Hosea 10-11 God's Love Blasting Out From These Pages

“The more prosperous they became, the more they turned away from God.”  It was that way with Israel back then, much like it is with us today.  “[The Northern Kingdom of Israel] had not only broken the law of God; they had broken the heart of God … After all God did for His son [Israel], he will refuse to return His love or obey His will.”

In 11:1-4, God lays out the way Israel had treated Him:  “They went away from Me.  They offered sacrifices to the Baals … They did not understand that I had healed them.”

My commentary said, “The more God called to Israel, the more they strayed from Him.  They were happy to enjoy His gifts, but they didn’t want to obey the Giver … and all of us are prone to do what Israel did:  enjoy God’s blessings, but take God for granted.  ‘My people are determined to turn from Me.’”

It also pointed out that God chose to be longsuffering.  His heart of love cries out in 11:8, “Israel, how can I give you up?  How can I give you away, Israel?... My heart beats for you, and My love for you stirs up My pity.  I won’t punish you in My anger, and I won’t destroy Israel again.  I am God and not a human; I am the Holy One, and I am among you.  I will not come against you in anger.”

My commentary concluded, “God is longsuffering with His people, as He is with all sinners, even though they lie to Him and rebel against Him.”

Father, I cannot understand such love, and I’m glad I don’t have to – I only need to accept it.  Help those I love to do the same!  Thank You for Your longsuffering.  Without it, I would have been destroyed long ago.  Such love You have for me!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Hosea 8-9 -- Coming Home To Roost

It would make my blood run cold to hear God say these things about me that He said here about Israel:

“They have broken My agreement and have turned against My teachings … so the enemy will chase them … I am very angry with the people … Israel’s foolish plans are like planting the wind, but they will harvest a storm … Although Israel built more altars to remove sins, they have become altars for sinning.  I have written many teachings for them, but they think the teachings are strange and foreign … The Lord is not pleased with them.  He remembers the evil they have done, and He will punish them for their sins … They will become slaves again … The time of punishment has come, the time to pay for sins … You think the prophet is a fool, and you say the spiritual person is crazy.  You have sinned very much, and your hatred is great.  How terrible it will be for them when I go away from them! … Because of the sinful things they have done, I will force them to leave My land.  I will no longer love them …”

Father God, I would take Your discipline and punishment any day over having You leave me.  I can’t imagine life without You anymore!  Use Your Holy Spirit to quicken my soul to You.  Warn me when I’m in danger of sinning.  Remind me to trust everything You say, regardless of what my own heart is telling me, for I can trust You, my God!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Hosea 7 -- Wrong-headedness

The citizens of Israel seem to have lost their senses.  “It never enters their minds that I remember their evil deeds … They make agreements with those who do not know the true God … Israel’s pride will cause their defeat; they will not turn back to the Lord their God or look to Him for help in all this.”

Although they’d cried out to God, their motives were wrong.  “They wanted God to act on their terms and not according to the conditions of His holy covenant.  They thought they could get away with their many sins, but God saw them all and remembered them,” my commentary said. 

God compared them to a half-baked pancake, which is really good for nothing.  “When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, we must be thorough and not half-baked.  His gracious work must permeate our whole being so that heart, mind, and strength are all devoted to Him.”

Israel couldn’t see this, and my commentary said, “The tragedy of undetected losses quietly lead to ultimate failures.”  It called us to see whether we are like that – half-baked in our devotion to God, not allowing Him to permeate every corner of our lives.

Father, looking at my own life, I want so very much to remain devoted fully to You.  I never would have dreamed that the forces trying to undo that devotion might come from within the church of all places!  Guide me.  Keep me devoted to You in spite of those forces.  And if I am wrong-headed in my thinking about anything, show me clearly where I need to change my thinking.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Hosea 6 -- REAL Repentance Required

Verse 1-3 sound so good.  The people seem to be agreeing to return to God.  But my commentary calls it false repentance.  “To begin with, their concern was for healing and not for cleansing … Furthermore, the people of Israel thought that the remedy would work quickly … Expecting a quick fix is one of the marks of an unrepentant heart that doesn’t want to pay the price for deep cleansing.  There is a third evidence of their shallowness:  they saw forgiveness and restoration as a mechanical thing that was guaranteed and not as a relational matter that involved getting right with God … This is formula religion, like getting a candy bar out of a vending machine … The Christian life is a relationship with God, and relationships aren’t based on cut-and-dried formulas.”

