The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 7:1,
"Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed."
The "whenever" in this verse speaks to the Lord's repeated desire to embrace Israel and bless her. Over and over, the Israelites turned from God. Over and over, his people rejected him and went their own way. Over and over, the Lord sought to embrace his people in his love and "restore the fortunes of my people". Over and over, they were unwilling.
I am reminded of the proclamation of Jesus to Israel seven millenia after Hosea, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."
What a tenacious heart our Lord has for his people! It is this very yearning in his heart that prompted him to send his Son to redeem us from his judgment, to make us his own, to provide a place for us at his table! This is a love that transcends my ability to see its full scope, its full depth. All I know is, is that our God so loves us he sent his Son to die a miserable death for each of us.
What a heart! What a God!
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
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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