12 Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you.
13 But you have planted wickedness,
you have reaped evil,
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength
and on your many warriors,
14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
so that all your fortresses will be devastated... Hosea10:12-14
Hosea chapters 6-10 deal with Israel's persistent failure and hardened heart. These chapters document their disobedience and rejection of God's ways. At the end of chapter 10 we see the inevitable climax of their sin:
- They planted wickedness and reaped evil
- They (willingly) ate the fruit of deception
- They depended on their own strength.
And so war (in the form of the Assyrian invasion) will come.
But it is verse 12 that has grabbed my heart:
Even here, in midst of judgement, God is still appealing to them:
- Sow righteousness - reap love
- Break up your unplowed ground
- Seek the Lord.
It is a powerful image - Hosea sees a field (representing their relationship with God) - It is unplowed and unused.
If they would seek Him, He will bring showers of righteousness.
Imagine two fields:
One barren, dry, unplowed and unfruitful.
Another plowed, sowed, rain falling gently and plants sprouting.
If I want to be the second field, I need to walk in righteousness and love, I need to break the unplowed ground of devotion and seek the Lord.
And the rain will come!
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Friday, October 4, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-10-04 [Hosea Highlights] What God requires
6 I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me. (Good News Translation) Hosea6:6
There are a number of places in the OT where God urges us to throw of the cloak of tradition and ritual and to get real. Hosea 6:6 is one of them. Here are some other passages that point us in the same direction:
Proverbs 21:3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Psalm 51:16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Isaiah 1:11 "The multitude of your sacrifices--
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats....
17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
Amos 5:21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Micah 6:6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.
7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come--
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."
This is certainly food for thought!!!
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
There are a number of places in the OT where God urges us to throw of the cloak of tradition and ritual and to get real. Hosea 6:6 is one of them. Here are some other passages that point us in the same direction:
Proverbs 21:3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Psalm 51:16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
Isaiah 1:11 "The multitude of your sacrifices--
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats....
17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
Amos 5:21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
Micah 6:6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but my ears you have pierced;
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not require.
7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come--
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."
This is certainly food for thought!!!
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 3, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-10-03 [Hosea Highlights] Hopeful call to repentence
Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea6:1-3
Chapters 6-10 are a description of the judgement that will fall on Israel because of her stubborn disobedience.
What is striking is that this tough section starts with the prophet's passionate cry: "Let us return to the Lord, because He will heal and restore us."
We may struggle with the idea of "He has torn us to pieces" and "He has injured us", but let's remember the imagery we started with: Gomer running away from Hosea and getting herself into trouble and slavery. If Hosea had restrained her from running away then she would not have got into trouble, so, in a way Hosea is responsible for her being in slavery.
It is in this sense that Hosea "blames" God for Israel's wounds.
They brought judgement on themselves, but only because of the freedom that God gave them.
What is hard to ignore are the parallels we encounter here:
- The three days that Jesus was in the tomb
- The prophecies of the wounded healer in Isaiah 53
- The way Jesus was "torn to pieces" when He was whipped
- The torn temple curtain that enables us to "live in His presence"
- And the promise of winter and spring rains and streams of living water.
Although we can't strictly call this a Messianic prophecy, I am certainly comfortable to see a Messianic pre-echo...
What a gracious God - that even judgement is preceded with mercy.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
3 Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth. Hosea6:1-3
Chapters 6-10 are a description of the judgement that will fall on Israel because of her stubborn disobedience.
What is striking is that this tough section starts with the prophet's passionate cry: "Let us return to the Lord, because He will heal and restore us."
We may struggle with the idea of "He has torn us to pieces" and "He has injured us", but let's remember the imagery we started with: Gomer running away from Hosea and getting herself into trouble and slavery. If Hosea had restrained her from running away then she would not have got into trouble, so, in a way Hosea is responsible for her being in slavery.
It is in this sense that Hosea "blames" God for Israel's wounds.
They brought judgement on themselves, but only because of the freedom that God gave them.
What is hard to ignore are the parallels we encounter here:
- The three days that Jesus was in the tomb
- The prophecies of the wounded healer in Isaiah 53
- The way Jesus was "torn to pieces" when He was whipped
- The torn temple curtain that enables us to "live in His presence"
- And the promise of winter and spring rains and streams of living water.