They’re about to have to reap what they had sown, and their false repentance would catch up to them.

Father, I thank You for the hurt I feel when I sin against You, for it is evidence of Your Holy Spirit working within me, helping me to understand that I’ve been unfaithful.  Please help me to understand that true repentance is vital.  You can see false repentance a mile away.  Help me to want cleansing, no matter how long it takes, and give me the patience to wait on You to carry it out in me.  Don’t let me presume on Your grace and mercy, either.  Help me to obey so I won’t have to ask for forgiveness.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Hosea 5 -- Determined To Be Unfaithful

God had news for Israel – all the people, including the religious leaders, would be judged for their sins.  I’m sure this stunned the nation.  “You have done many evil things … I know all about the people of Israel; what they have done is not hidden from Me … They will not give up their deeds and return to their God.  They are determined to be unfaithful to Me.  They do not know the Lord … Israel went to Assyria for help (not to God) … I will attack them … Then I will go back to My place until they suffer for their guilt and turn back to Me.” 

We cannot love sin so much that we ignore God’s warnings about it, for presuming on His grace is a dangerous thing.  We cannot believe that He doesn’t know what we do.  And hearing Him say, “I will go back to My place until they suffer for their guilt and turn back to Me,” should fill our hearts with fear.

Father, I know that You know everything about me, even better than I know myself.  I know that You love me and want me sanctified, yet I constantly fight against the sin that infects this fleshly body.  I want obedience to You to become like a reflex action, not a struggle.  Guide me and keep me focused on You and not on the world.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Hosea 4 -- Warning! God Always Keeps His Promises

God conducted a “trial” against the people of the northern kingdom.  He called them out for their disloyalty to Him.  In fact, their basic sin was ignorance of God.  My commentary said, “This means much more than knowledge about God.  The Hebrew word describes a husband’s most intimate relationship with his wife.”  They’d refused to learn about God and forgotten the teachings of God.  In fact, the priests wanted people to sin more so they’d bring more food offerings, giving the priests more to eat!

The effects of this sinfulness on the nation would be disastrous.  Infertility would result from their worship of fertility idols, and their use of temple prostitutes would cause their children to become temple prostitutes.

Something the people were failing to realize was this:  “Whether to bless or to judge, God always keeps His covenant promises.”  That should serve as a wakeup call, but it didn’t.

Father, a lack of knowledge of You and Your holiness is a dangerous thing, and people ignore You at their peril.  I remember too well doing so myself.  My supposed knowledge and wisdom was foolishness because it took me away from You.  Help my sons to understand this and to not repeat my mistakes.  Grow us in our knowledge of You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

Hosea 3 -- Buying Back Someone Who May Not Want To Be Bought Back

Hosea’s wife had run off and was living with another man.  Any other man wouldn’t want her back after such behavior, and he certainly wouldn’t pay money to get her back.  But that’s exactly what God told Hosea to do.  The townspeople would certainly take notice, and that’s what God intended.  This was another action sermon to grab their attention.

Remembering that we are like Gomer, we can see that God is showing His love in that, even in the depths of our unfaithfulness to Him, God bought us back – not at half the price of a slave, but at the exorbitant price of the death of His only Son.

God said that, like Hosea told Gomer, Israel would have to wait a long time for renewed intimacy with Him (they are still waiting today).

My commentary said the key word in this chapter is return.  “When Israel repents and returns to the Lord, then the Lord will return to bless Israel.”

Father, I remember how I’d been like Gomer.  I’d broken my fellowship with You, thinking that I knew better how to live my life.  But I was wrong.  You came looking for me despite my rebellion.  You initiated my return, and Your steadfast love, in spite of my actions, drew me back to You.  Thank You for having such love for me, Father!  Don’t let me ever slip away again!

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford