Daily Devotional for January 16, 2015
Hosea 5
Scripture:
Hosea 5:1–3,14,15 “Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor. The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter. I will discipline all of them. I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt.
“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me” (NIV).
Observation:
Most children think at some point they can pull a fast one on their parents. Maybe it’s stealing a cookie or sneaking out at night. They presume that they’re smarter, craftier, or sneakier than their parents—and on rare occasion they are. This isn’t the case with God even though His followers occasionally act like rebellious children.
In this part of Hosea, God called everyone into account from royalty to common citizen. Regardless of community standing, everyone was responsible for their corruption and evil deeds. God also reminded them that their actions weren’t hidden from Him, and there was a price to be paid for those actions. God was bringing severe discipline to Israel. Yet this chapter of severity ends with a reminder that the goal of discipline is ultimately to correct and restore us to seeking Him, not to harm before discarding.
Just because we live under the grace of the cross doesn’t mean we’re exempt from God’s discipline. Sometimes the severity of the discipline is harsh, even commensurate to the severity of our disobedience. But when disciplined, it’s important to remember the appropriate response—seek God, whose goal is to restore His relationship with you.
Application:
- Personal Application: Examine your life. Are there places where you’ve rebelled against God’s instructions or plans and need to repent? Remember to always seek God because whether in times of blessing or discipline, He is seeking closeness to you!
- Family Devotional: Read the Scripture portions from Hosea. Take a few moments and talk about the purpose of discipline and how it should be used to correct and restore. Pray for your family.
Prayer:
- Personal Prayer Focus: Ask God to help you mature in your relationship with Him. And if you are in a time of godly discipline, thank Him for His actions to restore you.
- Family Prayer Focus: Pray for each member of your family that they would live in a way that avoids the need of discipline and that they would respond appropriately when discipline is needed.
Three Year Reading Plan for Sunday, January 10 – Sunday, January 17:
- Sunday, January 10: Psalm 70-71
- Monday, January 11: Psalm 72-73
- Tuesday, January 12: Psalm 74-75
- Wednesday, January 13: Hosea 1
- Thursday, January 14: Hosea 2
- Friday, January 15: Hosea 3-4
- Saturday, January 16: Hosea 5
- Sunday, January 17: Hosea 6
—Gene Crawford is an editor for the Assemblies of God Division of Publishing.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise marked, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblicia, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Fire Bible® elements including all Articles, the Bible Reading Plan, selected black and white maps and charts as noted, Book Introductions and outlines, color maps and the Color Map Index, footnotes, Study Notes, Subject Index, Themefinder™Index are the property of Life Publishers International, Springfield, MO U.S.A. All rights reserved.