Although we can't strictly call this a Messianic prophecy, I am certainly comfortable to see a Messianic pre-echo...
What a gracious God - that even judgement is preceded with mercy.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-10-02 [Hosea Highlights] The extent of brokenness
Judah's leaders are like those who move boundary stones.
I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.
12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
like rot to the people of Judah.
13 "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. Hosea5:10-15
Hosea chapter 5 is all about the extent of the brokenness of God's people. In this chapter the prophet names the priests, the Royal House, the shepherds, Ephraim/Israel (Northern Kingdom), and Judah (Southern Kingdom).
It is a sad and depressing chapter. It catalogues the stubborn rebellion that has taken root in the hearts of the people:
* Hosea accuses Judah's leaders of moving boundary stones. This means that they have turned their back on ancient truths and traditions.
* Ephraim is even worse, in spite of the fact that they are experiencing consequences and judgement for their idolatry, they persist in their pursuit of idols. They simply refuse to learn from their mistakes.
In some ways, this is a reflection of modern society and even the church. As a society we are moving boundary stones - departing from tried and trusted norms and values and embracing "new moralities" without thinking through where these will take us. We're unashamedly worshipping at the shrines of techno-materialism and the adulation of ourselves.
The challenge of this chapter is to grasp both its _truth_ and its _purpose_:
- The truth is that it is a timeless and insightful analysis of a society that drifts away from God.
- The purpose is not to depress us, create images of God as a hard-to-please-judge, or produce paralysing guilt, but rather to understand the urgent situation we are in.
Israel tried to resolve their situation politically - but they would need to come to a place of admitting their need.
The chapter ends with God doing whatever He can to get their attention:
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
15 Then I will go back to my place
until they admit their guilt.
And they will seek my face;
in their misery they will earnestly seek me."
May we open our hearts to God long before He has to shake us up like this.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed,
trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols.
12 I am like a moth to Ephraim,
like rot to the people of Judah.
13 "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores,
then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help.
But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. Hosea5:10-15
Hosea chapter 5 is all about the extent of the brokenness of God's people. In this chapter the prophet names the priests, the Royal House, the shepherds, Ephraim/Israel (Northern Kingdom), and Judah (Southern Kingdom).
It is a sad and depressing chapter. It catalogues the stubborn rebellion that has taken root in the hearts of the people:
* Hosea accuses Judah's leaders of moving boundary stones. This means that they have turned their back on ancient truths and traditions.
* Ephraim is even worse, in spite of the fact that they are experiencing consequences and judgement for their idolatry, they persist in their pursuit of idols. They simply refuse to learn from their mistakes.
In some ways, this is a reflection of modern society and even the church. As a society we are moving boundary stones - departing from tried and trusted norms and values and embracing "new moralities" without thinking through where these will take us. We're unashamedly worshipping at the shrines of techno-materialism and the adulation of ourselves.
The challenge of this chapter is to grasp both its _truth_ and its _purpose_:
- The truth is that it is a timeless and insightful analysis of a society that drifts away from God.
- The purpose is not to depress us, create images of God as a hard-to-please-judge, or produce paralysing guilt, but rather to understand the urgent situation we are in.
Israel tried to resolve their situation politically - but they would need to come to a place of admitting their need.
The chapter ends with God doing whatever He can to get their attention:
14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
like a great lion to Judah.
I will tear them to pieces and go away;
I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.
15 Then I will go back to my place
until they admit their guilt.
And they will seek my face;
in their misery they will earnestly seek me."
May we open our hearts to God long before He has to shake us up like this.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 20, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-09-20 [Hosea Highlights] Sad reality
The Israelites are stubborn,
like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the LORD pasture them
like lambs in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame. Hosea4:16-19
The main theme of chapters 4-6 is Israel's rebellion.
Our text for today is a very sad summary of Israel's rebellion and a very powerful picture of brokenness.
Israel should be lambs following the shepherd, but they are a stubborn heifer. I remember visiting a friend on a diary farm and having to deal with the dairy cows there. They're big and stubborn and like to do their own thing.
Israel are described as joined to idols and this is seen as prostitution. What is particularly sad is that their bad behaviour is not limited to times when they are inebriated. There are no "mitigating circumstances." They are sane and sober and yet they continue in their sin.
