Facing our Guilt
Hosea 4:1-19, Genesis 3:14-19, Ephesians 2:17-19
What God is accusing Israel of in Hosea 4 is very similar to what is happening in the world today. God is laying out all the things that Israel is guilty of and we can read it knowing that is never the way the world was supposed to be. In God’s unmatched and holy creation, we were meant to live in unity with Him and sin was never supposed to be a part of our vocabulary. But now we look at Israel in Hosea 4, and our world today, and wonder where God could be? In the midst of a global pandemic, the destruction happening in Afghanistan and overseas, so much divisiveness… Do I need to go on?
We FEEL the weight of this scripture. Through Israel, God shows the human condition’s desire to choose it’s own way. The need to control their own scenario and situation, usually leaving them feeling the pain of that need. A pain that is felt in the Garden in Genesis 3 and a pain we probably felt even today.
So, we pose the question, “where is our hope?” If we ask ourselves where hope is in our world, we may never be satisfied. Because our hope is not a where or a when or any trackable or explainable thought. But instead it’s a who - Jesus. Now you, reader, probably got to the punch line of that real quick. But can we reflect on today or the last week and find moments where we believed that to be true? Israel was rebelling against God in more ways than one. The weight of God’s power and justice is heavy in these verses. But there is hope to come, do we believe that to be true? We are loved unconditionally, we are pursued without hesitation. Just as Hosea pursues Gomer relentlessly, we can believe that God is doing the same for us.
Where have you felt the weight of the world or your sin? Write down the first thing that comes to mind. Now, read Ephesians 2: 17-19 five times and find the words that stand out to you and write them down. Now, pray and reflect over those words - why did they stand out to you? We have to remember that we (the world) are Israel. Pursuing things within our control or trying to make things go our own way. How do we embrace the truth that God has dominion and reign over this whole world? How can we live this truth today?
