Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;  whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them,  but transgressors stumble in them

Hosea 14:9

Day 7: True Repentance

Hosea 14 (ESV)

1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

    for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

2 Take with you words

    and return to the Lord;

say to him,

    “Take away all iniquity;

accept what is good,

    and we will pay with bulls

    the vows of our lips.

3 Assyria shall not save us;

    we will not ride on horses;

and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’

    to the work of our hands.

In you the orphan finds mercy.”

4 I will heal their apostasy;

    I will love them freely,

    for my anger has turned from them.

5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

    he shall blossom like the lily;

    he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;

6 his shoots shall spread out;

    his beauty shall be like the olive,

    and his fragrance like Lebanon.

7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;

    they shall flourish like the grain;

they shall blossom like the vine;

    their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?

    It is I who answer and look after you.

I am like an evergreen cypress;

    from me comes your fruit.

9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

    whoever is discerning, let him know them;

for the ways of the Lord are right,

    and the upright walk in them,

    but transgressors stumble in them.

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Chapter 14 is one of the most hope-filled, yet sobering chapters in all of Hosea. Verses 1-3 direct the Israelites to return to the Lord, even laying out the words they would say if drawn to repentance. Words that would reflect a genuine heart posture of submission before God and sorrow over past iniquity. Verses 4-9 bring the Lord’s response of forgiveness, restoration, and love. He says He will heal their sin, love them freely, and turn away His anger. That He will become the source of their fruitfulness, providing the spiritual nutrients they require to grow into beautiful lilies, grounded trees, and peaceful olive branches. That in their repentance, Israel would once again dwell beneath the wing of the Lord. Once again flourish under His protection. Once again acknowledge God as the source of their life and fruit.

In Hosea 6:4 we see a contrast to this picture of true submission. Chapter 6 describes the Israelites repentance as fleeting “like the dew that goes early away.” Yet in Hosea 14:5 God’s love and restoration is shown as a lasting dew that nourishes and restores. As humans, we waver and fall short. We strive after perfection and goodness, but never obtain it. God, however, is the very definition of perfection and the very source of all goodness. He does not waver, and He never falls short. He is perfect in His holiness and perfect in His love, so much so that “while we were yet sinners” He sent His son to die for us (Romans 5:8). He wanted to be reunited with us. But because of His absolute holiness and unwavering justice, He could not be in the presence of our sin. This sin that entered the world through one man, Adam, (Genesis 1-3) and spread out to all men and women (Romans 5:12). This sin that through one man would be vanquished. Through the only man who this sin could not touch, Jesus. Jesus, the son of God that was born wholly human yet completely God. The One who lived a perfect life of preaching and miracles and who, because of His love for you, died on a cross. Yet was raised, through the power of God, to demonstrate that only He had the sovereignty to defeat death, our worst enemy. All of our fears, battles, and troubles in this world come back to evil, sin, and death. So, on that cross and through His resurrection Christ broke the bond of sin, defeated the power of death, and covered us with his blood so that we no longer have to be marked by the evil of our own nature.

This is good news, a promise of the restoration seen in Hosea 14 passed to us through Jesus. The renewal of our nature like the renewal of Israel’s fruitfulness. But there is one condition to this gift: repentance and belief. You have to believe it, so much so that you recognize that you are sinner undeserving of God’s grace yet wholeheartedly desiring of it. You must bow before King Jesus and surrender your life into His hands. Just like how Israel in Hosea 14 had lines of repentance recognizing their fault and fall, recognizing that no other god on earth could save them except for the God of the universe, we say in our own words, words that reflect a genuine heart posture of submission to Christ, that we are broken sinners in need of a savior. That there is only one Savior, Jesus. That He died and rose again, and that from this day forward we will surrender everything to Him through the power of His Spirit that He has placed within us. That even when we stumble and trip up in our sin, we trust that Jesus will keep us close to His side. For once we repent and believe we are adopted as sons and daughters, we are sealed, and there is no turning back.

But there is soberness in Hosea 14, for Israel did not repent. You see, Hosea 14 is a command to repent, an imagery of how the Lord would respond to Israel’s return. But the people did not listen, and they were in fact taken into captivity by Assyria in 722 BC, resulting in the fall of Israel’s kingdom. Even though they had so many warnings, a picture of the consequences, the exact words to put to their repentance, they still refused. Today, so many people still do not listen to this call to follow Christ, and sadly they will reap the consequences of this choice.

You have also been told. You have been given an example of the words to say, of the heart posture of true repentance. Heed these words. Learn from this example. Listen to the Holy Spirit moving around you.

But I know some of you reading already have been in that place, have already made that decision. Let this be a call to not grow lukewarm. To not wake up in twenty years, ten years, a week, and find yourself dull in passion and wavering in obedience. Let this be a reminder that some do not know. Some have not heard. Some are waiting to be told why they are on this earth. But “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:14). Let your life be the life that changes theirs. Let your words, your mouth be the one that tells and preaches. Let your feet be the ones that bring good news, for how beautiful are the feet that bring good news.

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Reflection:

1. Listen to or read the lyrics of “I Have Decided” by Elevation Worship. Is this anthem true of your life? 
2. Have you made the decision to never turn back or are you just test-driving Christianity? 
3. To those who have already made the decision to follow Christ: Is your life one that is being multiplied? 
4. Who in your life needs Jesus? Commit to actively praying for them and searching for opportunities to speak truth into their lives. Even share these names with your accountability partners from Day 1, so they can also be in prayer for these people. 
5. How does 2 Timothy 2:2 and Romans 10:14 connect with a multiplied life?
6. Reflect on this week spent studying Hosea. Write down one to three takeaways from this series that you can remember and apply to your life. 

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Take time to listen to the Spirit moving in your life. Worship music, reading Scripture, sitting in silence, journaling a prayer, going for a walk alone in nature, whatever that may look like, just be with God and listen to what He truth He may be speaking into your life. Set a goal to share with someone what you have learned this week in studying the book of Hosea and what God has spoken to you. If after this study, you have decided to follow Jesus, making Him the Lord and Savior of your life, please let us know. We are so excited for what God is doing in your life! 

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“So you, by the help of your God, return,  hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

Hosea 12:6

Day 6: Comfort

Hosea 12-13 (ESV)

Chapter 12:

1 Ephraim feeds on the wind

    and pursues the east wind all day long;

they multiply falsehood and violence;

    they make a covenant with Assyria,

    and oil is carried to Egypt.

2 The Lord has an indictment against Judah

    and will punish Jacob according to his ways;

    he will repay him according to his deeds.