It is easy for us to look at the Israelites critically.
We can condemn them for their idolatry and sacrifices to idols.
But lets be brave enough to acknowledge that we, with sane and sober minds, are often guilty of stubborn and sinful behaviour. It can bring a whirlwind...!
Let's keep Romans 15:4 in mind: "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Let's learn from Israel's mistakes.
-------------------------------------------------
EmmDevs will take a break for the school holidays...
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
like a stubborn heifer.
How then can the LORD pasture them
like lambs in a meadow?
17 Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone!
18 Even when their drinks are gone,
they continue their prostitution;
their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
19 A whirlwind will sweep them away,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame. Hosea4:16-19
The main theme of chapters 4-6 is Israel's rebellion.
Our text for today is a very sad summary of Israel's rebellion and a very powerful picture of brokenness.
Israel should be lambs following the shepherd, but they are a stubborn heifer. I remember visiting a friend on a diary farm and having to deal with the dairy cows there. They're big and stubborn and like to do their own thing.
Israel are described as joined to idols and this is seen as prostitution. What is particularly sad is that their bad behaviour is not limited to times when they are inebriated. There are no "mitigating circumstances." They are sane and sober and yet they continue in their sin.
It is easy for us to look at the Israelites critically.
We can condemn them for their idolatry and sacrifices to idols.
But lets be brave enough to acknowledge that we, with sane and sober minds, are often guilty of stubborn and sinful behaviour. It can bring a whirlwind...!
Let's keep Romans 15:4 in mind: "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Let's learn from Israel's mistakes.
-------------------------------------------------
EmmDevs will take a break for the school holidays...
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 19, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-09-19 [Hosea Highlights] A Lack of knowledge
But let no man bring a charge,
let no man accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.
5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother--
6 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. Hosea4:4-6
Verse 6 ("my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge") is often misquoted... most people use it to mean that people are destroyed because they have not been enlightened, because the knowledge didn't get to them, because they "missed out." But this is not what the context implies: They lack knowledge because they are arrogant and unteachable.
Arrogance and being unteachable are serious blunders.
Israel is very guilty of this:
- They want to accuse and blame each other. ("It's not me!")
- They are arrogant (normally a priest would be considered above reproach) and so it would be mischievous to bring a charge against a priest - but they are willing to to point fingers at priests when they are by no means any better. In a modern context we might say "You're like a drunk spectator telling the Referee how to ref the match!"
- They stumble in the day and the night
- It turns out that their prophets aren't particularly wise either.
- They lack knowledge and they reject it.
These failures have serious repercussions:
God warns that their mother (Israel) will be destroyed, that they will be rejected as His priests, and that their children will be ignored.
We need to learn to be humbly teachable.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
let no man accuse another,
for your people are like those
who bring charges against a priest.
5 You stumble day and night,
and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother--
6 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. Hosea4:4-6
Verse 6 ("my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge") is often misquoted... most people use it to mean that people are destroyed because they have not been enlightened, because the knowledge didn't get to them, because they "missed out." But this is not what the context implies: They lack knowledge because they are arrogant and unteachable.
Arrogance and being unteachable are serious blunders.
Israel is very guilty of this:
- They want to accuse and blame each other. ("It's not me!")
- They are arrogant (normally a priest would be considered above reproach) and so it would be mischievous to bring a charge against a priest - but they are willing to to point fingers at priests when they are by no means any better. In a modern context we might say "You're like a drunk spectator telling the Referee how to ref the match!"
- They stumble in the day and the night
- It turns out that their prophets aren't particularly wise either.
- They lack knowledge and they reject it.
These failures have serious repercussions:
God warns that their mother (Israel) will be destroyed, that they will be rejected as His priests, and that their children will be ignored.
We need to learn to be humbly teachable.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-09-18 [Hosea Highlights] Infection.
1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
"There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land mourns,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea are dying. Hosea4:1-3
If chapters 1-3 are about the unfaithful wife and the faithful husband, then chapters 4-14 are about the unfaithful nation and the faithful God. I won't deal with these chapters in the same detail as the first three chapters, but there are some key thoughts to pick up...
