Hosea 6:4-11  "What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah?"   Do you hear the heart of God calling out to His rebellious children?   They not only rebelled against the Lord, but they revolted.. they broke every Law and filled their land with wickedness and bloodshed. Even the priests had murder in their hearts.. 

Verse 10 "In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself."  Their transgressions seemed to increase even as the Lord sent prophet after prophet to warn and chastise them.. "I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and the judgements on you are like the light that goes forth. " (v5) They spurned every opportunity to repent. 

 Israel was unfaithful..  they had no lasting loyalty to their God.  It wasn't that the Lord was asking for the impossible.. He makes it clear in verse 6  "For I delight in loyalty ( mercy) rather than sacrifices, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."  The Bible Knowledge Commentary states this.. "God's people had failed to understand His true desire.  He longed for devotion and loyalty expressed through allegiance to covenant demands.. Unless offered in the context of obedience, sacrifices were meaningless and even offensive." God wants our hearts to be fully His.. not just brief acts of religious rituals that have no real love. 

What happened in Israel and Judah is what happens in every nation.. and every individual who rebels and revolts against the Lord.  Where there is no loyalty and devotion to the Lord.. there is no mercy.. no compassion.. no righteousness.  We defile ourselves and our nation. There is lawlessness and bloodshed. There is every kind of evil.  

O come  "let us return to the Lord"!

Father, You call us by name.. You speak to our hearts.. You desire our love and devotion.  We want to know You more and to be fully Yours from the depths of our beings.  Thank You for making us Your own by the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ.. who willingly suffered so that we might be forever Yours. Fill us Spirit of God that we might show forth the light and love of Jesus Christ to a world walled in  by the darkness of sin. Let today be a day that the world remembers that Jesus came.. that He died.. and that He rose again! To God be the glory! Amen. 

 Hosea 5-6:1-3

  The Lord brings a powerful rebuke against the priests, the king, and the people of Israel.  He calls them "revolters" who have "gone deep in depravity".  Their actions were so revolting to the Lord that He says, "Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God."  They do not know or acknowledge the Lord.  They have fallen so far that even if they were to seek Him.. "they will not find Him." (v6)

The Lord withdrew from Israel because of their sinfulness.  He was giving them over to the sin that would swallow them.  " I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." 

This brings to my mind the first chapter of Romans.. where Paul talks about the wrath of God" revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.."  Paul says that even though there is evidence in all of nature that God is real.. that even though "they knew God".. they did not acknowledge Him or honor Him.  And, because of the impurity and lust and idolatry of mankind.. God "gave them over to degrading passions.. and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind. " ( v18, 21, 26, 28) 

I think of this passage often.. for we are seeing it happen right before our eyes.. as our nation has also revolted against the truth of God's Word and will not acknowledge Him.. and truly does not know Him. God will judge America just as He did Israel.. both in Hosea's day and in Paul's. 

But we are not without hope!

The first 3 verses of Hosea chapter 6 are a beautiful, humble response to God's rebuke.. "Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day that we may live before Him. So, let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth." 

How appropriate in this season.. tomorrow being Good Friday and Sunday the "third day".... to know and to acknowledge the Lord our God who will heal us.. who will raise us up.. who is willing to forgive, redeem, and restore us... as Paul wrote.. " But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." ( Romans 5:8)

O Come.. let us return to the Lord! 

Father in heaven, Holy and Gracious God who rules heaven and earth.. You have showed us lovingkindness and mercy far beyond anything we could ask. You have redeemed us by the blood of Your Beloved Son so that we could be saved from the wrath that we deserve. You have given us the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Hallelujah! Thank You! We praise and worship You with all our hearts. We love You, Lord.  May we grow ever deeper in that love and devotion to You as You fill us with Your Spirit and sanctify us through and through. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

 Hosea 3-4   The Lord tells Hosea to get his wife back.. " Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband yet an adulteress.." So, Hosea goes and finds Gomer and buys her.. for 15 shekels of silver and some grain.  

This, the Lord says, is how He loves His people Israel.. "though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes."  

Chapter 4 describes the extent of Israel's rebellious heart.. ".. there is no faithfulness, or kindness, or knowledge of God in the land. There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing, adultery.  they employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed."  Sounds familiar.. doesn't it?

Sin not only affects people, God reveals here.. it affects the land.. " Therefore the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes, along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky; and also the fish of the sea disappear."  Our world wants to call it "climate change" or whatever.. ... but God says otherwise!

