Today’s Thoughts – 19 August 2021

Hosea’s Wife, Gomer

The first piece of this passage to take note of is that the Lord commanded Hosea to “Go!” The challenge was great for Hosea to take a wife who was a prostitute. Prostitution was punishable by death. Yet God commanded Hosea to go and take her to be his wife

In the Old Testament, prostitution was symbolic of idolatry. We must be careful of the little idols that we hold higher than God in our lives

Hosea’s Son, Jezreel

All of the names of the children of Hosea have significance both for the immediate prophecy and for future prophecy. The firstborn son of Hosea was named Jezreel. His name means “God sows” or “God will scatter.” This is in reference to the city in Isaachar where Jehu executed drastic judgment on the family of Ahab (2 Kings 9-10)

Jehu was commanded by God to enact judgment on Ahab, but Jehu went too far and murdered far more people than God had commanded. Thus, God was going to avenge the innocent killed at Jehu’s hand

Judgement came for Jehu’s dynasty when his great-great-grandson, Zechariah was assassinated after 6 months of rule around 752 B.C. The whole Northern Kingdom of Israel would then ultimately fall around 724 B.C. Thus the name of Jezreel holds true that God did scatter the people of Israel

Lessons

Let’s think about some lessons from the naming of Hosea’s son, Jezreel, and the significance behind it.

Affecting Others with Our Sin

We must understand that the sin we commit doesn’t just affect us personally. It affects those around us, our loved ones, the ones we work with, and the ones we serve with. Jehu’s sin didn’t just affect him, it affected the entire nation of Israel. It’s also worth noting that Jehu’s judgment for his sin wasn’t just felt by him and his immediate family or country, but for generations to come

You and I have an opportunity to impact our lives and the lives of those around us for good or evil. We also have the opportunity to affect the lives of generations to come. Will we positively affect future generations for God, or will we allow our sin to run rampant and doom future generations after us?

The Fragility of Man’s Security

We must not put our security into man’s means. Instead, we must trust the Lord our God! When things seem to be going well for us or our country, we cannot become lazy in our walk with the Lord. During the time of Hosea, people became lazy and worshipped idols around them. This led to their destruction just 50 years after this prophecy

Let us not trust in men but in God. Walk close to Him and stay true to Him. Don’t let the world cause us to become harlots toward God. For destruction lies at the gate ready to finish us off

Learning from Others’ Mistakes

If the people of Israel learned from the mistakes of King Ahab, they may have avoided this whole ordeal. After Jehu finished off the family of Ahab, the people of Israel should have taken a step back and realized that they too were on the same path as Ahab

Yet, we do the same in our lives. We see others fall into sin and the consequences of that sin. And we say, “That will never happen to me.” However, we fail to realize that sin has consequences for everyone who partakes. Just like Ahab was destroyed for his sin, the people of Israel were scattered for theirs, and we will be judged for ours as well

Instead, we could learn from the mistakes of Ahab, Israel, and others around us. Turn to God, ask Him for forgiveness of your sins, and repair that relationship with Him now. This will allow you to serve Him to your fullest and have a spirit-controlled life instead of a lust-controlled life

God’s grace

Through all of this, we see in verse 11 that God’s grace prevails. God’s grace is seen here in that the nation of Israel will unite one day, though they are scattered today. They will appoint one leader, Jesus Christ, when they recognize Him at His return as their Messiah, trust Him, and receive His cleansing

Reader, it doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done, or where you are. God’s grace is sufficient! His grace is greater than all of our sins! And it’s by grace that we come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Will you do that today and turn from your sin?

And Christians, the same is true after salvation – God’s grace is greater! When we fall, God will pick us back up if we are willing. Let us stand in the wonderful light of God’s grace to live our lives each day conformed to the image of Jesus Christ instead of this world’s image

There is a noteable corrolation of the account of King Ahab and Nabooth in 1 Kings 21 which lead to the death of King Ahab at the hands of Jehu with the parable of the vineyard in Matthew 22, Mark 12, and Luke 20. This also correlates well with the death and crucifixion of Jesus Christ worth a study some time.