SCRIPTURE: Hosea 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac. [Hosea 9:7] I once read about an air force pilot who was performing multiple tricks in their fighter jet and became confused while flying; at one point, not realizing they were…
practicing what I preach
SCRIPTURE: Hosea 8 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Israel cries out to me, ‘Our God, we acknowledge you!’ But Israel has rejected what is good; an enemy will pursue him. [Hosea 8:2-3] Their actions do not match their words, they say that they are honouring God but in practice they honour themselves. From God’s point of view, Israel has forgotten their…
sapped and oblivious
There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Hosea 7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Their sins engulf them; they are always before me. [Hosea 7:2] Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it. His hair is sprinkled with gray, but he does not notice. [Hosea 7:9] In this passage, as Hosea reviews their sin, he describes how sin engulfs them…
repentance and resurrection
There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Hosea 6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then…
when the door seems shut
SCRIPTURE: Hosea 5 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them. [Hosea 5:6] The people have ignored God for so long that when they finally go looking for Him, they will not find Him. I have known people who never bothered…
helping or hindering others
SCRIPTURE: Hosea 4 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother— my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children….
loving the unloveable
There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Hosea 3 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” [Hosea 3:1] Why…
a bride only a husband could love
There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Hosea 2 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The prophecy of Hosea is a love story with a twist. It is about the persevering love of a betrayed husband. Yes he is angry, he refuses to enable her self-destructive behaviour, but through it all he still loves her, and is endeavoring to bring her…
scandalous love
SCRIPTURE: Hosea 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together;…
known by our love
SCRIPTURE: Philemon 1 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. [Philemon 1:7] Paul writes this letter to Philemon while in prison, on behalf of a runaway slave, asking that he forgive the slave and release him from his servitude and welcome him as…