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

    and in his manhood he strove with God.

4 He strove with the angel and prevailed;

    he wept and sought his favor.

He met God at Bethel,

    and there God spoke with us—

5 the Lord, the God of hosts,

    the Lord is his memorial name:

6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,

    hold fast to love and justice,

    and wait continually for your God.”

7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,

    he loves to oppress.

8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich;

    I have found wealth for myself;

in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.”

9 I am the Lord your God

    from the land of Egypt;

I will again make you dwell in tents,

    as in the days of the appointed feast.

10 I spoke to the prophets;

    it was I who multiplied visions,

    and through the prophets gave parables.

11 If there is iniquity in Gilead,

    they shall surely come to nothing:

in Gilgal they sacrifice bulls;

    their altars also are like stone heaps

    on the furrows of the field.

12 Jacob fled to the land of Aram;

    there Israel served for a wife,

    and for a wife he guarded sheep.

13 By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

    and by a prophet he was guarded.

14 Ephraim has given bitter provocation;

    so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him

    and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

Chapter 13:

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

    he was exalted in Israel,

    but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

2 And now they sin more and more,

    and make for themselves metal images,

idols skillfully made of their silver,

    all of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of them,

    “Those who offer human sacrifice kiss calves!”

3 Therefore they shall be like the morning mist

    or like the dew that goes early away,

like the chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

    or like smoke from a window.

4 But I am the Lord your God

    from the land of Egypt;

you know no God but me,

    and besides me there is no savior.

5 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.

7 So I am to them like a lion;

    like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;

    I will tear open their breast,

and there I will devour them like a lion,

    as a wild beast would rip them open.

9 He destroys you, O Israel,

    for you are against me, against your helper.

10 Where now is your king, to save you in all your cities?

    Where are all your rulers—

those of whom you said,

    “Give me a king and princes”?

11 I gave you a king in my anger,

    and I took him away in my wrath.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;

    his sin is kept in store.

13 The pangs of childbirth come for him,

    but he is an unwise son,

for at the right time he does not present himself

    at the opening of the womb.

14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;

    I shall redeem them from Death.

O Death, where are your plagues?

    O Sheol, where is your sting?

    Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

15 Though he may flourish among his brothers,

    the east wind, the wind of the Lord, shall come,

    rising from the wilderness,

and his fountain shall dry up;

    his spring shall be parched;

it shall strip his treasury

    of every precious thing.

16  Samaria shall bear her guilt,

    because she has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword;

    their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

    and their pregnant women ripped open.

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On Day 4 we discussed how Israel sought their provision from worldly sources instead of turning to the Lord, landing on the idea that “Israel had forgotten their past, and it affected how they reacted to their fear in the present.” Again, in Hosea 13:4-6 we see the forgetfulness of Israel: “But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore, they forgot me.”

Here, Israel’s forgetfulness is not only about what God has done for them but of God Himself! When they were in trouble, in drought, the people stayed close to the Lord, but when they became full, they grew comfortable, and forgot about their God.

Exodus 8 warned against this forgetfulness, saying that when the Israelites have plenty of food to eat, good houses to live in, abundant herds, roaming flocks, and endless silver and gold, that they should take care lest “your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” (vs. 14).

Israel of Hosea’s time was extremely prosperous. They were in the midst of their Golden Age. Surrounded by their wealth and comfort they could hardly believe Hosea’s words. They would have been taken back by this warning of punishment, destruction, and dispersion. They had grown comfortable. Their gorged bellies and lavish homes, their abundant wealth and bountiful harvests, had placed their minds in a smog of comfort that made the past faithfulness and even the voice of the Lord Himself grow quietly dim. This smog that made them forget that God was the one who provided these provisions in the first place.

Comfort has a way of capturing us in a snare of discontentment and greed. A little comfort is rarely enough. It has a tendency to leave us wanting more and more. Instead of leading to rest, it leads to restlessness. Why? Because comfort doesn’t satisfy. Even in Israel’s comfort they sought out other gods, pleasure, adultery, political power. Instead of reaching a point where they were at peace with the gifts the Lord had given them, they chased other things that appeared to bring them comfort. Instead of going to the source of satisfaction, they pursued worldly images of fleeting fulfillment.

How do we respond to all of this? How do we fight against this smog of comfort?

Aim for God, not comfort. The world pursues whatever will lead to comfort and security. Unfortunately, when your pursuit is comfort, it can be a slippery slope to a life of greed, hoarding, and deception within your career. When your pursuit is the Lord, careers become platforms to glorify God, money becomes a means to give to the Lord and help those in need, and relationships become demonstrations of Christ’s love for the church. So let us pray with Solomon, Lord “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God,” (Proverbs 30:8-9). Lord, provide for our daily bread, but deliver us from needless comfort, lest we trade you in for wealth and give you up for worldly desires. In all we do, let you be our aim and everything else just icing on the cake.

Be ready to be uncomfortable. Look to Jesus, the One who was always willing to be led outside of His comfort zone, even to death. When a man approached Jesus and asked to follow Him, Jesus responded, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head,” (Matthew 8:20). Other places in Scripture advise us to sit down and count the cost of following Jesus (Luke 14:25-33). The cost of discomfort and sacrifice, for following Jesus will never and should never cease to call us outside of our comfort zones. The promptings of the Holy Spirit were not created to be comfortable pats on the back, but heart wrenching calls to compassion towards God’s children and love of the Lord that guides us to step into places where we will only succeed if God is with us. Good thing Christ promises, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:20).

Listen to the Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 gives a fearful warning, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Like a fire can be smothered to mere ashes, the Spirit when ignored again and again will become quiet in your heart. You will train yourself to tune out his voice. You will drown the still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13) in the shouts of the world. When the Spirit prompts your heart, obey. Pray earnestly to know the Spirit’s voice and to be filled with the Holy Spirit more and more each day. Then when He whispers in your ear, you will have the wisdom, courage, and discernment to obey.

Reflection:

1. Reflect on this quote by Francis Chan: “But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.” Is this true of your life? 
2. How do these chapters in Hosea that warn against the pursuit and love of comfort impact you? Which verse is sticking out the most to you and why?
3. Is there any area where you are too comfortable? Are you willing to give that area up if God asked you to?
4. Are you feeling the Lord ask you to step out of your comfort zone? Will you obey? 
5. Have you made a habit of quenching the Holy Spirit’s voice? Pray that the Holy Spirit would speak loud in your heart and that you would be aware of any moment you have silenced His conviction. 
6. What is your main pursuit in life? How does this affect your willingness to obey God and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit? 
7. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you the desires of your heart.” This verse does not mean that when you follow God He will give you everything you want. It means that when you align your heart with God’s your desires align with His also.  Even more, your desire becomes the Lord. He not only becomes where you seek your happiness, joy, and esteem, He becomes what you seek. How does this idea of satisfaction in the Lord relate to Day 6?

