Hosea: His Redeeming LoveSample

Long before the days of Hosea, God established a covenant with the people of Israel. And at that time, as if predicting the future, Moses warned the Israelites that one day they may become so prosperous that they forget the Lord. They may “follow other gods and worship and bow down to them,” as Deuteronomy 8:19 says. And God is clear about the consequence: “you will surely be destroyed.”

Returning then to the time of Hosea, the Israelites have indeed become very rich. And as Moses predicted, they have forgotten it was God who made this possible. God had gone to great lengths to rescue his people and provide for them, yet as we read in verse 13, “‘me she forgot,’ declares the Lord.” That’s the danger of material prosperity. It deludes us into thinking we don’t need God anymore.

So it should come as no surprise that chapter 2 of Hosea opens with God, like an aggrieved husband, at the court filing charges for divorce. He feels cheated by his people going after foreign gods. Things have deteriorated so far that, as promised, God is threatening to strip the Israelite people of everything he had given them, leaving them with nothing, exposed and ashamed.

Has material prosperity trapped you in the same snare as the Israelites? Do you have the financial security to buy your way into any experience you want or out of any trouble you get into?

Pray: God, help me take heed of the warning Moses and Hosea offered. I do not want to forget you, fooled by the security of earthly wealth. Keep me focused on you in prosperity as much as in want.