Tag: Digging in Deeper

Digging in Deeper: Hosea 5:6

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“They go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord but do not find him; he has withdrawn from them.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever been in one place while your mind and heart were someplace else? You may be physically existing wherever you are, but you aren’t really there. It’s hard to get much of significance done like that. The odds are that whatever it is you are looking to accomplish there either isn’t going to happen at all, or at least isn’t going to happen well. This is true physically, but it’s also true spiritually and relationally. Let’s talk about how. 

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Digging in Deeper: Hosea 4:6

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“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.” (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Nations fall for one of two reasons. They are conquered either by forces from without or forces from within. What I mean is, some nations fall to conquest by other nations, while other nations fall to their own internal crumbling. Sometimes, though, both are at fault. The nation’s core begins to crumble, weakening them externally, which invites another nation to come and conquer them. In this case, what looks like the reason for their destruction on the outside is really just a symptom of what was already happening on the inside. This is what was going on with Israel and there’s a message here for all of us if we’ll listen carefully. 

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 8:13

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“To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.” (CSB – Read the chapter) 

God is love. That’s what John told us. That’s not some kind of an interpretive spin on what he said either. It’s a direct quote: God IS love. It’s the essence of His being. It defines more surely than almost anything else (with the exception of justice and holiness which together form the core triad of His character) who He is. Jesus told us that we are to be known by love if we are to be known as His followers. If that’s the case, then we shouldn’t hate anything, right? So what’s going on here? 

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Digging in Deeper: Hosea 2:5

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“Yes, their mother is promiscuous; she conceived them and acted shamefully. For she thought, ‘I will follow my lovers, the men who give me my food and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink.’”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever used graphic language when you were upset? It’s easy to do. When we get sufficiently upset, we begin working to find the words to adequately express our rage. When we’re angry enough, that can be a bit of a tall order. When we fumble enough, eventually we just use extreme words because we can’t find any others that will work. That’s a little like what’s going on here. 

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Digging in Deeper: Hosea 1:2

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“When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, he said this to him: Go and marry a woman of promiscuity, and have children of promiscuity, for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been asked to do something you knew from the get-go was crazy? Not only was it not going to work, you were going to be hurt in the process. But, the one asking was in a position of authority over you and so you didn’t really have much choice but to do it. If you have experienced that, you know just a bit about what it would have been like to be Hosea. Starting this morning, I want to spend some time with you looking at Hosea, and in turn, all the other Minor Prophets (called “Minor” because their books tended to be shorter than Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel’s). I’ll talk more about why in just a minute—and stick around for that because it’ll be important. For now, let’s look at this crazy thing God asked Hosea to do. 

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