and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea
2:8-9,
"She [Israel] has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the
grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-
which they used for Baal. Therefore I will take away my grain when it
ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and
my linen, intended to cover her nakedness."
As the Lord pronounced his judgment of Israel through Hosea, he told her
he was going to remove his blessings of a robust economy. The nation of
Israel will now, among other things, experience financial hardship.
Throughout the pages of Scripture we find the Lord often brings his
judgments of Israel, as well as other nations, through the vehicles of
economic hardships, reversals in foreign affairs with surrounding
nations (including war), sickness, disease and famine. The Lord had
blessed Israel. She misused her blessings to pursue the false gods of
the peoples surrounding her and now the Lord is going to remove what
Israel enjoyed from his hand.
I note he calls the food, the wine, the silver and gold of the land "my
grain", "my new wine" and "my wool and my linen". I am reminded that the
blessings of what I enjoy in this life come from God and are his to do
with as he wishes. If I am blessed, it is at his hand and it is his to
remove at any time. Whatever blessings I have are simply on loan to me
from him. I also note that what the Lord had blessed Israel with, it
came with his intentions attached. He said, "I will take back my wool
and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness." As such, I am further
reminded that if I misuse what the Lord has provided me, I just might
find myself in Israel's shoes.
On another level, as we face challenges in our own nation today, whether
in the economy, in our security in a hostile world or the threat of
incurable diseases, etc., I suspect national attention to God's
intentions for our nation might best be considered as a primary source
for resolution. Perhaps the straying of our national interests from the
interests of the Lord has brought about much of what challenges us most
as a nation today.
The Lord has his own way of getting our attention.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your
thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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