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Reach out to your accountability partners from Day 1, and share with the areas of your life you have been too comfortable. Spend time praying for yourself and your partners. That you all would be able to follow Christ even if that means walking out of your comfort zone. Write down which spiritual disciplines God is calling you to pick up as a means to combat getting comfortable in the flesh. Spiritual disciplines always have a way of softening our hearts towards God and leading us to greater obedience even though they are uncomfortable.

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“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

Hosea 11:1

Day 5: The Prodigal Son–

Hosea 10-11 (ESV)

Chapter 10 

Israel is a luxuriant vine

    that yields its fruit.

The more his fruit increased,

    the more altars he built;

as his country improved,

    he improved his pillars.

2 Their heart is false;

    now they must bear their guilt.

The Lord will break down their altars

    and destroy their pillars.

3 For now they will say:

    “We have no king,

for we do not fear the Lord;

    and a king—what could he do for us?”

4 They utter mere words;

    with empty oaths they make covenants;

so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds

    in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

    for the calf of Beth-aven.

Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—

    those who rejoiced over it and over its glory—

    for it has departed from them.

6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria

    as tribute to the great king.

Ephraim shall be put to shame,

    and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

7 Samaria’s king shall perish

    like a twig on the face of the waters.

8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

    shall be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle shall grow up

    on their altars,

and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

    and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;

    there they have continued.

    Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?

10 When I please, I will discipline them,

    and nations shall be gathered against them

    when they are bound up for their double iniquity.

11 Ephraim was a trained calf

    that loved to thresh,

    and I spared her fair neck;

but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;

    Judah must plow;

    Jacob must harrow for himself.

12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;

    reap steadfast love;

    break up your fallow ground,

for it is the time to seek the Lord,

    that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

13 You have plowed iniquity;

    you have reaped injustice;

    you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your own way

    and in the multitude of your warriors,

14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,

    and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,

as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;

    mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

    because of your great evil.

At dawn the king of Israel

    shall be utterly cut off.

Chapter 11:

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,

    and out of Egypt I called my son.

2 The more they were called,

    the more they went away;

they kept sacrificing to the Baals

    and burning offerings to idols.

3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;

    I took them up by their arms,

    but they did not know that I healed them.

4 I led them with cords of kindness,

    with the bands of love,

and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws,

    and I bent down to them and fed them.

5 They shall not return to the land of Egypt,

    but Assyria shall be their king,

    because they have refused to return to me.

6 The sword shall rage against their cities,

    consume the bars of their gates,

    and devour them because of their own counsels.

7 My people are bent on turning away from me,

    and though they call out to the Most High,

    he shall not raise them up at all.

8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

    How can I hand you over, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

    How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart recoils within me;

    my compassion grows warm and tender.

9 I will not execute my burning anger;

    I will not again destroy Ephraim;

for I am God and not a man,

    the Holy One in your midst,

    and I will not come in wrath.

10 They shall go after the Lord;

    he will roar like a lion;

when he roars,

    his children shall come trembling from the west;

11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,

    and like doves from the land of Assyria,

    and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.

12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,

    and the house of Israel with deceit,

but Judah still walks with God

   and is faithful to the Holy One.

Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

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Hosea 10 recounts once again the sins of Israel and the coming judgment of their iniquity. Chapter 11 transitions to highlight God’s love towards His people and the immense pain He feels because of their abandonment. All He desired was for them to turn back, but they refused. All He wanted was to show mercy, but they turned their backs and continued to pursue their own desires. We see God’s unshakeable love for His children and His absolute holiness that requires evil to be shown justice. This dichotomy is given completion only through the coming, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Out of these chapters Hosea 11:1-2 was highlighted to me: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offering to the idols.” This passage reminded me of another son who wandered from his father.

Luke 15:11-32 describes the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This son went to his father, demanding his inheritance. An inheritance that was supposed to be given once his father died. This would have been an act of near hatred, basically saying, “I wish you were dead, because all you are worth to me is what you can give me.” Once he had gathered this share of his father’s money, he left to live a life of selfish pleasure. Quickly, he squandered his money on whatever brought him fleeting satisfaction: prostitutes, alcohol, rich living. But one day he awoke to the realization that it was all gone; all of his wealth, fun, pleasure, had slipped through his fingers. So, he sold himself as a servant to work in a pig pen. In this servitude he became unclean, for in Jewish culture it was unclean to touch the muck of pigs (Deuteronomy 14:8). His hunger overcame him to the point where he desired the garbage of the swine. But he had one wise thought: My father’s servants live well, maybe if I returned to my father, he would let me live as a servant under his protection. The son took this thought and began his journey home. When he was a long way off, his father saw him, for he had been waiting for his son’s return. He ran to his son, not caring that for a wealthy man running was considered shameful and embarrassing. He was too focused on getting to his lost son and gathering him in an embrace. He gave his son a cloak and a ring for his finger, threw him a party and prepared him a feast. This father not only welcomed the lost boy home but placed him once again in the esteem of a son.

Hosea’s Israel could have been the Prodigal Son. They could have been welcomed back into the Father’s arms. Their list of sins was no longer and was not much different than that of the Prodigal Son. Both had committed adultery. Both had welcomed idols, whether golden images or the idol of selfish pleasure, into their lives. Both had compromised character and corrupted the family. But one reaped destruction and one was given mercy. Destruction and judgment could have passed over Israel, if only they had returned to the Lord. But they refused. “The more they were called, the more they went away.”

This comparison speaks to two groups of people:

Those that feel they are too far gone. The ones who have been trapped in pornography for years with no escape and are now left wondering why they even continue to call themselves Christians. The ones that feel that for every step forward they take in their walk with God, they stumble two steps back in their sin. The ones whose idols have completely taken over their lives, so they no longer believe God could love a wreck like them. Not only can He, but He does! He knows how broken you are, remember, He came not to heal the healthy, but the sick, not to save the righteous, but the sinner (Mark 2:17). You are not too far gone. That is merely a lie the devil whispers in your ear to keep you from running into your Father’s arms. The enemy tells us is that it is too hard to turn around, and we are too far gone, but he is a liar. You have a good good Father, who longs for you. Even in your sin and your stumbling, if you genuinely love Him and submit your life to him through the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit and the grace and redemption that Christ has provided, He will welcome you home. Even in your mistakes He will say, “I am pleased.” Just run to him and no longer, never again, label yourself as too far gone.

