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JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE HOSEA Day 1 Hosea 1 Hosea 1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. 4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. 6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. 8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. 9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. 10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Have you ever been told or done something questionable, but you did it because you had no choice in the matter? For Hosea to marry a harlot, went against everything God had told Moses when giving him the law. Yet, God had a purpose for telling him to marry such a woman. Israel had played the harlot with the many nations around her. In marrying a harlot, God was showing Israel what they were to him. In bearing children, and giving them their names, God was showing Hosea and Israel what was soon to take place. God told Hosea that since they had rejected him, he rejected them. He wouldn’t show them mercy any longer. All this took place before Israel went into captivity, as noted by the kings mentioned in the first verse. As Christians, you know that when God determines an action, he will fulfill it, as we saw with the prophets: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel who saw the captivity of Israel and Judah. You also know how much God loves you, and kept his promise to send a Savior and bring salvation to the world. You only need to accept him, and God will not reject you when your life is over. God told Hosea, he had rejected his people because of their wickedness. He would not show them mercy any longer, and they would pay for their sins. As Christians, you know Jesus paid for your sin. All you needed to do was accept him as your Savior and Lord, and your salvation was complete. However, Israel was stubborn, and would remain stubborn until they realized God would not relent. Then they would return to God, and they would live under one head. He would be their God and they would be his people once again. What will it take for you to accept what God did for you? Let’s pray: Father, take away my stubborn heart and give me a heart that yearns for you, seeking you, and submitting to you in everything. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 15 February 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay