Application from Hosea
One cannot invest too little time in Hosea without being gripped by the severity of sin portrayed in the book. We can mourn with the prophet as he cries out against Israel's evil, and be impressed with the mercy and wrath of God (1:2,10-11; 2:14-23; 5:12-15). However, we would be doing God, the prophets and ourselves a great disservice if we did not examine our lives for sin. AS long as we live in a world ruled by the one who declares "For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst" (11:9), we are to seek out any means by which we can continue to mortify sin in our lives (Rom 6:1-2).
Israel fell into sin because they failed to know God, Hosea repeats that over and over (2:13; 4:1, 6, 10, 14; 5:4; 8:12; 14:9). The Law, the very foundation of the nation of Israel, was strange to the people (8:12). They lived selfish, loveless, self-indulgent lives (2:8, 11, 13; 4:1-3, 11, 13, 18; 6:9; 10:13; 12:8). The lack of knowledge of God, coupled with a loose, comfortable way of life, spelled disaster for Israel.
But none of this matters any to us Christians, right?
Wrong.
We would be spitting on the cross and kicking dirt on the gospel of Jesus Christ if we were to ignore the problem of sin that still runs rampant in our lives. We live in the "now;" we have been rescued "from the domain of darkness" and transferred "to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col 1:13), we are still "waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23). Simply put: we still sin, we are not yet perfected.
What does this have to do with Hosea?
For every believer who confesses with Paul: "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (2 Cor 5:14), Hosea is of great importance. In Hosea, we see a people who do not know God, nor do they desire to follow Him. No one in Israel would declare joyfully "make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it!" (Ps 119:35). Instead, their minds and hearts were darkened because they did not seek the Lord. We as believers must examine ourselves to see if we are allowing sin to rule in our lives. If we continue to let sin dwell in us, we will be less and less useful in the work of God's kingdom here on earth.
As individuals we must actively press on to grow more in the image of our Creator. WE must diligently fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12), discipline ourselves for godliness (1 Tim 4:7), set our minds and seek the things above (Col 3:1-2), and desire more and more to do all things to the glory of God (Col 3:17, 1 Cor 10:31).
Israel fell into sin because they failed to know God, Hosea repeats that over and over (2:13; 4:1, 6, 10, 14; 5:4; 8:12; 14:9). The Law, the very foundation of the nation of Israel, was strange to the people (8:12). They lived selfish, loveless, self-indulgent lives (2:8, 11, 13; 4:1-3, 11, 13, 18; 6:9; 10:13; 12:8). The lack of knowledge of God, coupled with a loose, comfortable way of life, spelled disaster for Israel.
But none of this matters any to us Christians, right?
Wrong.
We would be spitting on the cross and kicking dirt on the gospel of Jesus Christ if we were to ignore the problem of sin that still runs rampant in our lives. We live in the "now;" we have been rescued "from the domain of darkness" and transferred "to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col 1:13), we are still "waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23). Simply put: we still sin, we are not yet perfected.
What does this have to do with Hosea?
For every believer who confesses with Paul: "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf" (2 Cor 5:14), Hosea is of great importance. In Hosea, we see a people who do not know God, nor do they desire to follow Him. No one in Israel would declare joyfully "make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it!" (Ps 119:35). Instead, their minds and hearts were darkened because they did not seek the Lord. We as believers must examine ourselves to see if we are allowing sin to rule in our lives. If we continue to let sin dwell in us, we will be less and less useful in the work of God's kingdom here on earth.
As individuals we must actively press on to grow more in the image of our Creator. WE must diligently fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim 6:12), discipline ourselves for godliness (1 Tim 4:7), set our minds and seek the things above (Col 3:1-2), and desire more and more to do all things to the glory of God (Col 3:17, 1 Cor 10:31).