Hosea 5:1-5
“Hear this, O priests!
Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For yours is the judgment,
Because you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
2 The revolters are deeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
3 I know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, you commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.
4 “They do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.
5 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.
Materialism, and the need for power and control, is a modern form of idolatry. If we engage in it we will suffer from it. The leadership, both religious and political, are the first to worship idols. They are caught in the nets of their wickedness. If we do not recognize the evil of our past history we will repeat it. Our pride in nationalism will fail to protect us from the wrath of a loving God for ALL of His creation. If we fail to invite God into our lives He will respect that decision and we will cut ourselves off from Him.
Deuteronomy 19:14 “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Israel was guilty of moving the property lines to acquire what was not theirs. In going against God’s commands we will be judged. When we repent of our trespasses God is willing and able to lead us in His ways, not the ways of the world. Our dependence on His guidance through Holy Spirit is our hope.
Hosea 5:15
I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
In their rejection of Jesus they failed but when they recognize their Messiah King then they will seek Him whom they crucified.
Psalm 110:1-4
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Jesus Christ, all God, all man, will restore all that was stolen from His people by the ruler of this world. In Him it is finished and the world and all that is in it is His to govern. Jesus will reign in justice and mercy for all who call on His name.
Hebrews 1:3-4 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
Colossians 1:14-18 whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Jesus is the visible image of our invisible God. He created all things by His word and through Him all things were created. He purged our sins by His blood and He will reign forever. In His death and resurrection He accomplished all that was needed for our restoration to the Father. We abide in Him and only In Him is there is peace. It is finished. To God be all glory. Carla
Redemption refers to the act of freeing someone who is enslaved. Just as Israel was enslaved in Egypt before being rescued by Yahweh, so the Colossian believers had been enslaved to the domain of sin and death before they responded in faith to God’s act of salvation in Christ (Exododus 6:6; 14:30; Romans 6:16–17). God’s forgiveness removes sin (Colossians 2:14) and provides reconciliation (verse 22).
Forgiveness is an expression of God’s grace and love. Faithlife Study Bible
The Greek word redemption points naturally to the payment of a price or ransom for the release of a slave. The slavery from which believers are released is not physical but spiritual. They are freed from bondage to sin by forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7). The NKJV Study Bible
John 1:1–3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…
Ephesians 1:15–23 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:…
Romans 11:36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:
In Matthew’s Gospel we read the story. “The crowd rebuked the blind men sitting by the road, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, ‘Lord have mercy on us, Son of David.'”
Yes indeed. It resonates. Times when we cry out for the healing balm of God’s mercy. This week, let us sit, and allow that to percolate. A balm that is healing and replenishing and sustaining for both hope and courage.
And to know; it is okay to cry out.
True, there is a part of us that wonders (as we do with many kinds of prayer), “Am I doing it correctly?”
And I smile big. We assume way too often that our connection to God is a test to pass. And we miss the fact that our cry, is in fact, music to heaven’s ears. Music that lifts our vulnerability and recognizes the healing power of grace and mercy. Sabbath Moments
In Hosea 1:2-9, God condemned the unfaithfulness of His people by comparing them to an adulterous wife. God, the perfect Groom, seeks only to serve, love and protect His beloved. Even by threatening punishment for their sins, God acted in love, hoping that Israel would repent and that He could restore His bride back to Himself. Yet Israel constantly wandered elsewhere; the people blended with ungodly cultures, adopted pagan ways and fell away from God.
Scholars disagree as to whether Hosea's marriage was a real-life event or simply a prophetic illustration to convict Israel of their sin. But either way, it represented the men, women and children of Israel forgetting their Jewish culture, praying to the pagan god Baal, and pulling away from the true God.
And here's the worst of it: We're guilty of sin too. We have forsaken the Lord and been repeatedly unfaithful. We may not worship Baal, but we put other idols before God. We pursue other loves and purposes that lead us away from Him. We dishonor the name of the Lord and His commands. We deserve the same punishment as adulterous Israel.
But we don't have to fear, friends! Like a loving, committed spouse, our Lord would do what it took to restore relationship with His people in Israel, and His love promised redemption in the book of Hosea (Hosea 1:7; Hosea 1:10; Hosea 2:1; Hosea 2:23). And the best was yet to come: Ultimately God's love promises redemption through our Savior, Jesus (John 3:16-18; Ephesians 2:8-9). First5
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