V 6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge. I also will reject you from being My priest."  Israel was meant to be God's nation and the Light to draw all nations to the Lord.. but they did not even know Him anymore.  He was the Husband who loved her... but she turned to idols and played the harlot. They had lost everything that had set them apart as God's people. They were so stubborn that they would not heed the warnings of the prophets.. and they would find themselves under the judgement that they deserved. 

We need to heed the lessons that Israel did not learn.. we need to hear the Lord's call to faithfulness and kindness.  He wants us to know Him and to love Him with all our heart!  He wants to bless us and provide for us.. to be with us and never leave us.  Oh may we have humble and yielded hearts  to find that depth of love and grace that only our God can provide. 

Father, may we dwell with You forever and ever!  Thank You for buying us back.. through Jesus Christ our Lord.  We have been bought with a price and we are not our own!  We are Yours and we love You. Be glorified and exalted Father!  Let the Light of Jesus shine in us that we will be light to the world. You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.. may the truth ring out across our land and to the ends of the earth..  Amen. 

 Hosea 2:14-23  Even though Israel had gone far from the Lord and had broken His heart by her unfaithfulness, He did not and will not give up on her.  This portion of scripture describes the restoration of the unfaithful wife..  "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her."    He will speak into her heart!  God gives  her hope. 

He will bring  Israel back to the place of "her youth".. a place of joy.. "and she will sing there.. "  Israel will again turn back to the Lord.  "And it will come about in that day, declares the Lord, that you will call Me 'Ishi'  ( Husband) and will no longer call Me 'Baali'"  (Baal.. master).  He goes on to say that the Baals will be removed and never spoken of again. Everything will be changed!

"In that day I will also make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky, and the creeping things of the ground. and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and will make them lie dow in safety.  And I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion. And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord." ( v18-20) 

There will be a restored and greater relationship between God and His people. A marriage of love and truth. What grace!  " I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people, 'You are My people!' And they will say, 'Thou art My God!' " (v23) 

Father, thank You for the hope that we have found in Jesus Christ who died for us.. so that we might have this greater and deeper love for You.. that we might know You.. experience Your Presence and compassion in our hearts.  What wonderful grace that You have poured out upon us that we might belong to You forever and ever. We are Your people.. Your children.. and we are so thankful. Be ever near to our hearts and continue to bless us, shine Your face upon us, be gracious to us, and give us peace. Keep us in Your Presence and help us to be all that You desire for us to be in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

 Hosea 1-2  The life of a prophet is not easy.. and Hosea's story is one that illustrates this clearly.  

The first thing that the Lord instructs Hosea to do is to marry.. "a wife of harlotry".   It is hard for us to understand how the Lord would allow, let alone command, a man of God to marry a woman already known as a prostitute.  But, He did. And Hosea obeyed. 

Hosea married Gomer.  They had a son and the Lord told Hosea to name this child "Jezreel".  The word means "God sows".  It was the name of a valley and a city. It was the name of the place where the evil king Ahab and his wife Jezebel had lived and died. It was a place where the worship of Baal was rampant. It was a place of "bloodshed" during the time of King Jehu. 

Gomer had two more children.. a daughter "Lo-ruhamah", meaning "she has not obtained compassion"; and a son "Lo-ammi", meaning "not my people".  It is thought that these 2 children may not have been Hosea's offspring.  These children illustrated the unfaithfulness of God's people. There is nothing sadder than this.. a family broken by the unfaithfulness of a wife and mother.. one who deserted the only one who loved and cared for her.. 

 Yet, this is the picture that God used to illustrate His relationship to Israel.. He loved Israel like a husband loves his wife.. but she was unfaithful.  She had turned away from Him and chased after false lovers. His heart was broken for His people.. like Hosea's heart was for Gomer and her children. 

Chapter 2 is a heart wrenching description of Israel's (and Gomer's) unfaithfulness... She "played the harlot".. had children from shameful relationships; went after any lover that would give her what she wanted; and when she was finally at the end of herself.. she wanted to return to the One who loved her. Everything that God had provided for Israel would be taken away because they had forgotten Him and did not recognize that it all came from Him in the first place... 

