wrong turn

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (23)

devotional post # 2117

Hosea 7:14-16

Hos 7:14 They do not cry out to me from the heart, but they wail upon their couches; for grain and wine they make themselves foreigners; they rebel against me.
Hos 7:15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they plot evil against me.
Hos 7:16 They turn, but not upward; they are like an untrustworthy bow; their princes will fall by the sword because of the curse by their tongue. They will be mocked for this in the land of Egypt.

wrong turn

I did it again. I got in a car, intending to go from point A to point B without any help. I always need help. I can get lost so easily. If I make a turn of my own volition, it is probably the wrong one. The Israelites in Hosea’s day had my problem, but not with geography. They kept making consistently wrong turns spiritually.

LORD, help us. We need to stop making wrong turns, seek you, and follow you faithfully.

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united we fall

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (22)

devotional post # 2116

Hosea 7:11-13

Hos 7:11 Ephraim has become like a dove, naive and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.
Hos 7:12 While they are going, I will spread over them my net; I will bring them down like birds of the sky; I will discipline them whenever I hear that they are flocking together.
Hos 7:13 Tragedy is coming to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I want to redeem them, but they are speaking lies against me.

united we fall

Birds use numbers as part of their defense strategy, but humans have found a way to use that strategy against them. We spread nets over the flocking birds, and so catch them. Hosea points out that Israel has chosen a similar strategy for their protection. They congregate together and choose to ally with neighboring enemies (Egypt and Assyria) for their protection. But the LORD said it will not work. You cannot unite against God’s will.

LORD, we recognize how silly it has been for us to seek safety from those around us. We seek redemption from above.

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denying the mirror image

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (21)

devotional post # 2115

Hosea 7:8-10

Hos 7:8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a half-baked cake.
Hos 7:9 Foreigners devour his strength, and he does not get it; gray hairs are sprouting on him, and he does not get it.
Hos 7:10 The arrogance of Israel testifies against his own face; yet they do not return to Yahveh their God, nor seek him, in spite of all this.

denying the mirror image

Israel’s commission from God was to keep covenant with him, and testify to his grace and goodness to the nations around them. But they spent too much time blending in with those nations, and not enough time being God’s particular possession. As a result, you could see the result by looking at their faces. But, instead of repenting of their idolatry and syncretism, the nation was in denial. They testified against their own mirror image.

LORD, we have spent too much time identifying with this world you called us to change. Change us, before we share its fate.

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hot hearts

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (20)

devotional post # 2114

Hosea 7:4-11

Hos 7:4 They are all cheaters; they are like a heated oven whose baker can stop stirring the fire, from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
Hos 7:5 On the day of our king, the princes became sick with heat from wine; he extended his hand to rebels.
Hos 7:6 Because with hearts like an oven they approach their ambush; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
Hos 7:7 All of them grow hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen, and none of them asks for my guidance.

hot hearts

I consulted Lange’s commentary, and it said that this passage has to do with literal adultery, because of the fire and heat imagery signifying lust. But I don’t think so. I use the word cheaters here, because the LORD is talking about people who conspire to overthrow their king, without even bothering to ask for his guidance. The prophet is talking about violence uncontrolled by reason, an oven so hot it no longer needs to be stirred. Their hearts are hot like an oven.

LORD, slow us down, cool us off. Return reason to our minds, and devotion to peace to our hearts.

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today’s entertainment

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (19)

devotional post # 2113

Hosea 7:1-3

Hos 7:1 I just start to heal Israel, and the crookedness of Ephraim is revealed, and the crimes of Samaria; because they deal falsely; the thief breaks in indoors, and the bandits raid outdoors.
Hos 7:2 But they do not even think that I remember all their evil. Now their crimes surround them; they happen right in my presence.
Hos 7:3 By their evil they amuse the king, and the princes by their lies.

today’s entertainment

God’s complaint is that his people are so full of wrongdoing that he is too busy punishing them for their crimes to bring about revival among them. The lying and stealing and murdering is happening everywhere. The kings and princes entertain themselves by talking about the day’s crimes.

