Tag: Hosea

Devouring Strongholds

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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.

Hosea 8:14 (ESV)

In verse 14, Hosea gives a final statement to summarize the state of Israel’s heart toward God. In their hypocrisy, they have worshipped idols of their own making. In their hardness of heart, they have neglected and spurned the goodness of God. Which has led the people to forget their Maker completely. Israel has chosen to move away from a life of dependence and trust in the sure promises of their loving Father toward a life of self-righteousness and self-reliance. This has become manifest in their building of palaces and fortified cities. These palaces and cities become their strongholds of protection and security. Places where they feel most safe and secure. Instead of trusting and relying on their heavenly Creator, they have placed all their hope and trust in their man-made contrivances. The Lord will awaken them from the misconceptions of their mind and the deceptions of their heart by destroying the very thing in which they have placed all their hope and trust.

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Incapable of Innocence

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I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence?

Hosea 8:5 (ESV)

The Lord has spurned the idols of the people. He has rejected their false worship given to worthless man-made objects. He has spurned the depraved inclination of their heart’s intention and asks a rhetorical question to bring to mind the state of their soul. By asking aloud about the duration of this incapability of innocence, the Lord is bringing into full focus the utter depravity of the people. They are incapable of innocence. Not that they fail to be innocent or have neglected to be innocent, but that they are completely incapable of innocence. Apart from Christ, this is true of me as well.

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Idols of Hypocrisy

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To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.”

Hosea 8:2 (ESV)

Chapter 8 of Hosea is an indictment against the hypocritical nature of Israel during this time. The people of Israel verbally acknowledged and confirmed that God was their God and even claimed to know God on a personal level. Hosea brings evidence to them in this chapter to refute this claim and demonstrate to the people the hypocritical ways their actions portray something entirely different than their words. They were honoring God with their lips but pursuing idols and self-righteousness in their daily lives. This is true of me as well. I find myself speaking the truth of God’s Word and proclaiming the goodness of God to others, yet my actions are often at odds with the words I speak. My mind knows the truth of God’s Word but my heart wanders off to pursue idols of my own making. Idols that I set up in place of God to give me a false sense of security and trust.

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Return Again

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Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

Hosea 6:1 (ESV)

I sometimes feel as though God is so very distant from me. As though there is this great chasm between us that keeps us separated. When these times are present in my life I tend to ask God why he has abandoned me or why he has drawn away from me. The promise of the Bible is that God will never leave me nor forsake me. He has not only given me his Spirit as a guarantee, but his Spirit is my companion and has taken up residence in my heart. He abides with me at all times. So why do I feel as though There is a great distance in our communion and fellowship? Hosea 6:1 tells me, “return to the Lord.” The truth is that the Lord has in no way abandoned me but I on the other hand have abandoned him. I have wandered. I have hidden. I have even tried to flee the presence of the Lord. Yet, just like Jonah, I am learning that I can no more flee the presence of the Lord than I can stop the earth from spinning on its axis. No, I need to heed the call of Hosea and return to the Lord.

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Wilderness Mindset

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Journal Entry // November 25, 2021

It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought; [6] but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me.

Hosea 13:5-6 ESV

As I have wandered through my own time in the wilderness, I can relate to this declaration that God knew Israel intimately during their trials. During my wilderness and drought, it could feel as though I was left alone and isolated at times. Depression easily set in and took root in my heart and mind, altering my perceptions of time and reality. But it was God who knew me during this time. It was in the wilderness and drought that my intimacy with the Lord grew more deeply with a sharp intensity.

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From Glory to Shame

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Journal Entry // November 18, 2021

The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.

Hosea 4:7 ESV

I am generally drawn to passages that remind me that my flesh is weak and my capacity for sin is vast. I think I am drawn to these because I so easily forget the simplicity of God’s truth about my heart. For me, this passage in particular is heavy with personal history and feelings. This passage is one that strikes me right in the heart and causes me to wince when I read it. It’s such a simple verse, but so very true about the nature of my heart.

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