Those that look upon the sinner with judgment. There was a second son in the story that was angry with the Prodigal’s return, for his pride had blinded his compassion. Be wary of becoming like this son, for you too are a sinner even if you are walking closely with the Lord. You too are broken and in need of a Savior. You too are a wreck, a wretch, that only God can mend. Repent of any judgmental, critical thoughts you have towards God’s children, continue to walk with the Lord, and pray earnestly to be able to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Saint or sinner, we all sing together:

“Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
T’was blind but now I see”

We all were at one point lost, and we all have the potential to be found. Let nothing keep you from returning or continuing to walk with your Father.

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Reflection:

1. Summarize Luke 15:11-32.
2. Summarize Hosea 10-11.
3. How do these passages relate to one another?
4. What do these passages reveal about God’s character and human nature?
5. Do you rest in your Father’s love? If not, what is holding you back? What scriptures and imagery stuck out to you about God’s love for his people from Hosea 11?
6. Do you fall under either of these categories: feeling like you are too far gone or becoming judgmental in your holiness? How could you protect against both of these mentalities, and instead, walk humbly and obediently with your father? Here are two potential verses to pair with this reflection: Romans 8:31-39 and Matthew 23:1-36.
7. Is there any area of your life where you need to return to the Lord? For example, an area of your life where you are serving your own desire more than the Lord. 
8. Are there specific people or sin that you find yourself judging instead of compassionately leading back to Christ? Take a moment to reflect on why you struggle to love those people or people who struggle with that particular sin. For example, are you ashamed of that same sin in your own heart, so you lash out when you see it in others?

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 Reflect on this quote by C.S. Lewis: “He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles.” Take time to pray and thank God for his grace and love towards you.

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My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Hosea 9:17

Day 4: Assyria and Egypt

Hosea 8-9 (ESV)

Chapter 8:

1 Set the trumpet to your lips!

    One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,

because they have transgressed my covenant

    and rebelled against my law.

2 To me they cry,

    “My God, we—Israel—know you.”

3 Israel has spurned the good;

    the enemy shall pursue him.

4 They made kings, but not through me.

    They set up princes, but I knew it not.

With their silver and gold they made idols

    for their own destruction.

5 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.

    My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of innocence?

6 For it is from Israel;

a craftsman made it;

    it is not God.

The calf of Samaria

    shall be broken to pieces.

7 For they sow the wind,

    and they shall reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads;

    it shall yield no flour;

if it were to yield,

    strangers would devour it.

8 Israel is swallowed up;

    already they are among the nations

    as a useless vessel.

9 For they have gone up to Assyria,

    a wild donkey wandering alone;

    Ephraim has hired lovers.

10 Though they hire allies among the nations,

    I will soon gather them up.

And the king and princes shall soon writhe

    because of the tribute.

11 Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,

    they have become to him altars for sinning.

12 Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,

    they would be regarded as a strange thing.

13 As for my sacrificial offerings,

    they sacrifice meat and eat it,

    but the Lord does not accept them.

Now he will remember their iniquity

    and punish their sins;

    they shall return to Egypt.

14 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.

Chapter 9:

1 Rejoice not, O Israel!

    Exult not like the peoples;

for you have played the whore, forsaking your God.

    You have loved a prostitute’s wages

    on all threshing floors.

2 Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,

    and the new wine shall fail them.

3 They shall not remain in the land of the Lord,

    but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,

    and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.

4 They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,

    and their sacrifices shall not please him.

It shall be like mourners’ bread to them;

    all who eat of it shall be defiled;

for their bread shall be for their hunger only;

    it shall not come to the house of the Lord.

5 What will you do on the day of the appointed festival,

    and on the day of the feast of the Lord?

6 For behold, they are going away from destruction;

    but Egypt shall gather them;

    Memphis shall bury them.

Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;

    thorns shall be in their tents.

7 The days of punishment have come;

    the days of recompense have come;

    Israel shall know it.

The prophet is a fool;

    the man of the spirit is mad,

because of your great iniquity

    and great hatred.

8 The prophet is the watchman of Ephraim with my God;

yet a fowler’s snare is on all his ways,

    and hatred in the house of his God.

9 They have deeply corrupted themselves

    as in the days of Gibeah:

he will remember their iniquity;

    he will punish their sins.

10 Like grapes in the wilderness,

    I found Israel.

Like the first fruit on the fig tree

    in its first season,

    I saw your fathers.

But they came to Baal-peor

    and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,

    and became detestable like the thing they loved.

11 Ephraim’s glory shall fly away like a bird—

    no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

12 Even if they bring up children,

    I will bereave them till none is left.

Woe to them

    when I depart from them!

13 Ephraim, as I have seen, was like a young palm planted in a meadow;

    but Ephraim must lead his children out to slaughter.

14 Give them, O Lord—

    what will you give?

Give them a miscarrying womb

    and dry breasts.

15 Every evil of theirs is in Gilgal;

    there I began to hate them.

Because of the wickedness of their deeds

    I will drive them out of my house.

I will love them no more;

    all their princes are rebels.

16 Ephraim is stricken;

    their root is dried up;

    they shall bear no fruit.

Even though they give birth,

    I will put their beloved children to death.

17 My God will reject them

    because they have not listened to him;

    they shall be wanderers among the nations.

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Hosea 8 begins with a warning to sound the alarm because one like a vulture, namely Assyria, is coming for Israel. A bird that feeds on the dead is coming for this spiritual deceased nation, for once again Israel’s idolatrous spirit has shone through.

Assyria was a great power of its day, containing wealth, a thriving military, and exceptionally cruel ways of striking fear into the hearts of surrounding countries. Israel felt this fear and reacted to it by paying tribute to Assyria in return for promised protection. This token was meant to keep Assyria from attacking Israel and to convince Assyria to protect Israel from Egypt. Likewise Israel went up to Egypt, paying tribute to this second nation in hopes that Egypt would also promise them protection from Assyria. All the while the people of Israel did not turn to God or seek out His guidance, but deceitfully tried to take matters into their own hands. Hosea 7:11 describes it like this, “Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.” They turned from one political power to another in hopes of finding safety, peace, and security, but ultimately reaped destruction.

