Hosea 7
COMMENTARY:
: 2 They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness; now their own doings have beset them; they are before My face. (4141 “beset” [muwcab] means encompassing, surrounding, to go in a circle, surround, or encircle.)
DEVOTION: I tell people I have a good memory it is just short. I try to remember some things and others I consider non-essential information. The problem is that as I get younger there are more things that I should remember but don’t. I put things down on paper but then I don’t look at the paper for a long time or I forget where I put the paper. I know that others don’t struggle with being overloaded at times but I seem to.
Now we come to other people and the memory of the LORD. The LORD has a good memory or in fact, a perfect memory. HE remembers everything. HE sometimes puts things aside like the sins of those who are genuine followers of HIS. HE buries them in the deepest sea. HE removes them as far as the east from the west.
However, those who are unrepentant fall into another category. HE sees all their sins and remembers them. They think HE will forget their sins but that only means that they don’t really know the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Our sins are either hidden behind the blood of Jesus Christ or they are before the eyes of the LORD. Which place do you think is better? Keep short accounts with the LORD!!
:11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. (6601 “silly” [pathah] means to be simple, be inexpert, be gullible, being naïve or lacking mental capacity and subtlety, or be inexperienced.)
DEVOTION: I have always liked to look at birds. I have visited many zoos and other places to see the animals but I am amazed at the variety of birds that we have in our world. I was in the airport in Baltimore and they have a board with birds from all over the world. Some I have never seen before. They have so much color and uniqueness.
Here we have a bird described as silly. For some reason these birds are also described as witless. I know that the dove returned to the ark because it had no place to land. So it has some smarts.
But God is describing those who claim to be HIS follower or at least relatives of those who had followed the LORD in the past. Now there was a generation that just couldn’t seem to get their act together to follow the LORD. They were going in all directions to get help but the LORD.
We are seeing a generation of children that seem to be going around in circles trying to make heads or tails about their world. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to where to look for help.
Parents are not teaching their children which direction to look for help. This causes children to be silly and witless. The LORD is the only real source of help to face everything children will face in life. Parents train your children right!
CHALLENGE: It is time to stop being naïve and look to the LORD for guidance.
We will not find it in human government or other nations.
: 13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me. (3577 “lies” [kazab] means falsehood, deceitful, untruth, deceptive thing, or leasing. )
DEVOTION: Have you ever run in the wrong direction? There are videos of individuals on sports teams that score point for the other team because they were headed in the wrong direction. They thought they were doing good but discovered that they had scored for the wrong team.
Here we have the children of Israel running away from the LORD instead of toward HIM. They thought they were getting away from God. They didn’t like HIS commandments. They thought that if they went the other way they were free of HIS rules. They were wrong.
They also thought that they could hide their sins from the LORD but again they were wrong. HE was the only one who could redeem them from their sin. HE was the only one who could bless them.
Not only were they going in the wrong direction but while on their trip they were telling deceptive things about the LORD. They were claiming falsehoods regarding HIM and HIS relationship with them.
God doesn’t like people to spread falsehoods against HIM. The Pharisees did it in the New Testament when they claimed that their rules were God’s rules and their lifestyle was what God expected of all followers of God. Christ said that they made their disciples twofold more the children of hell them themselves.
CHALLENGE: Evaluate what direction you are headed and what you are teaching about the LORD while on that course.
: 15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me. (7451 “mischief” [ra’] means trouble, bad, no good, disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant, evil, displeasing, unkind, or wicked.)
DEVOTION: Here we have the leaders of God’s people laughing at the fact that the people are breaking the laws of God. They are glad that God’s laws are being broken. God sees all that they are doing. They are right in HIS face. They are drinking themselves drunk. They are putting the LORD down. They are not praying. They don’t care to even return to the LORD. They look to other nations for help instead of the LORD.
What does the LORD promise? Chastening!! HE had redeemed them but they spoke lies about HIM. They are lying about the ONE who gives them everything.
The children of Israel had gotten to the point that they wanted to do something bad to God. They only had unpleasant thoughts regarding HIM. HE had strengthened them but they turned against HIM. HE had encouraged them but they didn’t care. HE had chastised them but they didn’t listen. HE had repaired them when they needed help. They only had evil things to say about HIM. Their every thought was to imagine unpleasant things about HIM.
When we are going through a rough time we want to blame someone. The person they blamed was God. When we go through rough times we can either get bitter or better. They got bitter toward the LORD. They wouldn’t even pray for help. How about us? Are we willing to follow their example or turn to the LORD for help during our rough times? Are we turning to the world for help like Israel turning to Egypt or Assyria? Israel was judged for their sin. Nine different sins are mentioned in this chapter. Are we willing to turn from our sin to the LORD? Are we thankful for the instruction and encouragement that the LORD gives us each day????
CHALLENGE: The LORD is the one who is training us and strengthening us for service to HIM. HE is doing this on a daily basis. Israel didn’t appreciate HIS training, do we?
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