Slices
Prepare
Cry out to God, bringing to him whatever is troubling you now. He longs to hear you.
Bible passage
‘Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.
‘Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,
7 whenever I would heal Israel,
the sins of Ephraim are exposed
and the crimes of Samaria revealed.
They practise deceit,
thieves break into houses,
bandits rob in the streets;
2 but they do not realise
that I remember all their evil deeds.
Their sins engulf them;
they are always before me.
3 ‘They delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers,
burning like an oven
whose fire the baker need not stir
from the kneading of the dough till it rises.
5 On the day of the festival of our king
the princes become inflamed with wine,
and he joins hands with the mockers.
6 Their hearts are like an oven;
they approach him with intrigue.
Their passion smoulders all night;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven;
they devour their rulers.
All their kings fall,
and none of them calls on me.
8 ‘Ephraim mixes with the nations;
Ephraim is a flat loaf not turned over.
9 Foreigners sap his strength,
but he does not realise it.
His hair is sprinkled with grey,
but he does not notice.
10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,
but despite all this
he does not return to the Lord his God
or search for him.
11 ‘Ephraim is like a dove,
easily deceived and senseless –
now calling to Egypt,
now turning to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will throw my net over them;
I will pull them down like the birds in the sky.
When I hear them flocking together,
I will catch them.
13 Woe to them,
because they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them,
because they have rebelled against me!
I long to redeem them
but they speak about me falsely.
14 They do not cry out to me from their hearts
but wail on their beds.
They slash themselves, appealing to their gods
for grain and new wine,
but they turn away from me.
15 I trained them and strengthened their arms,
but they plot evil against me.
16 They do not turn to the Most High;
they are like a faulty bow.
Their leaders will fall by the sword
because of their insolent words.
For this they will be ridiculed
in the land of Egypt.
Explore
The people of Israel are in deep trouble. Things are not going well. Why doesn’t God do something about it? Here is God’s own lament over his people.
God wants to make things right (6:11 – 7:1), to heal his people, but like silly birds (doves, 7:11), they look in the wrong directions for help. Senseless evildoing engulfs them, and they forget that God sees all (vs 1,2). Their leaders (eg Jeroboam II, 2 Kings 14) encourage and approve their wickedness, adultery and drunkenness. The rulers’ examples will backfire, bringing them failure too (v 7). Arrogant compromise leaves the Israelites like half-baked bread – uncooked on one side, burned on the other – useless (v 8). Stupidly, ignoring God, they fail to realise that those they approach for help (v 11) will exploit and use them (vs 9,10).
God longs to rescue them (v 13), but caught in a trap of their own making (vs 12,13), the people squander their hope in God. Indulging in self-pity, they rebel and speak about him untruthfully. Looking in the wrong places for help, they turn away from God (v 14). He has provided good resources, but they have not looked after what he has given (vs 15,16). Insolent words will result in their own downfall and ridicule. Yet, God longs to heal his people.
Respond
Pause, reflect, lament. Speak out the longings of your heart – for yourself, your family, the church, your nation, this world.
Deeper Bible study
Heavenly Father, help me to understand your holiness and your grace, that I may see Jesus at work in me and that I may grow in his image.
There is no doubt that we live in times that are similar to Hosea’s. We may not be in Jerusalem or Israel, we may not be looking for help from Assyria or Egypt, but the underlying theme is the same. Here we read that the kings and princes ‘delight’ in the sins of the people (v 3). The word translated ‘delight’ is regularly used for ‘rejoice’. So, the key leaders and influencers rejoice in the sins of the people and their response encourages continuing sin. We can imagine similar things being said about some influencers and leaders of our day – but, as Paul tells us, where sin abounds, grace abounds more.1
We often have to deal with the difficulty of living as Christians in the world. We are not called to remove ourselves but, like Jesus, to be friends of sinners.2 However, as we reach out to those who do not know Jesus, we must make sure that we are neither approving of sin, nor sinning. While Jesus managed to find this balance, I have to work hard at keeping it: either I stay away from people, or I try to fit in by being similar. Jesus neither rejoiced in nor approved of sin; that is our guide.
As we see in our passage, God’s heart is to redeem the people. In this instance they do not respond. There is only so much that Hosea can do. He has to deliver the message and let them respond. We too are called to be faithful in our witness of Jesus’ grace in our lives. How people respond is ultimately up to them. Start with yourself and make sure that you are open to all that God has for you. Then, in faithfulness, demonstrate that, in all you say, think and do.
Consider the influencers of your life: are they encouraging you to grow in your faith? How are you influencing others? Can they see the grace of God through you?
1 Rom 5:20, AV 2 Matt 11:19
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Leviticus 21,22; Acts 11
Pray for Scripture Union
Guardians of Ancora clubs are up and running again in schools, churches and community settings. Pray for vision and energy for the volunteers who lead these groups, for the technology to work, for children to love coming along, for searching conversations and for great relationships to be built.