In chapters 1-3 we saw Gomer getting into all sorts of trouble because of her unfaithfulness. The next couple of chapters reveal the same truth concerning Israel.
What is striking about the opening verses of chapter 4 is how Hosea illustrates the destructive power of sin.
The chain reaction is clear:
1. No faithfulness or love or acknowledgement of God
2. Cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery
3. Bloodshed follows bloodshed.
4. The land mourns and beasts, birds, and fish waste away and die.
It's almost as though Hosea is saying that when we break the first commandments (the ones that have to do with God) it is inevitable that we will break the later commandments - the ones that have to do with others (four of the six commandments are alluded to) - and then the "fallout" of this unfaithfulness is that even creation suffers.
Selfish prideful sinfulness places us on the throne instead of God and it leads to the destruction of our relationship with others and also impacts creation.
It is an infection with dire consequences.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
because the LORD has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
"There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land mourns,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea are dying. Hosea4:1-3
If chapters 1-3 are about the unfaithful wife and the faithful husband, then chapters 4-14 are about the unfaithful nation and the faithful God. I won't deal with these chapters in the same detail as the first three chapters, but there are some key thoughts to pick up...
In chapters 1-3 we saw Gomer getting into all sorts of trouble because of her unfaithfulness. The next couple of chapters reveal the same truth concerning Israel.
What is striking about the opening verses of chapter 4 is how Hosea illustrates the destructive power of sin.
The chain reaction is clear:
1. No faithfulness or love or acknowledgement of God
2. Cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery
3. Bloodshed follows bloodshed.
4. The land mourns and beasts, birds, and fish waste away and die.
It's almost as though Hosea is saying that when we break the first commandments (the ones that have to do with God) it is inevitable that we will break the later commandments - the ones that have to do with others (four of the six commandments are alluded to) - and then the "fallout" of this unfaithfulness is that even creation suffers.
Selfish prideful sinfulness places us on the throne instead of God and it leads to the destruction of our relationship with others and also impacts creation.
It is an infection with dire consequences.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-09-17 [Hosea Highlights] The Power of Love
1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3 Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you."
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days. Hosea3:1-5
This five-verse-chapter offers an incredible insight into the heart of God.
Hosea is asked to go and show love to his prostitute wife.
He has to find her, buy her out of her slavery and take her home - living with the strong possibility that she might do it all over again (That's what the warning in v.3 is all about.)
What kind of love must a husband have to be able to do that? ? ?
- To SEEK, to PAY, to RESTORE and to RISK.
This is what Hosea does for Gomer.
And what God does for us.
It should have us come trembling to the Lord.
"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"
Enough said...
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3 Then I told her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you."
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days. Hosea3:1-5
This five-verse-chapter offers an incredible insight into the heart of God.
Hosea is asked to go and show love to his prostitute wife.
He has to find her, buy her out of her slavery and take her home - living with the strong possibility that she might do it all over again (That's what the warning in v.3 is all about.)
What kind of love must a husband have to be able to do that? ? ?
- To SEEK, to PAY, to RESTORE and to RISK.
This is what Hosea does for Gomer.
And what God does for us.
It should have us come trembling to the Lord.
"Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?"
Enough said...
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 13, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-09-13 [Hosea Highlights] ... and the Rescue
14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master. '
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
...
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. '
I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' " Hosea2:14-23
Yesterday we saw Gomer's failure in detail and it was made clear that she had brought sad destruction on her own head.
BUT once again, God surprises us with Grace instead of Wrath.
And notice the nature of Grace:
He is not standing there with His arms folded and foot-tapping saying "Well, you miscreant... if you come crawling back to me, I may just forgive you..."
The picture painted here is breath-taking in the extent of its love:
- God intends to allure Israel - to woo her back. He pursues her!
- He wants to restore vineyards and turn the Valley of Achor ("Trouble") into a door of hope.
- He wants her to call Him "Husband" not "Master"
- He wants to woo her to the extent that she never names Baal again.
- He wants to plant her, love her and make her His.
The parable of the Prodigal Son tells the same story as the Father _runs_ to his son and gives him a robe and a ring.
This is the heart of our God:
- He shows mercy and love when we least deserve it
- He gives hope and restoration to those far lost
- To those who rejected Him He shows love and makes us His.
