A little known fact about my website is that the name actually comes from Psalms 24:6 NKJV, which reads, “This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Selah”. Today, my reading from Hosea also touched on the theme of seeking God, as well as the promises He has for his people.
“I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior. I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me.” – Hosea 13:4-6
Although I can confidently assume you have never actually been enslaved in Egypt, we all have had our rough, down points of life. Despite this, God was with us, took care of us, and nurtured us back to satisfaction. But humanity follows the pattern of being proud and forgetting God when life is good, and so we become less satisfied and once again hungry. Hosea 11:5 says, “But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt.” Today’s first learning point is that there is a cycle here. We are brought out of an Egypt in our lives, everything becomes okay, we proudly fall to our own means of sustenance, and we return to Egypt. How can we break this cycle of slavery to the world?
Seek.
Becoming a generation that seeks His face would actually turn the world around. Being a person who seeks His face will turn your world around. The Lord says in Hosea 10:12, “Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.” Now, right now, is the time to seek the Lord, and plant not seed of sin, but of righteousness, that you may harvest a crop of love in your world and the world.
Remember as you read this next passage that just as Israel was the chosen people of the old covenant, so the Christ-followers are the chosen people of the new covenant made when Christ shed his blood, so we can apply many of the Old Testament teachings about them, especially about following God, to Christianity today.
Hosea 11:7-11 reads: “For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me. Oh, how can I give you up Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy. For someday the people will follow me. I, the Lord, will roar like a lion. And when I roar, my people will return trembling from the west. Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again.”
Despite our determinations at times to avoid God and do things our own way, he won’t destroy us with fire and brimstone like the cities of Admah and Zeboiim (see Deuteronomy 29:23). His heart, the heart of God, is torn by this, and what flows out is not fierce anger, but compassion, so He lives among us and will bring us home again, even out of the things that so enslave and ensnare us, our Egypts and Assyrias.
To wrap up today’s Old Testament segment, here are the words of the Lord in Hosea 14:1-2,4,8 (Just because I skipped a few verses doesn’t mean they’re not important or that I’m taking this wildly out of context. I’m saving you the reading now, so you can open up your bible later and check out all of Hosea 14): “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, ‘Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises’… The Lord says, ‘Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever… O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like the tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.’ ” Your sins have brought you down, but the after a mere bringing of confessions to the Lord, he will heal you of your faithlessness and care for you.
Remember that as I talk about sin, we all are sinners (Romans 3:23), and I do not mean to guilt you, but “I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives” (Jude 4). Instead of following the world, we are called to live pure and blameless lives to the glory and praise of God (In Philippians 1:10,11 Paul brings up these ideas). It is a constant challenge and a constant theme in this blog, and I hope you are constantly evaluating what sins you can flee from. I can bring no accusation or judgment against you, just as Michael the Archangel can bring no judgment against the even the devil himself (Jude 9), but you can know your heart and God does know your heart. God loves you as you are now, but He wants to improve and sanctify you, further developing His workmanship in you (Ephesians 2:10).
So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him, (Hosea 12:6)
-Zachariah