God Speaks
God Continues to Use Hosea’s Family to Illustrate His Love Relationship with His People
Verse of the Day: Return, Israel [USA], to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.” (Isaiah 14:1-2 NIV 2011)
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We Respond
Reflection
Consider the following questions regarding Hosea 8-14:
> 1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
> 2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Hosea 8
1. God rebukes Israel for breaking their covenant with Him and revolting against His laws.
2. People have rejected what is good. They’ve chosen leaders without consulting God. They disregarded God’s laws in favor of their own ideas, and they will suffer the natural consequences.
Hosea 9
1. God calls His people to repent of following other gods or suffer agricultural disasters and famine.
2. They will be exiled so that they cannot worship Him properly until they are ready to listen and obey Him.
Hosea 10
1. God lists Israel’s sins and points out the consequences.
2. Although God tells people what they should do, they refuse; so He must carry out His promised discipline.
Hosea 11
1. God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, protected them from Pharaoh’s army, and provided for them in the wilderness,
2. People rebelled against the LORD God and only worshipped Him halfheartedly, revering other so-called gods or relying on their own ideas.
Hosea 12
1. God used Jacob’s life as an example of how He could turn a lying schemer into His trusting servant.
2. People are to come back to God, act with love and justice, and always depend on Him.
Hosea 13
1. God sometimes removes His hand of protection and blessing, at least for a time; then He pleads with His people again to return to Him.
2. When people keep on sinning, they will have to suffer the natural consequences of their decisions and actions.
Hosea 14
1. God invitates those who are wise to listen carefully and follow His paths.
2. People who are foolish or rebellious will stumble and fall as sinners.
Prayer: Dear Father God, thank You for always keeping Your promises. Please apply the forgiveness Jesus won for us on the cross to me and my nation. We have sinned by ignoring You and Your laws. We even ignore or disobey our own man-made laws when it suits our purposes. We have come to the point of calling evil as good and good as evil. In our elections we often choose our leaders without consulting You. Disaster is the natural result. O great and merciful God, discipline us if You must, but turn our hearts back to You. Holy Spirit, cultivate our hardened hearts until we are ready to listen and obey the LORD. Plow and disk (harrow) our lives and social interactions so that we are good soil ready for You to sow good seeds of righteousness which produce people who seek You, LORD, and display Your love and grace. Thank You, great and almighty creator God, for guiding, protecting, and providing for me both before and after I put my faith in Jesus Christ and became a member of Your family. I confess that I have wandered away from You at times. I have also been stubborn and rebellious like those people in Israel’s northern kingdom. I have relied on my own ideas rather than asking You first. Thank You for using the story of Jacob’s life to show me what You want to do in mine. Please help me, my family, community, state, and nation to be wise and put Hosea 12:6 and 14:9 into practice. All for Your glory, LORD. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Holy Spirit to show me where I have ignored or violated the laws of God so that I can then bring those sins to be covered by Jesus’s blood and be forgiven.
- I will confess the sins of my nation and follow the same process of forgiveness.
- I will join with other believers to pray for revival where people come under confliction by the Holy Spirit. Then they will repent and follow Christ for eternity.
- I will memorize Hosea 12:6 and 14:9 in order to apply it in my prayer times..
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.