What would you name this deceitful turning? I would name it idolatry. You see, the heart behind idolatry is seeking something other than God for satisfaction and safety. Then over time this thing that you are seeking will become what you serve and worship, hence your god. In our previous studies we saw the connection between idolatry and satisfaction; now we see idolatry popping up again, this time, induced by fear and a desire for safety and control. In the same way, even though these people weren’t “worshiping” Assyria or Egypt like they had the wooden figures and false gods of Day 1, they were turning from God to these nations with hopes that these political forces could accomplish what we know only God can: the provision of safety, security, and peace.

What amazes me is that Israel sought protection from one nation that used to enslave them (Egypt) and another that would soon overtake them and force them once again into captivity (Assyria). We aren’t much different. When times get tough we have a tendency to run to past sins that used to hold us captive or seek out new pleasures that will soon come to reign over our lives. We seek old idols or build new ones. We search for earthly solutions to fear instead of seeking God, the One we are told to “cast all our anxieties on” (1 Peter 5:7). We are unaware that these earthly solutions, these old or new exalted coping mechanisms, when placed above the Lord, become our gods.

Hosea 8:8-9 continues by explaining that Israel’s stubborn and naive nature had led them to seek out Assyria, turning this beloved nation into a “useless vessel.” The Hebrew word for “vessel” in this passage can also be translated “jewel.” Israel, something precious like a jewel, something with a distinct purpose like a vessel, had become useless. Why? Because they left the source of their purpose to seek out other solutions. They left the source of their fruitfulness, leaving them barren (Hosea 9:11-17). For when God’s children leave His side, they can do nothing (John 15:5). Verse 10 reinforces this point by revealing that in Israel’s decision to seek allies with other nations they had forgotten that God was the one who actually contained the power to “gather them up.” He was the one who was actually in control over their safety or possible captivity.

As humans we tend to forget this. We forsake God’s provision in order to take things into our own hands, especially when we are afraid. Israel was afraid, so they turned from God to other nations for protection, becoming double minded deceivers in the process. They proved once again that they did not trust the Lord. Instead, their fear drove them to choose other masters above Him, leading to the compromise of their character. They sought control, but God says that He is the one in control. That in the midst of these powerful nations, He is the true power. “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts,” (Psalm 46:6). Nations may be at war, kingdoms on the verge of ruin, but God is the one who ultimately decides when those nations fall and at what point those kingdoms lose their balance.

Israel had forgotten that every battle they had ever won had been by the hand of the Lord. Reading through the Old Testament we see over and over again “God gave them into their hand.” Israel had forgotten their past, and it affected how they reacted to their fear in the present.

What can we glean from all of this political history of the nation of Israel?
Where you find your security is where you will one day find your god.
Your reactions to fear have great potential to affect your faith and your character. Remember, God is the one who is in control, not you or your fears.
Forgetting how the Lord has been faithful in the past will lead you turn to worldly solutions and idols to ease your fear in the present and the future. “Remembering” your God and His power in your life does not come naturally; it is a discipline we cannot afford to forget!

Reflection:

1. Who are Assyria and Egypt? What do these nations symbolize? 
2. Why was God mad that Israel “went up” to Assyria and Egypt? 
3. What does Hosea 8-9 reveal about God’s character and human nature? 
4. Israel feared Assyria, and it led them to compromise their faith and character. What are you afraid of? Has this fear ever led you to make compromises? 
5. Israel sought security through earthly means instead of godly provision. Where do you go to find security, safety, and peace? In what ways is God challenging you this semester to find your security, safety, and peace in Him?
6. Israel lost sight of their purpose, as they chased after worldly solutions to their problems. What is your purpose? The Westminster Shorter Catechism says man’s purpose is to “glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Is this true of your life? If so, how?
7. Do you believe that God is in control and capable of providing for you? Search some more scriptures on trusting God, write them down, how do these scriptures counter our tendency to desire control?
8. Pray through Psalm 46. Psalm 46 reveals God’s power in the earth and how knowing (believing in) this power can result in our ability to rest. Describe in your own words what “resting” in His power will look like spiritually and practically the rest of this semester. 

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Read Psalm 22:1-5. When has God been faithful to you? Journal about God’s past faithfulness. Reflect on how His past faithful can change how you view your present circumstances and future fears. Reach out to your accountability from Day 1 and share one way God has been faithful and steadfast in your life. List out some practical ways you can stay in the spiritual discipline of “remembering” God’s goodness as we continue through this school year. 

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For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

Day 3: Influenced

Hosea 6-7 (ESV)

Chapter 6:

1 “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.

2 After two days he will revive us;

    on the third day he will raise us up,

    that we may live before him.

3 Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;

    his going out is sure as the dawn;

he will come to us as the showers,

    as the spring rains that water the earth.”

4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

    What shall I do with you, O Judah?

Your love is like a morning cloud,

    like the dew that goes early away.

5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

    I have slain them by the words of my mouth,

    and my judgment goes forth as the light.

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;

    there they dealt faithlessly with me.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,

    tracked with blood.

9 As robbers lie in wait for a man,

    so the priests band together;

they murder on the way to Shechem;

    they commit villainy.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

    Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.

11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I restore the fortunes of my people,

Chapter 7:

1 when I would heal Israel,

    the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,

    and the evil deeds of Samaria,

for they deal falsely;

    the thief breaks in,

    and the bandits raid outside.

2 But they do not consider

    that I remember all their evil.

Now their deeds surround them;

    they are before my face.

3 By their evil they make the king glad,

    and the princes by their treachery.

4 They are all adulterers;

    they are like a heated oven

whose baker ceases to stir the fire,

    from the kneading of the dough

    until it is leavened.

5 On the day of our king, the princes

    became sick with the heat of wine;

    he stretched out his hand with mockers.

6 For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue;

    all night their anger smolders;

    in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

7 All of them are hot as an oven,

    and they devour their rulers.

All their kings have fallen,

    and none of them calls upon me.

8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;

    Ephraim is a cake not turned.

9 Strangers devour his strength,

    and he knows it not;

gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,

    and he knows it not.

10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;

    yet they do not return to the Lord their God,

    nor seek him, for all this.

11 Ephraim is like a dove,

    silly and without sense,

    calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.

12 As they go, I will spread over them my net;

    I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;

    I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.

13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!

    Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!

I would redeem them,

    but they speak lies against me.

14 They do not cry to me from the heart,

    but they wail upon their beds;

for grain and wine they gash themselves;

    they rebel against me.

15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,

    yet they devise evil against me.

16 They return, but not upward;

    they are like a treacherous bow;

their princes shall fall by the sword

    because of the insolence of their tongue.

