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March 9 - Hosea 13 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Monday, it's the 9th of
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  March and it's great to have your company.
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  I hope that this new week is full of possibility and promise
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  for you as we are going to this week round out this fascinating
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  book of Hosea. And then we are going to begin
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  reading a gospel, friends. Yes, we are going to open the
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  very first, the OG, the gospel of Mark, as we read about the
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  life and ministry of Jesus and how good is that to get to read
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  gospels. But before we get to that, we
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  are going to finish this book of the Old Testament, this prophet
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  who writes about what is going on at the time where God's
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  people just continually to worship the bar, worship the
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  other gods of the Canaanite land that they have settled.
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  And ultimately this leads us into the gospel because it's
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  through Jesus that we are rescued from the dodgy practises
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  that our hearts guide us toward. And as we read these last couple
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  of chapters today and tomorrow, they are hard chapters to read,
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  particularly today. This is fortunately following
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  the preceding couple of chapters where we really see behind the
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  scenes that God wrestling with His love and His compassion for
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  these people, but His need to act injustice because of all of
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  their sins and their unfaithfulness.
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  And today really unpacks what the consequences of that sin
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  looks like. And it's hard to read, hard to
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  hear, but this is part of the word.
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  So, Holy Spirit, may we just see you in the midst of everything
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  that we read today, or may we learn more about your character
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  and your unfailing love and compassion and justice.
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  Alright, friends, let us do it. Let's read together Hosea
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  chapter 13. When the tribe of Ephraim spoke,
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  the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in
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  Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned
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  by worshipping Baal and thus sealed their destruction.
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  Now they continue to sin by making silver idols, images
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  shaped skilfully with human hands.
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  Sacrifice. To these they cry and kiss the
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  calf idols. Therefore they will disappear
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  like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff
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  blowing in the wind, like smoke from a chimney.
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  I have seen the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of
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  Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but
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  me, for there is no other Saviour.
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  I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and
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  thirsty land, but when you had eaten and were satisfied, you
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  became proud and forgot me. So now I will attack you like a
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  lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road, like a bear
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  whose Cubs have been taken away. I will tear out your heart.
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  I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a
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  wild animal. You are about to be destroyed, O
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  Israel. Yes, by me, your only helper.
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  Now where is your king? Let him save you.
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  Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials
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  you demanded of me? In my anger I gave you kings,
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  and in my fury I took them away. Ephraim's guilt has been
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  collected and his sin has been stored up for punishment.
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  Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they
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  are like a child who resists being born.
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  The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb.
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  Should I ransom them from the grave?
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  Should I redeem them from death? Oh death, bring on your terrors.
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  Oh grave, bring on your plagues, for I will not take pity on
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  them. Ephraim was the most fruitful of
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  all his brothers. But the east wind, a blast from
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  the Lord, will arise in the desert.
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  All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells
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  will disappear. Every precious thing they own
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  will be plundered and carried away.
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  The people of Sumeria must bear the consequences of their guilt
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  because they rebelled against their God.
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  They would be killed by an invading army, their little ones
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  dashed to death against the ground.
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  They're pregnant women ripped open by swords.
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  Our Lord, as we read this, the finality of that judgement and
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  what we know did happen to the people of Israel after that
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  time, it just seems, well, too awful to contemplate.
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  But Lord, we also know that that is not the end of the story and
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  that even though your people had to go through this dark time of
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  the consequences of their behaviour, we know that You
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  restored all things to yourself. We know that You gave us Jesus.
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  We know that from those people You brought a Saviour to save
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  not only them, but all people throughout all time, and that
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  includes us. Ah, so we thank you, our loving
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  Father God, that even when we are as determined as them to
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  turn away from you, you never leave us.
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  You continually chase after us and you give us your most
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  precious Son, Jesus, who died in our place so that we could take
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  on his righteousness and be made right with you.
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  You are wonderful and generous and loving and filled with
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  grace, and we thank you for your grace and what you've done for
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  us in Jesus. And it's in his name that we
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  pray all of these things. Amen.