Hosea 9
Bible Passage: Hosea 9
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again,
“The Lord will judge His people.”
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10: 30 – 31
When I read today’s Bible reading, these 2 verses from Hebrews came to my mind, especially verse 31.
Indeed our God is a merciful and loving God, but He is also a righteous God, therefore, He will not infringe on the boundaries of His righteousness for the sake of love.
The Israelites whom God had chosen to be called His own possession had time and again rejected Him to go after other gods.
In this chapter, Prophet Hosea, like many other prophets of God, prophesied against Israel for playing the harlot. Israel’s sins were so great that God had to utterly reject her, for she has become enmity with God.
What puzzles me initially was why did the Israelites keep on sinning? Was God that bad that they had to worship other gods? Or was it purely the stubbornness and wickedness of the Israelites?
I think we can look at the history of the Israelites in the Bible, and also to look into ourselves to find the answer. How is that so?
We can’t deny that throughout the history of the Israelites, God had been very merciful and kind to her. In fact it is obvious that God truly loved the nation of Israel.
From the salvation out of the bondage of Egypt, to the conquering of the land of Canaan; and also from the prosperous rule under King David to the time of exile in the land of Babylon, etc., God did not fail to show His endurance towards the weaknesses of man.
The Israelites kept on sinning because they were so inclined to act according to their own fleshly desires, for they preferred a lifestyle that was similar to the nations surrounding them. These pagan nations were free to do immoral and pleasurable things that satisfied the lust of the flesh; and these were the things that might have attracted the cravings of the Israelites.
That is no wonder why God rebuked the Israelite nation for committing harlotry! For they ran away from the God who loved them, and to fall in love with foreign gods who were created according to man’s desires.
If we look into ourselves, and if we ponder carefully, we may see that many a times we commit the same harlotry as that of the Israelites.
We value worldly things more than we value our heavenly possessions. We prioritize our worldly matters over those of God’s works; are these things not liken to running away from God to pursue after or to ”worship other gods” (i.e. wealth, fame, pleasures, etc.)?
The Israelites had indeed tasted the wonderful love and abundant graces from God, and yet they ignored Him, therefore God’s judgment and rejection was justified.
And so if we continue to pursue after worldly things and belittle the grace of God that He had showered abundantly on us, will not His impending judgment and punishment upon us be also be justifiable
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
Hebrews 10: 26
So let us all be thankful and also be aware of our noble status as the children of God. Always be mindful of the things above, rather than desiring to pursue worldly pleasures and wealth. Let us also be warned that loving the world makes us enemies of God (ref. James 4: 4).
May God give us the wisdom and strength to shun the luring of the world, but to remain steadfastly in the love and grace of our loving God.
Shalom