This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God told them to rid the land of its current inhabitants. Obeying partially, they drove out some and left others. Picking and choosing where to obey led them to intermingle with people groups who worshiped violent and sexual false gods, such as Baal mentioned in Hosea.

Through this disobedience, Israel conformed. Israel was influenced. Israel was shaped, no longer by the standards God had placed in their law as symbols of dependence and holiness, but by the cultures that surrounded them. God gave them the Promised Land as a political resource to use in the establishment of a godly nation. But instead, partial obedience led them to blend in with the corrupt societies that resided within.

Centuries later, Hosea 7:8 restated that Ephraim (Israel) had mixed with the peoples. Under the influence as this pagan culture, they had become like a cake left unturned, raw on one side and burnt on the other, double minded in their thinking and hypocritical in their ways. Yet they were ignorant. Verse 9 continues, “Strangers devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not.” Blinded by the lies of culture, the people did not understand the danger they were in. That strangers would soon devour their strength, referencing the time when the political forces that Israel was paying off for safety, instead of relying on the Lord, would turn and lead them into captivity. Being sprinkled with grey hairs, like an elderly man with dementia, the people had forgotten again and again the faithfulness of their God. Instead, they turned to the lies of culture to save them, the false gods of society to rescue them, and the political powers of the world to redeem them.

Continuing through Hosea 7 we come across verse 14: “They do not cry to me from their heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me.” The people no longer genuinely prayed to the Lord but gave way to hopelessness. Instead of praying for providence, they cut themselves in the worship of fertility gods, as if that would bring about a good harvest. Once again, they turned to what culture said would bring food, security, and safety, instead of turning to the Lord. Other sections of Hosea expand on Israel’s participation in the temple prostitution and child sacrifice that the false gods of society demanded.

Sin after sin, we see the people rack up a score card of vulgar and corrupt deeds, and it all began with one act. It all began with Ephraim mixing himself with the peoples. It all began with complacency that led to blending in with the society around them. Unwilling to be different, they began to worship false gods. Unwilling to be different, they faded into culture and lost the intimate knowledge of God they once held. It all started with a lazy, fearful, complacent desire to not be different.

Today God’s people are not found within a political theocracy. We are from every culture, tribe, and nation. A diverse group of languages and experiences who all worship the One True God. But the underlying theme remains. We are supposed to be a people of God, set apart as holy for His possession, yet many of us end up blending in with whatever society surrounds us. We were supposed to look and be different, but how many Christians nowadays go under the radar, because they have accepted the values, morals, and pursuits of worldly culture?

“They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, but mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did,” (Psalm 106:35). The people didn’t immediately look from God to idols. They didn’t suddenly decide to commit adultery, send their daughters to be prostitutes in pagan temples, or sacrifice their eldest sons. They learned to do as the people around them did. And what did these people do? They sacrificed their children, they sent their daughters to be prostitutes, they committed adultery, they worshiped idols, so over time Israel learned to do the same.

Our culture tells us to do what is right in our own eyes. To worship money and objectify women. To shame purity and uplift sexuality. To believe that “one way to heaven” is offensive and Science is God. And Christians learn. Out of fear, ignorance, or indifference, Christians learn to do whatever they feel is right, to worship money and objectify women, to shame purity and uplift sexuality, to believe all roads lead to heaven and that Science and God can’t be compatible. Christians absorb culture and learn to worship what it worships. Like Ephraim they blend in, no longer being recognizable as a holy nation for God’s own possession.

But we don’t have to. Yes, we all are shaped, influenced, and molded by something, but we get to choose what that something is. The question is: what will you choose?

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Reflection

1. What is God saying to Israel in Hosea 6-7? 
2. What does Hose 6:8 mean when it says, “Ephraim is a cake not turned”? 
3. What does Hosea 6-7 reveal about God’s character and human nature?
4. What shapes you; are you more influenced by culture or by God? How so?
5. How can you be set apart in the world? Reflect on how you can be in the world but not of the world. 
6. What areas of life have you compromised in under the influence of culture? How are your idols influenced by the culture you live in?
7. Read 1 Peter 2:9, how does this scripture bring encouragement and hope on this topic of being set apart and holy? In what ways can we declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness this upcoming week?
8. What are some practical and spiritual steps you can take from here to be set apart and walk in a greater level of holiness in the days and weeks ahead?
9. In what ways has fear led you away from God to idols and the lies of culture? Are there any scriptures you can meditate on and memorize that can help you combat fear in your life this semester?

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Reflect deeper on passages in the Bible that talk about holiness. Some suggestions are: 1 Peter 1:14-16 and 1 Peter 2:9. Spend some time journaling what God has called us to do in regards to holiness and why.

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“Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is not faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God, in the land,”

Hosea 4:1

Day 2: Knowing God

Hosea 4-5 (ESV)

Chapter 4:

1 Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel,

    for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or steadfast love,

    and no knowledge of God in the land;

2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery;

    they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

3 Therefore the land mourns,

    and all who dwell in it languish,

and also the beasts of the field

    and the birds of the heavens,

    and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

4 Yet let no one contend,

    and let none accuse,

    for with you is my contention, O priest.

5 You shall stumble by day;

    the prophet also shall stumble with you by night;

    and I will destroy your mother.

6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;

    because you have rejected knowledge,

    I reject you from being a priest to me.

And since you have forgotten the law of your God,

    I also will forget your children.

7 The more they increased,

    the more they sinned against me;

    I will change their glory into shame.

8 They feed on the sin of my people;

    they are greedy for their iniquity.

9 And it shall be like people, like priest;

    I will punish them for their ways

    and repay them for their deeds.

10 They shall eat, but not be satisfied;

    they shall play the whore, but not multiply,

because they have forsaken the Lord

    to cherish 11 whoredom, wine, and new wine,

    which take away the understanding.

12 My people inquire of a piece of wood,

    and their walking staff gives them oracles.

For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,

    and they have left their God to play the whore.

13 They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains

    and burn offerings on the hills,

under oak, poplar, and terebinth,

    because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the whore,

    and your brides commit adultery.

14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,

    nor your brides when they commit adultery;

for the men themselves go aside with prostitutes

    and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,

and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.

15 Though you play the whore, O Israel,

    let not Judah become guilty.

Enter not into Gilgal,

    nor go up to Beth-aven,

    and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”

16 Like a stubborn heifer,

    Israel is stubborn;

can the Lord now feed them

    like a lamb in a broad pasture?

17 Ephraim is joined to idols;

    leave him alone.

