Hosea 12

Wait Upon the Lord

When we think about waiting in general, it normally does not seem like the coolest thing in the world to do. I mean, honestly, I hate waiting for stuff. I hate when you have to wait in line or wait in traffic or even for good things to come. The phrase “to wait upon the Lord” is shown throughout the Bible as something we need to do. It is interesting that we are called to wait on the Lord as waiting is sometimes the hardest thing as a believer to do. In Hosea 12:6  it says, “Hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.” As Hosea was showing God’s patience towards Judah and what they need to do but does not always does it.

To wait upon the Lord means to rest completely on him. Just like when you sit in a chair, you place all your weight on that chair. You do not go to the chair and question if it can hold you or if the chair will decide to give up and let you fall. No, we just go and plop down on a church and sit. We are called to rest and wait upon the Lord, then that means we completely rest on God for his provision, his guidance, his timing, his everything. Just like Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

What are some ways that you do not wait on the Lord? Some ways I know I do not is by making decisions without going to God first . Another way I do not always wait on the Lord is by ignoring what the Bible says to do and not to do. We see in the story of Elijah (1 King 17) that he went to King Ahab and told him that there was going to be a drought. In verse 7 we see that Elijah not only was going through the drought as well but was told to wait on the Lord. It says, “And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.” Elijah was going through the drought too, but he was told to wait at the brook until God told him to move. To wait on the Lord means sometimes staying put or sometimes it is moving when he says go but you are putting all your trust in the Lord.

Hosea 11

How the Lord Loves

We see a change in Hosea’s writing to focus in on the love of the Lord compared to what the other chapters have been about. In chapter 1 of Hosea, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. Hosea would symbolize God’s faithfulness to Israel and she would symbolize Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. From chapter 1 to 10 we see Israel’s sin towards God but in this chapter we see God being committed and faithful with his love towards Israel.

Even though Israel was going further from the Lord we see he still loves. Even though they were rejecting him, he remained faithful. In verse 8 it says, “My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.” God was compassionate, faithful, steadfast in his love for Israel and the same is for us today. Just think that God still loves you at your worst, is faithful towards you, and is steadfast for you. That blows my mind that God is like that with his love for you and me. I am so glad that God is patient with me as I do not deserve it.

In this video I am just reminded how much God loves me despite of me and who I am. See Romans 8:35-39

Hosea 10

Prospering Does not Always Mean Closeness with God

In Hosea chapter 10 we see God talking to Hosea about the condition of Israel. He compared Israel to a vine that produces a lot of fruit and then says in verse 1, “The more his fruit increased the more altars they built.” We see the example Hosea was giving was that Israel was prosperous nation but pushed harder and harder away from the Lord. The truth is, many people may have the same mind set when it comes to their relationship with God.

You know, they may think, “If I only I had this thing or money and then I would follow after you, God.” It may be more subtle than this but do you think if you were prosperous with things or money than you can get closer to God?  Do not be like Israel in their thinking. What happened was even though they were prosperous they grew further and further from God. Having things and being wealthy isn’t necessarily bad but it also isn’t good. Think about it, if you had everything that you always wanted all the time, how can you be dependent upon God for his provisions? Sometimes we need to be in a place of restlessness and need to depend on Christ. Hebrews 13:5-6 says, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not fear; what can man do to me’?” See it is not about stuff, but about the heart. If you have a lot or a little what matters is the heart. May we allow the Lord control over our stuff, money, everything as he cares about our heart being given over to him.

Hosea 1

Hosea’s Obedience

Today we begin Hosea. Hosea contains the story and prophesies of the prophet of Hosea. Hosea was the last prophet before the northern kingdom was fell to Assyria in about 722 B. C.

In the 2nd verse God tells Hosea to marry a wife of “whoredom.” This means that she was either a prostitute or a woman that had many sexual partners. Not only that but God commands Hosea to have children with this woman. Think about the position that Hosea was placed in. Typically you would try and  find someone that has been faithful and has remained pure when you look for someone to marry, not someone who has lived a lifestyle of impurity. This was for sure not Hosea’s ideal situation.

In  the very next verse Hosea chooses a woman named Gomer to be his wife. Hosea was obedient to the Lord even though God called him to do something that was not easy or pleasant. What if God called you to do something as difficult as this? What if God called you to do something that was going to hurt later on in life? Would you do it? Hosea did and it cost him dearly. But in the end God was glorified and Hosea was blessed.

Gomer’s disobedience

Not only did they get married but they had children as well. Notice  that in verse 4 it says “she bore him a son.” That is the only time it says those words about Gomer. In verse 6 and 8 it does not say that she bore him(Hosea) a son but that she bore a(no father mentioned) a daughter and a son. Gomer went right back into her old ways. She committed adultery and had 2 children because of it. Gomer’s infidelity is going to have it’s consequences(chapter 2) but no sin, no matter how bad, can seperate us from the love our father.

God is uses this story as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God and God’s love and mercy toward His people. In those days Hosea had the right to have Gomer killed for her unfaithfulness to him. But he did not exercise that right. He loved her. He cared for her. In the next chapter he even has to show her some very tough love but he NEVER gave up on her. The same is true for us and God. When we sin, when we turn our backs on God, we are committing adultery against God. God has the right to let us die in our sin but He doesn’t. He peruses us. He chases us and He NEVER gives up on us.

I hope you are excited to see the story of Hosea unfold. It is a beautiful story for us to learn from.