LORD, we need you to break the cycle. We need holiness and righteousness to return to those nations which have lost it.

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bloody path

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (18)

devotional post # 2112

Hosea 6:8-11

Hos 6:8 Gilead is a city of criminals, marked out with blood.
Hos 6:9 As raiding bands lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem; they commit wickedness.
Hos 6:10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s prostitution is there; Israel is defiled.
Hos 6:11 For you also, O Judah, a reaping is appointed, as I begin restoring my people from their slavery.

bloody path

A few months ago, my wife and I went to one of our usual spots for a hike. There is a trail next to a quarry that goes alongside a river, and passes through a beautiful forest. But on that day, the hike was not so pleasant. A rider on a horse crossed paths with us, on her way out of the trail. Soon, we noticed that the horse had been bleeding for some reason. The trail was marked by blood all the way in, and all the way back. It was ugly and scary, even though we knew the source of the blood.

Hosea describes Gilead as a city of criminals, marked out with blood. It had a reputation for violence and murder. God wanted to restore those people from their slavery to sin which was causing that horrible reputation.

LORD, cleanse us from the sin which is marking the path we are taking.

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disappearing dew

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (17)

devotional post # 2111

Hosea 6:4-7

Hos 6:4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? Your covenant loyalty is like a morning cloud, like the dew that disappears early.
Hos 6:5 for this reason I have cut them down by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth like the light.
Hos 6:6 Because I desire covenant loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hos 6:7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they betrayed me.

disappearing dew

The LORD complains that his people’s covenant loyalty has disappeared like the morning dew. It was gone before he even had a chance to appreciate it. He feels betrayed. Oh Christian, do not let your loyalty to God be a mere historical marker. Stay with him!

LORD, we want to refresh you with our commitment all our lives.

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coming back together

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (16)

devotional post # 2110

Hosea 6:1-3

Hos 6:1 “Come, let us come back to Yahveh; because he has torn us, so that he can heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Hos 6:2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his presence.
Hos 6:3 Let us know; let us strive to know Yahveh; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

coming back together

The prophet invites his people to come back to Yahveh, together with him. He has told them that God has torn them like a young lion, but now he says that this same God who destroys can also bind up the carcass and heal it. He has told them that God has overflowed his boundaries and destroyed them like a mighty waterfall, but now he says that this same God can come to them as gentle showers of spring rain that revives and restores. He invites his people to join him in coming back to their destroyer God for help.

LORD, we know the pain of your judgment. We seek the security and joy of your healing and resurrection. We are coming back to you together.

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the moth lion

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (15)

devotional post # 2109

Hosea 5:11-15

Hos 5:11 Ephraim is oppressed, broken as a judgment, because he was keen to walk after garbage.
Hos 5:12 But I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like rottenness to the house of Judah.
Hos 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his boil, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound.
Hos 5:14 Because I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear in and go away; I will carry off, and no one will rescue.
Hos 5:15 I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress eagerly search for me.

the moth lion

The prophet mixes similes as he describes the LORD’s behavior toward Israel and Judah. The slow eating away and decay of a moth, and sickness, is soon discarded for a young lion, which tears off bits of flesh and takes it away. Hosea wants his people to know that the ordeal and oppression they are facing is God’s doing. He wants them to return to the God with whom they have covenanted, because that is the only way to restore their relationship with God, and their spiritual health.

LORD, we are tired of following after garbage. We want to pursue you.

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the power of overflow

Posted on August 14, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (14)

devotional post # 2108

Hosea 5:8-10

Hos 5:8 Blow the shofar in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we are following you, Benjamin!
Hos 5:9 Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I will make it known for certain.
Hos 5:10 The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out the overflow of my wrath and let it destroy like water.

the power of overflow

As I write this, I remember scenes of destruction caused by waterfalls which have suddenly overflowed their boundaries due to torrential rain. Although this devotional will be posted in several months, for me the memories are only a few days old. The picture that Hosea portrays is that God’s wrath is like those waterfalls: kept in check by limits but always there to cause devastation when those limits are exceeded.

LORD, may we always remember the power of your wrath and stay within the limits of your sustaining grace.

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