18 When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;

    their rulers dearly love shame.

19 A wind has wrapped them in its wings,

    and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

Chapter 5:

1 Hear this, O priests!

    Pay attention, O house of Israel!

Give ear, O house of the king!

    For the judgment is for you;

for you have been a snare at Mizpah

    and a net spread upon Tabor.

2 And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,

    but I will discipline all of them.

3 I know Ephraim,

    and Israel is not hidden from me;

for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;

    Israel is defiled.

4 Their deeds do not permit them

    to return to their God.

For the spirit of whoredom is within them,

    and they know not the Lord.

5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;

    Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;

    Judah also shall stumble with them.

6 With their flocks and herds they shall go

    to seek the Lord,

but they will not find him;

    he has withdrawn from them.

7 They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;

    for they have borne alien children.

    Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.

8 Blow the horn in Gibeah,

    the trumpet in Ramah.

Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;

    we follow you, O Benjamin!

9 Ephraim shall become a desolation

    in the day of punishment;

among the tribes of Israel

    I make known what is sure.

10 The princes of Judah have become

    like those who move the landmark;

upon them I will pour out

    my wrath like water.

11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,

    because he was determined to go after filth.

12 But I am like a moth to Ephraim,

    and like dry rot to the house of Judah.

13 When Ephraim saw his sickness,

    and Judah his wound,

then Ephraim went to Assyria,

    and sent to the great king.

But he is not able to cure you

    or heal your wound.

14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,

    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I, even I, will tear and go away;

    I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.

15 I will return again to my place,

    until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,

    and in their distress earnestly seek me.

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“Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is not faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God, in the land,” (Hosea 4:1). Hear God speak! Hear Him contend! His people, His children, His bride do not know Him as they should!

This lack of knowledge is placed alongside Israel’s spiritual adultery in God’s court case against His people, even being declared a cause of Israel’s current moral devastation and coming political destruction (Hosea 4:6). Hosea 4:9-14 continues to describe how Israel’s idolatry “took away the understanding” they once had concerning the Lord turning them into a “people without understanding” on their way to ruin.

But what is this knowledge, this understanding, that Israel lacked yet so desperately needed?

The word “knowledge” in Hosea 4 is translated from the Hebrew word “yada.” This knowledge is not merely intellectual but experiential relationship alongside personal understanding. To know not simply to know about.

Yada is also used throughout the Bible to describe the act of sex shared by a husband and wife. “Adam knew (yada) his wife, Eve, and she conceived…” (Genesis 4:1). The holy intimacy of this act within the marriage covenant is a metaphor for the intimate relationship of knowing shared between God and His people. As a husband yearns his wife, so does God long for His people. As a wife desires her husband, so should God’s people cry out for their God. Marriage, the deepest, most vulnerable relationship known to man, is but a mere reflection of the all-fulfilling, unveiled relationship the Lord longs to have with His people.

In the same way that a healthy marriage is not lived out as merely ritualistic motions, deep knowledge of the Lord is not passionless actions. However, the Israelites of Hosea’s time were deceived. They had begun to believe that they could sacrifice to the Lord alongside other gods. That they could live out the desires of their flesh as long as they continued to present burnt offerings (Hosea 4:13). In the same way, so many of us today find ourselves sitting in a pew on Sunday, quoting a prayer before a meal, reading a passage in the morning, going through the motions of faith all the while living how we want to live; our hearts cold, calloused, and unengaged personally with Christ. All the while forgetting that the greatest commandment has not ceased to be, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength,” (Matthew 22:37).

Yet, even in our lack of knowledge and real devotion, even in our ritualistic motions, God knows us. Hosea 5:3 says, “I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me…” Even when we refuse to acknowledge the Lord, when we refuse to know and obey, He still knows us. He is intimately acquainted with all of our ways, knowing even the sides of our souls that we attempt to hide. He is omniscient, ever present, the Pursuer of our souls and the Author of our lives. One glance at Psalm 139 shows that deep or wide, near or far, to the heavens or to the heart of the sea there’s nowhere to run where you are incapable of being known by God.

But what now? How do we respond to this call to know God?

Sit at the Son’s feet. The work of faith and salvation has already been accomplished by Christ on the cross. Now it our turn to sit at His feet and accept the good portion that is Him. You see, the main goal of a Christian’s life isn’t a holy life. The main goal of a Christian’s life is Christ. And as that relationship grows in our pursuit of Him and His pursuit of us, a holy life will begin to form.

Know who God is and attribute those characteristics to Him. It is valuable to know Scripture for Scripture teaches us what is true about life, God, and the world. It reveals the dangers of our enemy and the power of God to defeat him. It tells of heroes, their falls into pride, and their triumphs through reliance. But it does not matter how much intellectual knowledge you acquire from Scripture if you do not truly believe it! You can know God’s characteristics, but not actually attribute those characteristics to Him each day through how you live, talk, think, and believe.

Walk with God. “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). What does the Lord require of you, but to walk humbly with Him in total submission to His authority? This is step one. Simply, walk with God.

Reflection

• What is happening in Hosea 4-5? 
• List some of the sins that Hosea declares against the Israelites in chapters 4-5. 
• What does Hosea 4-5 reveal about God’s character and human nature?
• Do you know God, not just intellectually or ritualistically, but personally? How would you describe your relationship with God to another person if asked?
• Psalm 51:16-19, 1 Samuel 15:22-23, and Isaiah 1:11-20 all speak of God’s longing for His people’s hearts and obedience, not just their ritualistic sacrifices. How do these verses apply to your life?
• How would your life look differently if you lived everyday like you truly believed God is who He says He is?
• In what ways can you specifically know God more intimately? What needs to be added and removed from your life in order to bring about a deeper intimacy with Him? 
• How do the idols you listed in Day 1 affect how you know God? Share your answer with the individuals you asked to keep you accountable at the end of Day 1. 

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Take time to worship the Lord. Here are some song recommendations: “.You Don’t Miss a Thing” by Bethel; “Here’s My Heart” by Lauren Daigle. You can also take time to sit in silence and simply be with God.

