Hosea 5
COMMENTARY
: 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from ME: for now, O Ephraim, you commit whoredom, and Israel is defiled. (3582 “hid” [kachad] means cut off, conceal, desolate, make disappear, or unknowable to.)
DEVOTION: We have all at one time played the game hide and seek. It is done with many players hiding while one person counts to a certain number and then starts looking for those who are hiding.
Many times we find people hiding from other people because they don’t want to talk with them or meet them. There are family members that hide when there are chores to be done. When volunteers are asked to help a church move forward for the LORD they all look the other way. It is a habit that many people have when there is work involved. Everyone thinks they are working too hard already.
The children of Israel thought that they could hide their sin from God. They thought the LORD would not see what they were doing. They faked a life of worship to the LORD. They would bring sacrifices to the LORD expecting HIM to just look at their animal sacrifices and not look at their heart. They were wrong. God always looks at the hearts of those who come to worship HIM.
We can be faked out by the appearance of people. We can be faked out by the language of some people. The problem is that we are not the final judge of their motives or attitudes. The LORD is the one that they have to answer too. HE is omniscient. HE knows all. HE sees all. HE hears all.
HE asks the children of Israel to listen to HIM but they refused. They didn’t want to change. They liked their sin. This is a problem at present as well even among Church people.
The only answer is confession of sin and turning to follow the LORD. Then HE will hear their prayers or our prayers. Ask the LORD to reveal any sin before you go to church this week. Don’t have the LORD withdraw from you this week.
CHALLENGE: We can’t hide from God. HE sees and knows all. We are just fooling ourselves if we think we can hid our sin from HIM. Confession is the answer!!
: 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. (2502 “withdrawn” [chalats] means draw off or out, to depart, or take off.)
DEVOTION: God knows the difference between true worship and fake worship. It all stems from the attitude of the individual who is coming into HIS presence. God knows the heart of each person who comes into a worship service in any church. HE looks at the heart.
Here the children of Israel were coming with sacrifices but their heart was far from God. They were bring their offerings to try to bribe God into giving them blessings that they knew they didn’t deserve.
The response of the LORD was to depart from them. HE didn’t want to be in their presence even though they thought they were heading in HIS direction. They were wrong.
Today we have people who come into our churches who think that if they show up they have done God a favor. Not only do they show up but they even put some money in the offering plate to show how much they really love the LORD. It is not real because once they leave the building they are going to do whatever they please whenever they please. They have paid their dues and expect God to honor them for it.
That is no how God works. HE wants our hearts to be right before HE can honor our presence. If our hearts are right HE will continue to show us where we need to improve. HE will help us grow through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Our reading of the Bible will become more real to us. We will really get to know the LORD in the way HE wants to be known.
CHALLENGE: Pray before you enter church each Sunday for the LORD to create a new heart in you. Be genuine. HE knows our heart.
: 7 They have dealt treacherously against the LORD; for they have begotten strange children; now shall a month (new moon) devour them with their portions.
DEVOTION: When the people of God marry those who are not believers there can be a different outcome than when two believers marry. When two believers marry they are to raise their children to love the LORD. They are to give them instructions from the Word of God as often as they can through family devotions. It should be daily but there are days when just a word of prayer together is what happens. It is not legalistic but it should be a habit of a Christian home.
Also there are the weekly trips to a local church to worship the LORD. These should be good occasions, not ones that are full of fighting and misbehavior. It only works when there is peace in the home before leaving for a time of worship. Preparation the night before is always good.
Friendship with other believers helps children to love the LORD as well. With good fellowship on a regular basis with other people who love the LORD it give hope for a future filled with children and grandchildren who love the LORD.
The children of Israel were not obeying the LORD’S commands regarding marriage. They were worshiping pagan gods who taught things like unfaithfulness between husband and wife. This caused the children to be unfaithful.
The example of the parents makes a difference in the reaction of the children to marriage. Many marriages that are not based on Biblical standards produce pagan children or children that don’t love the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Raising children to love the LORD is not easy but those who are Biblical believers have the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to guide them.
: 15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. (6862 “affliction” [tsar] means narrow, tight, straits, distress, adversary, foe, enemy, oppressor, pent-up or trouble. )
DEVOTION: Both Israel and Judah are put in the same situation. They are in the state of rebellion against the LORD. They are in a state of pride in their own accomplishments. They were worshiping false gods. They were trying to worship the LORD and their other gods at the same time. The LORD will have none of that. HE will have to send judgment.
In HIS judgment they will see their sin. They will have to acknowledge their guilt before the LORD can restore them to fellowship with HIM. HIS eyes are still on them. HE still loves them. However, they must seek HIS face. They must rise up early in the morning and seek HIM. Only in their distress do they realize that HE is their only HOPE.
It takes us getting into a situation that is beyond our ability to make us depend on the LORD. If the situation is within our ability we think we can handle it. The problem is that sometimes the situations we think are within our ability are not within our ability and we try to do it without the LORD. The children of Israel always thought the situations were within their ability and tried to do it without the LORD. Captivity proved to be beyond their ability after a while.
We can handle captivity for a while but then it gets to us and we want out. The children of Israel took a long time to get to that point. They thought it would end and their false prophets predicted it would end but it didn’t end. Then they turned to the LORD.
It takes getting into a tight spot to get us to turn to the LORD. Once they realized their situation, the LORD said they would seek HIM. They would seek HIM early. Have we been waiting for some situation to end before we seek the LORD? How long will we wait before turning to the LORD? Has it been too long?
CHALLENGE: Affliction is one of the methods God uses to correct us. Accept the affliction and repent of the sin. Watch HIM work a miracle in your life.
DONATIONS:
Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org. Also, if you can support this ministry through your local church please use that method. Thank you.
Visit our Facebook page for Small Church Ministries – please invite others to join us on Facebook. Thank you. Look for the logo from the devotionals.