Sun.’s Devo - The Consequences of Idolatry

Read: Hosea 10:1-14:9; Jude 1:1-25; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 29:15-17 God had prospered Israel but the richer she got, the more she spent on idols. The hearts of the people had to be punished for their sins. The Lord would smash down their sacred pillars. *** The people made promises to the Lord they had no intention on keeping. They blamed their sin on the fact that they didn’t have a king. Injustice was everywhere. They worshiped the golden calf at Bethel which he called “Beth-aven” sarcastically because it means “house of nothing”. It would be carted off to Assyria and not be able to save them. *** God would put a heavy yoke on their necks that would force their hard hearts to break. When the hard ground of their hearts broke, he encouraged them to plant good seeds in it of righteousness and love. *** They had sown wickedness and reaped sin. They had trusted in their military might for safety. Now they were terrorized by threats of war. Hosea reminded them of the slaughter of Beth-arbel in Naptali when Shalmaneser of Assyria attacked it. They would share the same fate because of the golden calf they worshipped in Bethel. *** God had called Israel out of Egypt and its idols and led them in love and kindness. But the more God called him, the more he ran. Since they refused to return to Him, they would return to Egypt and be forced to serve Assyria. There, most of them would be destroyed, but not all of them. One day the people would turn to follow him. When God roared, they would come out of Egypt and God would bring them home again. *** At the time, Israel was making alliances with Assyria and paying them with olive oil. *** Hosea spoke to Judah. He reminded them of how Jacob had struggled with his brother Esau even in the womb. As a man, he struggled with God. At Bethel, he struggled with his angel and won. He begged for a blessing and got one. So now, he plead with the people to return to the Lord. *** God rescued them from the slavery of Egypt but they returned to that bondage of idols. God sent his prophets to bring them back but they refused to listen. So, they would live in tents once again, like they do every year at the Feast of Tabernacles. *** Jacob had fled to the land of Aram where he worked for years for Rachael. The prophet Moses brought Jacob’s people out of Egypt and protected them, but now he was sentencing them to death to pay for their sins. *** Ephraim who was fruitful and lush would become dry and desertlike. The people of Samaria would bear the consequences of their sins. *** Hosea begged them to return to the Lord and confess their sins. Their gods are worthless and can’t help them. *** God would heal them of the faithlessness and love them once again. He would bless their land with fruitful crops and trees. If they walk in the Lord’s path they will find truth and righteousness. *** Jude is one chapter and is full of deep knowledge. James, Jesus brother wrote it. He urged them to defend the truth against the people who had infiltrated their churches and taught that they could live immoral lives. This was the teaching of the Nicolatians. *** He reminded them of the angels who left heaven to have sex with women on the earth. They are now chained in darkness, waiting for the day of judgment. Sodom an Gomorrah were like these teachers who were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. God destroyed them by fire. God would deal with these teachers of James’ day who deceived the people for money, like Balaam. *** Enoch had prophesied about these people who would come in the last days to deceive the elect of God. God is coming with countless of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict them of all the sins they had committed. *** Jude told them to build up one another’s faith and pray in the Holy Spirt as they wait for the mercy of Jesus to bring them eternal life. They would be kept safe in God’s love. *** All glory, majesty, power, and authority are yours before forever and ever!