John Piper's sermon Call Me Husband, not Baal is a great summary of the book of Hosea.
The book of Hosea shows that God loves us deeply and wants us to love Him deeply too. The prophecies of judgement (for God is holy and will judge) are always followed by prophecies of forgiveness if we choose to repent.
When you think of your failures... —how little you have read his Word, how burdensome prayer has felt, how many other things of this world have given you more kicks than God—God wants you to remember that his desire to have you back is not based on a naïve estimation of your character. The point of Hosea is that God exalts his mercy by not giving up on his wife of harlotry. The good news of Hosea—and of the parable of the prodigal son, and of Christmas—is that God knows we have sold ourselves for a song in 1982, yet he is wooing us into the chambers of his love.
But, please take special notice of this, especially you who tend to keep God at arm's distance from your emotions. According to Hosea 2:16, God does not want you to return to him and say, "Yes, Sir," and set about your duties. He wants you to come into the wilderness, to listen to him speak tenderly, and to respond to him, "My husband." God wants your heart, not just your hands, because if he has your heart, he has everything. (John Piper)
Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Hosea 10:1
From my Life Application Study Bible...
Israel prospered under Jeroboam II, gaining military and economic strength. But the more prosperous the nation became, the more love it lavished on idols. It seems as though the more God gives, the more we spend. We want bigger houses, better cars, and finer clothes. But the finest things the world offers line the pathway to destruction. As you prosper, consider where your money is going. Is it being used for God's purposes, or are you consuming it all on yourself?
Having nice things isn't a sin. But finding our security in them is. Ignoring the poor and helpless so that we can buy them is sin. We should be generous with the things we have, because they are not ours. They are God's. And we are simply stewards of His money and His possessions. We will be held accountable for how we have invested them and used them for His glory. A very sobering reminder.
Tomorrow's passage: Isaiah 28, 2 Kings 17:5, 2 Kings 18:9-12, 2 Kings 17:6-41, Isaiah 1:1-20
1 comment:
A sobering reminder indeed, and a timely one. I'm trying to keep in mind Matthew 6 as I venture out on my own without a regular, bi-weekly paycheque. The end of my mat. leave is rapidly approaching. Because I feel confident that this is what God wants me to do, I'm trusting that things will work out to meet our monthly needs and trying to remember that one who isn't faithful with a little will not be entrusted with more.
Post a Comment