Hosea 4:14: "I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes-a people without understanding will come to ruin!"
The passage above is amazingly accurate to our culture today, but I don't mean this in judgment. The truth is, the statement made in this verse is almost sarcastic in it's nature. Hosea is basically saying "look, you guys have gone so far off the map that your children don't know any better, so they can't be blamed for their behavior".
A culture so far removed from God is saturated by its own "knowledge", a result of the pursuit of its own desires for generations. Eventually, children born into the stray are void of any previous knowledge held by their parents, grandparents, etc.
There are many places in the world today where this is true. The "nature/nurture" debate of development leans to nurture when it comes to social attitudes and behavior.
What does this mean to me today? Hosea is crying for a revival, to repent as a culture and return to God so that generations would be born into the knowledge of God. To be deeply rooted in Christ is essential in order to maintain the knowledge of the Gospel in our lives, present in all aspects of my daily interactions. While my heart does not need a revival, it does need a reminder that being authentically who I am in Christ everywhere I am allows the gospel to reign and the knowledge of God to shine to this generation.
Father God, thanks for the knowledge of who you are and the power of the gospel. I pray that it reigns heavily in my life and shines outwardly as a calling to this generation, that those I am surrounded by can be drawn to you.
May your Word permeate my life
Showing posts with label Hosea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hosea. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Hosea 1, 2 --- Redemption and trust --- Day 1
Hosea 2:23: I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called "not my people', 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God'.
I'm hopping from Matthew to Hosea in order to enjoy a study with my wife.
Hosea contains one of the Old Testament's strongest revelations of the character of God in the form of an unconditionally loving husband. In chapter 1, it is revealed that Hosea, a prophet to Israel, is told by God to marry an adulterous woman (Gomer, who was widely believed but not technically proven to be a prostitute).
Shortly thereafter, three children are born. Hosea is then told to name them Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi. These prophetic names, translated respectively as God sows (or scatters/plants), Not loved, and Not my people. Awesome, dad, thanks for that.
Already, I see a tremendous amount of obedience and trust on Hosea's part. His obedience to 1. marry a harlot and 2. name his children of such improper and inflammatory names shows a complete surrender of self as he overturned his path to God. Hosea willingly enters into a difficult life at the call of God, and he suffers for it.
BUT, there is such huge redemption coming from God. Obedience to God is trusting him for life. Hosea was trusting God long-term, and was not thinking about the short-term pain in his decision to trust and surrender.
It is so often that I am upset about short-term situations or circumstances in life. Bumps in the road feel like unavoidable mountains when facing them. Especially when the call to surrender is made.
Same old issue: control. Do I trust God with my life long-term, and believe he can use the present pain or strife to radically represent his unconditional love for us? Do I believe that, in the end, he knows what's best for me and, on that note, actually knows me better than I know myself?
I am excited to continue the book of Hosea and learn more about surrender, trust, obedience, and God's unconditional love. The greatest picture in this book is the redemption as our jealous God "allures" us and "leads us" to "speak tenderly" to us in love. Unbelievable, undeserved, unconditional love. The same love that Hosea shows to Gomer. Truly an epic story.
God, thank you for your love and a heart that burns for me. Thank you for forgiveness and for divine provision. I ask for faith to put my trust in you daily for the long-run. Thanks for the picture of who you are.
I'm hopping from Matthew to Hosea in order to enjoy a study with my wife.
Hosea contains one of the Old Testament's strongest revelations of the character of God in the form of an unconditionally loving husband. In chapter 1, it is revealed that Hosea, a prophet to Israel, is told by God to marry an adulterous woman (Gomer, who was widely believed but not technically proven to be a prostitute).
Shortly thereafter, three children are born. Hosea is then told to name them Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi. These prophetic names, translated respectively as God sows (or scatters/plants), Not loved, and Not my people. Awesome, dad, thanks for that.
Already, I see a tremendous amount of obedience and trust on Hosea's part. His obedience to 1. marry a harlot and 2. name his children of such improper and inflammatory names shows a complete surrender of self as he overturned his path to God. Hosea willingly enters into a difficult life at the call of God, and he suffers for it.
BUT, there is such huge redemption coming from God. Obedience to God is trusting him for life. Hosea was trusting God long-term, and was not thinking about the short-term pain in his decision to trust and surrender.
It is so often that I am upset about short-term situations or circumstances in life. Bumps in the road feel like unavoidable mountains when facing them. Especially when the call to surrender is made.
Same old issue: control. Do I trust God with my life long-term, and believe he can use the present pain or strife to radically represent his unconditional love for us? Do I believe that, in the end, he knows what's best for me and, on that note, actually knows me better than I know myself?
I am excited to continue the book of Hosea and learn more about surrender, trust, obedience, and God's unconditional love. The greatest picture in this book is the redemption as our jealous God "allures" us and "leads us" to "speak tenderly" to us in love. Unbelievable, undeserved, unconditional love. The same love that Hosea shows to Gomer. Truly an epic story.
God, thank you for your love and a heart that burns for me. Thank you for forgiveness and for divine provision. I ask for faith to put my trust in you daily for the long-run. Thanks for the picture of who you are.
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