Hosea 7
Today's Passage: Hosea 7
Context: Israel has separated itself from Judah. God’s people are now divided. Israel currently has a terrible king. The nation of Assyria has just come in and conquered Israel and now God’s people are seeking peace and acceptance by catering to the Assyrians. They are caving to their ways of life and morals. They are becoming like their captors rather than returning to their creator.
Application: Let’s think about this in our lives. As believers we are called to not be “of” the world (John 17:14). We live in the world and we are called to be on mission in the world, but we are called to be set apart from the world - holy. We have been freed from our bondage to the world, yet we still struggle to not become like the world around us.
It’s easy to see the Israelites as a group of childish fools that were incapable of doing the right thing. If we’re honest, we are often just like our Jewish ancestors. We have been freed from our slavery to sin - we have been freed from the pressure of pleasing the world, yet daily we fight the urge to live according to the patterns and priorities of the world. We fight against making career success our identity, making money our end goal, or making the newest tech/objects the desires of our hearts. We fight against returning to the chains that once bound us.
Although this is a reality for all of us - it ought not to be. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4, “I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” When the world tempts you to return to its ways, remember the Love of Christ that has freed you and satisfied your heart. When you fail - learn from verse 13, “I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.” There is grace and redemption in Christ and he is pleased to give it if you would return to him again.
Family Discussion
In what ways are you tempted to live like the world around you?
How does the world lie to us?
How do you live in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called?
Written By: Joe Weaver
Context: Israel has separated itself from Judah. God’s people are now divided. Israel currently has a terrible king. The nation of Assyria has just come in and conquered Israel and now God’s people are seeking peace and acceptance by catering to the Assyrians. They are caving to their ways of life and morals. They are becoming like their captors rather than returning to their creator.
Application: Let’s think about this in our lives. As believers we are called to not be “of” the world (John 17:14). We live in the world and we are called to be on mission in the world, but we are called to be set apart from the world - holy. We have been freed from our bondage to the world, yet we still struggle to not become like the world around us.
It’s easy to see the Israelites as a group of childish fools that were incapable of doing the right thing. If we’re honest, we are often just like our Jewish ancestors. We have been freed from our slavery to sin - we have been freed from the pressure of pleasing the world, yet daily we fight the urge to live according to the patterns and priorities of the world. We fight against making career success our identity, making money our end goal, or making the newest tech/objects the desires of our hearts. We fight against returning to the chains that once bound us.
Although this is a reality for all of us - it ought not to be. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4, “I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” When the world tempts you to return to its ways, remember the Love of Christ that has freed you and satisfied your heart. When you fail - learn from verse 13, “I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.” There is grace and redemption in Christ and he is pleased to give it if you would return to him again.
Family Discussion
In what ways are you tempted to live like the world around you?
How does the world lie to us?
How do you live in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called?
Written By: Joe Weaver
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