Today's Worship

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 2:23,

 

"I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.'"

 

As the Lord brings his indictment against Israel and tells of the judgment he will bring upon her, he speaks of a future time, a time when he will establish a new covenant. Within the bounds of this new covenant things will be different. It will be a day when God's people will refer to him as "my husband", verse 16. Idolatry will no longer exist, wars will cease and in righteousness, justice, love and compassion the Lord will wed himself to his people, verses 18-20.

 

I note that God says he is going to do these things for himself, "I will plant her for myself..." This passage in Hosea is used by Paul to demonstrate that God foresaw the day when he would reach out to the Gentiles to join them together with Jews as a new people that we call the church: all those who respond to the gospel message by embracing the Lord in faith. Romans 9:25-26.

 

What captures my heart this morning is that God says he is saving people for himself. Certainly we are the beneficiaries of God's plan of redemption, but knowing he is doing it for himself brings to mind that God desires us. He doesn't just "accept" us but he wants us! This brings with it some comforting thoughts. One is that God intends we arrive in his presence one day and is looking forward to that happening. That day will be a day of joy, not just for us but for the Lord as well. I love Jude's doxology as it expresses this so well, "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—  to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." Jude 24-25.

 

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