Hosea 14
COMMENTARY:
: 1 O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have fallen by your iniquity. (7725 “return” [shuwb] means turn, restore, come back, change one’s mind, or to follow after.)
DEVOTION: As a believer we sometimes have to put our name in some of the Scriptures to help us apply it to our life personally. I have used this method with Psalm 23. I tell people to put their name in the passage. An example is: The LORD is your name, Shepherd, I shall not want. …so on through the Psalm. Once we make it personal we can understand that the Word of God is speaking to us not just someone out there.
In this verse we can do the same thing. We can read it: “Return, your name, to the LORD your God, for your sins have brought your name down.
Why can I say that? It is because I have done it many times in my life. There are time periods in every believers life when we have to apply verses to our situation. When I have sinned I have to look at both passages mentioned above and repeat the verses with my name.
HE wants us all to return to a proper relationship to HIM after we have sinned. HE wants us to realize that HE is still our Shepherd throughout our life here in this earth once the commitment is made.
Do you need to repeat the verse above with your name it because you are doing things that the LORD regards as sin? IF so do it and then repeat Psalm 23 with your name as well. HE never gives up on HIS children.
CHALLENGE: HE wants us to walk close to HIM because HE knows how easy it is for us to move away from HIM. HE never moves, we do!!!
: 4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. (4878 ‘backsliding” [m@shuwbah] means turning away, turning back, apostasy, or defection.)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel were going away from the LORD. They were not walking in the ways of the LORD. They were not obeying the commands of the LORD. The LORD was calling them to return here at the end of this revelation to Hosea. HE wanted to have a loving relationship with them. HE wanted to heal them. HE wanted to turn HIS anger in another direction.
HE called on all those who were wise and prudent to understand what was happening in their world. HE wanted them to realize that HIS ways were the right ways. HE told them that those who were just would walk in HIS ways. However, HE warned that the transgressors shall fall.
The question that is often asked concerning those who are followers of Christ and then go away from Christ, can or are they saved? If someone claims to be a follower of Christ and defects into sin, are they lost again? Does God forgive those who turn away from HIM?
Here is an example of the longsuffering of the LORD. HE will chasten HIS children but HE will not desert them. God can heal those who turn away from HIM.
There are those who were never followers of the LORD who go their merry way and there is no chastening in their lives. These individuals were never saved. The Bible tells us that those who are the children of God WILL BE chastened by God to bring them back.
The New Testament tells us that if we don’t examine our lives – HE will. If we continue to sin, HE will send weakness then sickness then pre-mature death to those who chose to not listen to HIS chastening.
There were many in the Old Testament who died because they would not return to the LORD. There are examples of this in the New Testament as well. There is a sin unto death for those who are followers of Christ. Until an individual commits this sin, they are still in the position to return to the fellowship of the saints.
Our responsibility is the same as Hosea – tell the truth from the Word of God and let them make a choice. When we tell them the truth it has to be with LOVE. The LORD did this with the children of Israel.
Are we telling those who are our friends that have strayed from the LORD that they need to return to the LORD? We should be. God can still heal those who are defecting from HIM!!!
CHALLENGE: Let the LORD discern who HIS children are and who are not. Our responsibility is to help those HE puts in our path.
: 8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is your fruit found. (6529 “fruit” [pariy] means offspring, children, progeny, descendants, the edible produce of trees and plants, or results.)
DEVOTION: Big brother is watching us more and more each day. We find that if we
are out an about that there are cameras taking our picture around twenty- three times each day.
If we own a cell phone those who want to find us can find us without any trouble because of the chip in our cell phone. Our government can have a file on each one of us. It is updated all the time.
On television we see people who try to get “off the grid” but that doesn’t happen very often. There are many ways they can trace anyone. There is no privacy in our world.
God informed the children of Israel that HE was hearing and observing them regularly. HE hears our comments. HE hears our prayers. HE sees everything we are doing, even in the dark. There is no hiding from the LORD. Some people in the Old Testament and the New Testament thought they could hid from the LORD but HE states that HE is omnipresent or present everywhere. NO hiding.
However, this verse also states that HE is the one who gives us fruit in our life. HE is the one who provides all of our needs according to HIS riches in glory. HE is the one who hears our prayers and answers them regularly. The answer might not be what we think we need or want but HE answers according to HIS wisdom which is far greater than our wisdom.
Our responsibility is to say and do things that are pleasing in HIS sight. IF we do our part HE will keep HIS promise to us to do HIS part.
CHALLENGE: All we have to remember is to say “Thank You.”
: 9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. (995 “ prudent” [biyn] means discerner, intelligent one, insight, have understanding, skillful or be perceptive.)
DEVOTION: The concluding verse of this book of the prophet Hosea is trying to help everyone to be able to discern the correct way to live.
The world is divided between those who have heavenly wisdom and those who have earthly wisdom. Some can have both but not all. The majority are not wise. Those who are wise in the LORD will understand the message of this book. It is not just for the children of Israel but for all those who want to know the LORD and how HE works in our world.
We have to be people who can discern between false teaching and true teaching. We have to be able to know what a false view of God is and what a true view of God is. Once we have a true view of God or a Biblical worldview, we can understand what our actions should be in any given situation.
Those who are believers are called just. The just shall live by faith. The just will do what is right. This takes dependence on the LORD and work in our daily life. It is not easy living the Christian life. We can only do it through the strength the LORD gives us each day. We know that we fail but we have new mercy given to us each morning. This should cause us to praise the LORD each day.
Those who want nothing to do with a daily commitment to the LORD will fall into the category of “transgressors” and will fail to discern the proper way to serve the LORD. These individuals will spend eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels. There is going to be weeping in the lake of fire because all will know that they made a willful decision to not follow the LORD Jesus Christ when they had a chance.
CHALLENGE: Learn to be a discerner of truth. Realize that you will never completely be able to do this until you are in heaven. Never feel that you have arrived at perfection in this area of your life. We are students for life!!
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