Mon.’s Devo - Israel’s Plight

Read: Hos. 1-7
Hosea is such a strange book. It is like the rules don’t apply to the prophets. God tells Hosea to go marry a harlot to be a sign to the people of what they have done to God. Hosea takes Gomer to be his wife. I just hope she was prettier than her name! Gomer means “completion”. God was completing his judgment on Israel and Judah. Gomer and Hosea had a son named Jezreel which means “God will sow.” God was about to sow justice in Jezreel. Jehu had shed much blood there. Later, they had a daughter named Lo-ruhamah which means “not pitied”. Because Jehu and other kings had not had pity on the people, God was not going to have pity on them. But on the house of Judah, God was going to have mercy because they had not committed the sins that Israel had. Their third son was named Lo-ammi which means “not my people”. God was disclaiming Israel because they had disclaimed him.
In chapter 2, Hosea addresses the ones who are his people and who are pitied and tells them to repent and put away their idols and turn whole heartedly to God.
In chapter 3, God tells Hosea to go take an adulteress and love her like God would love her. He bought her and took her under his roof and wouldn’t allow her to prostitute herself for money. She was to be a picture of what God was going to do to Israel. They would be taken from their homes and not have their idols to prostitute their souls.
In chapter 4, Hosea tells of why they would be taken from their land. The land would need to rest for all the sabbaths they worked the land and didn’t let it rest. He summed it up in vs. 6: “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” If you don’t know the law, you don’t know when you are breaking it. They didn’t know God’s laws and didn’t care to learn them.
In Chapter 5, Hosea held the priests and the kings responsible for not being the spiritual leaders they were suppose to be. They will be held responsible for their lack of leadership more than the people.
Hosea calls them to repentance in chapter 6. God has torn them but he will heal them.
In chapter 7 their sin is revealed and it is awful. They refuse to return to the Lord, so judgment is imminent.
Lord, let this not be our fate in America. May we return to You and be Your people once again.