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“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,”

Matthew 22:37

Happy Thanksgiving Chi Alpha Family! We are so excited to get this devotional in your hands. One of the most important spiritual rhythms we have in our lives is spending time daily in scripture. It is easy to struggle with consistency in our scripture reading when we are not in our normal routine. One of our very own students in Chi Alpha planned and wrote this devotional to help us with just that! Hosea may be a minor prophet, but the message God gave him to share thousands of years ago is major and still resonates with us today. This devotional is 7 days long, covers the entire book of Hosea, includes the scriptures from the ESV translation, has questions to mediate over, as well as a closing activity. If you take thirty minutes each day to read and muse through the scriptures, questions, and activities, we know you will be deeply encouraged, challenged in your walk, and uplifted. We will be doing it right along with you! -VTXA Staff

• Day 1: Spiritual Adultery (Chapters 1-3)
• Day 2: Knowing God (Chapters 4-5)
• Day 3: Influenced (Chapters 6-7)
• Day 4: Assyria and Egypt (Chapters 8-9)
• Day 5: The Prodigal Son (Chapters 10-11)
• Day 6: Comfort (Chapters 12-13)
• Day 7: True Repentance (Chapter 14)

Day 1: Spiritual Adultery

Hosea 1-3 (ESV) Chapter 1:

1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Chapter 2:

1 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” 2 “Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife,    and I am not her husband—that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts; 3 lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and make her like a parched land, and kill her with thirst. 4 Upon her children also I will have no mercy, because they are children of whoredom. 5 For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’

6 Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. 7 She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them.Then she shall say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband,    for it was better for me then than now.’ 8 And she did not know    that it was I who gave her    the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. 9 Therefore I will take back    my grain in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness. 10 Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.

11 And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts. 12 And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said,‘These are my wages, which my lovers have given me.’I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them. 13 And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord. 14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15 And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.

20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.21 “And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth,22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, 23 and I will sow her for myself in the land.And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

Chapter 3:

1 And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” 4 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.

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Hosea is a book of rich metaphor and complex prophecy. Predictions of the capture of Israel by Assyria intertwine with the complexity of God’s love for his wayward people to demonstrate the balance of demanding holiness and utter mercy. But what was Israel’s sin? What had brought this affluent nation to a place of imminent destruction?Idolatry.

Idolatry has two parts: (1) forsaking the Lord and (2) pursuing other things in place of Him. Or as Jeremiah 2:13 describes it, “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Idolatry is turning from the source of life to broken wells that are useless at accomplishing the purpose they were intended to do. In the same way, when we make anything, even good things, idols in our lives they do a terrible job at fulfilling the role of Lord. They might have a purpose, but they were never meant to serve that purpose.

In the same way, when we make anything, even good things, idols in our lives they do a terrible job at fulfilling the role of Lord. They might have a purpose, but they were never meant to serve that purpose.

Only one, only God, Yahweh, Lord, was meant to be God, Yahweh, Lord of our lives. In the words of David, “They have mouths but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat,” (Ps. 115:4-7). They are dead, inanimate, silent, and still, yet we seek life, action, guidance, and purpose from them, as did the Israelites of Hosea’s time.

But idolatry isn’t just the worship of useless, inanimate, misplaced things; it is spiritual adultery. Spiritual adultery is unfaithfulness to the Lord. It is the turning away from Our True Love to other lesser loves. It is the corruption of the greatest commandment, “ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” (Matthew 22:37). This is presented in Hosea through his marriage to Gomer. Hosea is commanded by the Lord to wed a prostitute. To take her into his home, provide for her, and love her, even though she has proven to be nothing but unfaithful.

Not only does Gomer end up literally running away from Hosea, it is thought that her last two children, No Mercy (1:6) and Not My People (1:9), were actually born out of wedlock. Even under his roof and within his care, his wife took another man into her bed and committed adultery against her husband.

What was Hosea’s reaction? Did he give her over to her own ways? Did he seek revenge, maybe even to the point of taking her life? No, not at all! He bought her out of her slavery. You see, in chapter 3 it is written that Gomer had gone as far as to sell herself into bondage, into slavery under the ownership of her adulterous lover. But Hosea came to the auction block, and bought her back into love, brought her back into safety.

We, like Gomer, find protection, love, and faithfulness in the Lord, yet we walk away to serve gods that seem right in our own eyes. In the pursuit of love, we make relationships our god. In the pursuit of security, we make careers or academics lord of our lives. We run after physical appearance, fitness, gluttony, alcohol, pride, self-reliance, reputation, family acceptance, all the while, digging broken cisterns that hold no water. Taking on mistresses that can never be satisfied and that will never satisfy. Gods that serve no purpose, but destruction and separation from the one true God who has true power. As Kelly Minter puts it, idolatry is pursuing life in lesser things, pursuing life from things, even good things, where life cannot be found. Just like sin, idols will take you to places you never wanted to go. They will leave you in a pit, in a tomb, enslaved in chains of your own choosing. 

Yet, God does not pronounce you dead. He does not pronounce you too far gone. He doesn’t leave you on an auction block to be bought by just anyone. Hosea 2:16-17 says, “And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.” God says I will strip away your idols. I will remove their names from your mouth, and I will pronounce that I am Lord over you life. That I am your God, and you will have no other gods before me.

But in this pursuit we have a choice. Even as Gomer stands on the auction block she has a choice. Be bought back, turn back, or stay in bondage. We can turn towards this pursuit of God or we can run away. We can accept it or we can deny it. We can embrace love and forgiveness, joy and mercy, or we can choose guilt and shame. We have the choice to let go or hold on.

It is okay if you need help in this choice. In fact, you do need help. Not only do you need to run to God, you need to run to community. Even as you enter your home, a place where past idols can return and fester, reach out to your lifegroups, leaders, and friends. Lay yourself bare before them. Pour out your heart before God and your brothers and sisters in Christ. Those idols that you don’t want the light to touch, let them shine bright in the sparks of iron sharpening iron.

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Reflection

• Who are the main characters of Hosea 1-3? Describe what each of these main characters are doing in these chapters.
• What are the names of Hosea’s three children born in chapter 1? What do you think these names reveal? 
• What does God tell Hosea to do in chapter 3? Where do we find Gomer in chapter 3? 
• What does Hosea 1-3 reveal about God’s character and human nature?
• What are your idols? Where have your idols taken you that you never wanted to go? Take some time now to journal, pray, and reflect upon the idols that you hold onto, ask God to reveal to you how to begin to lay them down and let them go.
• Ezekiel 16 once again describes Israel as an unfaithful bride. The scene begins with God taking Israel, who is described as a young woman, entering into a covenant with her, and providing for her needs. But verse 15 says, ““But you [Israel] trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.” How does this passage further reveal the nature of spiritual adultery?
• In what ways have you sensed God’s love for you fill the empty places where idols once resided these past few weeks of the semester? How has His love and guidance helped to strengthen you and encourage you to continue to let go and lay down more?  

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