And what is amazing is.. that God would forgive all that and restore Israel! "Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it will come about that, in the place where it is said to them, ' You are not my people' it will be said to them, 'You are the sons of the living God.'"  (1:10)

Father, You have chosen us, adopted us, and called us Your children.. heirs.  We were not Your people but You made a way through Jesus for us to come into Your Kingdom and Your family!  Hallelujah!  Oh may we ever be faithful and true to You. May we know You and never forget You. May we honor You and love You with all our hearts and souls.  We come to You, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, and give You thanks and praise for Your kindness and compassion on us.. knowing we do not deserve it, but You have given it anyway.  How great is our God!!! Amen and amen. 

 Ephesians 6:10-24 This is.. in my opinion.. such an important passage for the follower of Jesus.  This is how God equips us to walk the walk of love.. to walk as children of light.. to become all that He desires for us to become in Christ.  

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might." (v10).  We need to increase in spiritual power.. through the great and mighty dominion that is in Jesus Christ the Lord.  As Paul says elsewhere.. it is Christ in us.. the hope of glory!

To be strong in His strength takes diligence and effort.. "Put on the full armor of God".. Paul says.  It is a deliberate action that has consequences.  If we do it, Paul says, we will be able to "stand firm".  If we don't.. we will fall.. for the "schemes of the devil" will come against us.  We are in a spiritual battle.. "against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness.. "  This war is far too great for us to stand against on our own. We must have the "armor of God". 

This spiritual armor is everything we need.. provided by our Father...so that we can "stand firm".  Three times we are told this.. "Stand firm"!  It is an upright and active position. It is in opposition of the enemy. When we "gird" ourselves we are preparing for action.. we are ready to do something difficult or strenuous. We are surrounding ourselves with the equipment needed for the battle. 

"Therefore".. Paul writes, "take up the full armor of God..having girded your loins with the truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.. "  As believers in Jesus Christ and children of the heavenly Father...we have taken on these basic parts of the armor.  We have learned the truth.. of who God is.. who Jesus is.. and who we are in Him.  Enclose yourselves with this equipment.. secure it.. surround yourself with it!  Be filled with Truth! We are covered by His righteousness.  We stand on His peace.. provided by the One who paid the price for us. 

"In addition".. Paul writes, "taking up the shield of faith.. and take the helmet of salvation.. and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God."  These three items are what we need to grab on to daily.. faith to extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy.. the helmet that covers our heads.. and the sword, the Word, which is a powerful weapon against the enemy. 

But, even all of this equipment. is not enough unless we put it on and stand firm in it.. and Paul tells us how to do it.. "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.. " 

Prayer.. continual.. sincere.. earnest.. faithful.. intentional.. communion with our God.. 

Father in heaven,  may we learn to pray more.. to pray continually.. to be faithful in prayer.. to pray in our homes and in the church.. to pray for ourselves and to pray for each other. Teach us to pray and to persevere in prayer.  Open our eyes to see that without prayer we will fail.. we will fall.. we cannot stand firm.  Lead our churches and our families  to realize the necessity for prayer and have the desire to pray together so that we can "stand firm".  We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

 Ephesians 6  This chapter continues to show what a walk of love.. as children of light... looks like in the life of believers.  We saw in chapter 5 that a husband reflects Christ as he loves, cherishes, and leads his wife into holy and glory filled living.  The wife reflects Christ as she comes under the covering of her husband and respects his leadership. 

Now, Paul talks about the parent/child relationship.  Children are called to obey their parents "in the Lord for this is right".  To honor your parents is a commandment with a promise. A child who wants to please the Lord will have respect and honor for his or her parents.  The fathers are given the responsibility not only for their wives, but for their children too.  The command is to "bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." ( v4)  This also, is a reflection of Christ who leads us with His words and His example. 

Christ - like relationships extend beyond just family members. In verses 5-9 Paul teaches about how slaves and masters can also reflect Jesus in the roles that they are in.  Slaves will be obedient.. and sincere.. they will act as Christ's servants.. "doing the will of God from the heart." And masters will do the same! 

No matter who we are.. what our station in life might be.. no matter what age we are ... if we are followers of Jesus, then we are called to that walk of love.  By the grace that our Father has lavished on us and the spiritual blessings He has blessed us with, we are transformed into the likeness of our Savior.  It is by His Spirit within us that we are able to be the people He calls us to be and to do the things He calls us to do..from our hearts. 

Father in heaven, we desire to serve You as faithful servants and as obedient children. We desire to be all that You call us to be.. let Your grace abound in us and through us today! Thank You.  Amen