The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:7,
"I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the Lord their God."
The Lord speaks to his prophet, Hosea, and tells him he will save Judah from judgment as he is going to bring the northern ten tribes of Israel to destruction. I note that Judah will be spared from the Assyrians during the destruction of the northern kingdom, not because of her military strength but simply by the Lord. Judah would never be able to protect itself from the coming onslaught of the Assyrians in any event. However, the Assyrians would be no match for the Lord, of course.
As I think of the activities of the Lord that I read about in the pages of Scripture, I think of our world's current perspective. We live in a day where God has been relegated to the places of worship. We go on Sunday mornings to worship in our churches, we study about him in our Bible studies or go to prayer meetings. But, by and large, God has been removed from the dialog of the day. I suspect conversations about the Lord in most work places are rare. Outside of opportunities taken to evangelize, I find little in the way of conversation and public reflection about the Lord and what he may be doing in the world today. I'm not saying it doesn't take place and maybe you are exposed to more than I am, I am just saying I find little thought and reflection on the Lord in public and with others throughout the week outside of "church" settings.
As I read of the events that are recorded throughout Scripture, though, I find the Lord is quite alive and well. Not just that, but he has revealed himself to be quite active in the affairs of this life in a very contemporary way. Hosea and the other prophets make this abundantly clear. I realize the threat imposed on the delicate sensitivities of those who are atheists or who live their lives in opposition to the Lord when he is spoken of. However, I also note that delicate sensitivities seem to hold a lesser priority when conversations turn to politics or sports, etc. Given the profound impact the Lord has on our existence in this life, this state of affairs is unseemly to me.
When talking of real things in this life, the contemporary events that transpire and causes for them, I find it surprising how effectively the Lord's presence has been scrubbed from the conscious awareness of a world that would prefer to live in ignorance of the realities around it: The reality of the Lord's existence and his activities amongst mankind as evidenced through the prophetic activity of a man named Hosea.
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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