December 16
HOSEA 7
14 They do not cry to me from the heart,
but they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
they rebel against me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they devise evil against me.
16 They return, but not upward;
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. – Hosea 7:14-16
HOSEA 7 THE INSOLENCE OF GOD’S PEOPLE
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Though God has shown steadfast love to his people
They did not reciprocate back his faithfulness
Instead, they pretended they worshipped the Lord
But simultaneously devised evil and insolence against God.
Some sources mentioned that in verse 14, God’s people said that they repented of their sins and promised to change. They made a show of worshipping God in their lips, but their hearts weren’t involved. Gill’s commentary says “when they howled upon their beds, lying sick or wounded there; or, as some, in their idol temples, those beds of adultery, where they pretended to worship God and pray to God through these idols.
In verse 16, God confronts their evil defiance. Instead of returning to Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord there, they went to Egypt. Gill comments on “treacherous bow” as “They were missing the mark it is directed to which being designed to send its arrow one way, causes it to go to the revere or its arrow returns upon the archer or drops at his feet; so, these people deviated from the law of God, acted contrary to their promises.” Mixing with pagans led them to compromise their covenant promise to the Lord.
REFLECTION
• What are the dangers of yoking with unbelievers as illustrated in these verses?
