Now notice, if you will, that there is a message in Hosea for all of us. If you follow many of these “quips”, you will see what the Lord expects from His children, and note that they seem to “flow“ into a rich and sweet dialogue. Let’s take a look:
First we have the indifference of God’s people: “For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.” (Hosea 2:8). We fail to see the Lord as our provider, and forget that our welfare is in His hands; we are not thankful. There was no awareness of God in her life. Therefore,
”I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope:” (2:15) The “valley of Achor is a valley of sorrow; the word “Achor” means sorrow. Judgment is coming in the form of sorrow, and trouble, and chastisement from the Lord toward His people. This is the reward of indifference, You see, it boils down to this…
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: (Hosea 4:6). We do not recognize the Lord in all His glory; our lack of knowledge of God will be our destruction--the destruction of our joy and our blessings; the destruction of our happiness and prosperity in this life. It is partially because of our lusts for the “party” spirit…
“Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.” (v.11). “Partying” turns our hearts away from the good and true, and prompts us to seek after folly and steals our heart. The most precious gift we can give the Lord is our own heart. You see, he wants true worship…
“For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Our “sacrifices” that we render to Him are nothing when they are done with a heart that is divided. We need to repent, and turn back to God as Israel was to do in 2 Chronicles 7:14…
“They return, but not to the most High:” They returned to their religion, as we often do, and not to the Lord. “Religion” is not always practiced in truth--from the heart. Return, and repent, and seek the Lord in truth, for they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, but then the Lord says…
“For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind:” (Hosea 8:7) they worship the wind; as if the worship would blow away with the slightest breeze, and the slightest whim. The wind shall be the inheritance of fools; the sowing and reaping of mans doing, and not unto the Lord. The Lord admonishes us to…
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12) It is time to seek Him. In v.1 of this chapter we see that Israel was called an “empty vine” They were fruitful, but only unto themselves. I am afraid this describes much of our labor today! We are bearing fruit, but for our own benefit and our own glory, and not for the Lord. Then the Lord must remind us that He, and He only is Lord, “for there is no saviour beside me.” (Hosea 13:4).
If we will return to the Lord and honestly and truly worship Him, he promises “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” (13:14). He will raise us up in the last day, and we shall ever be with the Lord. What a precious promise! It will cause the good man to reciprocate that love, and, collectively, we can say…
“so will we render the calves of our lips.” (Hosea 14:2). We have great reason to praise Him, and offer the sacrifice of praise to Him. Those of us who will dwell under the shadow of the Almighty, (see Psa. 91) will return to Him with all our hearts as seen in Hosea 14:7: “They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine:” We shall grow in the Lord, and be blessed, and have sweet fellowship with Him. And our fruit shall no longer be our own, and for our own benefit, but He will bear fruit through us, and we will realize true worship in the Lord.
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