For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Hos. 8-10
Israel rejected what is good and pursued what is worthless. The more goodness God gave them, the more they traded it for worthlessness. God said of them, “Indeed, they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” (Hos. 8:7a). So He removed His good blessings from them and destroyed the worthless things in which they placed their trust. Why? So that they would learn the truth. So that they would come to know the God they claimed they knew but did not. He did it so they could learn to, “Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love” (Hos. 10:12a).
Hos. 11
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, they were just like Lot’s wife leaving Sodom and Gomorrah. They looked back. God rescued them, “but they never knew that I healed them.” (Hos. 11:3b). So many people still treat God with that same spite. Funny, how they are so quick to blame God when things go wrong but credit their blessings to anything but God. And they fail to see surrendering to God as the freedom that it is.
Hos. 12
In this part of Hosea’s prophecy, God seems to be using Jacob’s life to show Israel what He is doing and why. I find the reference at the end of the chapter especially interesting. “Jacob fled to the territory of Aram. Israel worked to earn a wife; he tended flocks for a wife. The LORD brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet, and Israel was tended by a prophet.” (Hos. 12:12-13). I can’t say I really understand this piece of prophecy, but I can say what it makes me think of. It makes me think how Jesus, the ultimate mouthpiece of God (prophet), worked to gather and tend God’s flocks so that we will be His bride.
Hos. 13-14
If a person is on a path that will take them straight over the side of a massive cliff, they need to turn around. That is the only way they will be saved from certain destruction. Likewise, if someone is clinging for dear life to some kind of rail or ledge, they cannot be pulled up to safety unless they let go of it. This is the point of God’s prophesied destruction of His people. His desire is not to destroy them, but to tear down their false fortresses so that they will know that He alone is their hope, their help, and their God.