Charles Wesley put it like this:
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in my Saviour's blood
Died He for me who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued
Amazing Love! How can it be?
That Thou O God shouldst die for me?
Amazing Love! How can it be?
That Thou O God shouldst die for me?
Let's worship Him this weekend!!
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 "In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master. '
17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked.
...
23 I will plant her for myself in the land;
I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one. '
I will say to those called 'Not my people, ' 'You are my people';
and they will say, 'You are my God.' " Hosea2:14-23
Yesterday we saw Gomer's failure in detail and it was made clear that she had brought sad destruction on her own head.
BUT once again, God surprises us with Grace instead of Wrath.
And notice the nature of Grace:
He is not standing there with His arms folded and foot-tapping saying "Well, you miscreant... if you come crawling back to me, I may just forgive you..."
The picture painted here is breath-taking in the extent of its love:
- God intends to allure Israel - to woo her back. He pursues her!
- He wants to restore vineyards and turn the Valley of Achor ("Trouble") into a door of hope.
- He wants her to call Him "Husband" not "Master"
- He wants to woo her to the extent that she never names Baal again.
- He wants to plant her, love her and make her His.
The parable of the Prodigal Son tells the same story as the Father _runs_ to his son and gives him a robe and a ring.
This is the heart of our God:
- He shows mercy and love when we least deserve it
- He gives hope and restoration to those far lost
- To those who rejected Him He shows love and makes us His.
Charles Wesley put it like this:
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in my Saviour's blood
Died He for me who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued
Amazing Love! How can it be?
That Thou O God shouldst die for me?
Amazing Love! How can it be?
That Thou O God shouldst die for me?
Let's worship Him this weekend!!
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 12, 2013
EMMDEV 2013-09-12 [Hosea Highlights] The Rebuke
"Rebuke your mother, rebuke her,
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts...
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, `I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.'
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way....
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold--
which they used for Baal...
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot," declares the LORD. Hosea2:2-13
In chapter 2 the story of Hosea's marriage is told from the perspective of God speaking to Gomer's children. In a sense God is explaining Gomer's unfaithfulness and the consequences. But once again (as we will see tomorrow) deserved judgment will be overtaken by mercy and love.
But for today we look at Gomer's mistakes...
1. She has been unfaithful - she has chased after lovers who have tempted her with material things.
2. She has not acknowledged or recognised God as the true source of her blessings. (There has been a lack of gratitude)
3. She burned incense to the Baals (worshipped false gods)
4. She decked herself with rings and jewelry. (Became self-obsessed)
5. She forgot God.
Today we get caught up in materialism and we take the many blessings we have for granted. We don't burn incense to Baals anymore, but we drink down the culture of the day (becoming slaves to it) and become obsessed with our own image and what people think of us. We forget God in our busy-ness.
Take a bit of time to see if you are making any of Gomer's mistakes... (and then ask God for His help!)
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
for she is not my wife,
and I am not her husband.
Let her remove the adulterous look from her face
and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts...
5 Their mother has been unfaithful
and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, `I will go after my lovers,
who give me my food and my water,
my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.'
6 Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way....
8 She has not acknowledged that I was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,
who lavished on her the silver and gold--
which they used for Baal...
13 I will punish her for the days
she burned incense to the Baals;
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,
and went after her lovers,
but me she forgot," declares the LORD. Hosea2:2-13
In chapter 2 the story of Hosea's marriage is told from the perspective of God speaking to Gomer's children. In a sense God is explaining Gomer's unfaithfulness and the consequences. But once again (as we will see tomorrow) deserved judgment will be overtaken by mercy and love.
But for today we look at Gomer's mistakes...
1. She has been unfaithful - she has chased after lovers who have tempted her with material things.
2. She has not acknowledged or recognised God as the true source of her blessings. (There has been a lack of gratitude)
3. She burned incense to the Baals (worshipped false gods)
4. She decked herself with rings and jewelry. (Became self-obsessed)
5. She forgot God.
Today we get caught up in materialism and we take the many blessings we have for granted. We don't burn incense to Baals anymore, but we drink down the culture of the day (becoming slaves to it) and become obsessed with our own image and what people think of us. We forget God in our busy-ness.
Take a bit of time to see if you are making any of Gomer's mistakes... (and then ask God for His help!)
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
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