called redemptive lift and comes from obeying God’s word. Obeying God’s word normally leads to greater prosperity than disobeying God’s word.
But missionaries have also noticed that, after growing prosperous, some of God’s people turn away from him. Their newfound wealth makes them less dependent on God, and more inclined to what money can buy. Godliness gives birth to prosperity, and the daughter eats the mother. This is what happened to Israel, and it can happen to us as well.
Reflection and Review
How does suffering help us turn to God?
Why do people sink into corruption?
What is redemptive lift?