Hosea 13:7-9 (ESV Strong's)
So I am to them like a lion;
like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs;
I will tear open their breast,
and there I will devour them like a lion,
as a wild beast would rip them open.
He destroys you, O Israel,
for you are against me, against your helper.
Subject: The effects of sin
God has loved Israel and redeem her out of the land of Egypt. When they were under bondage at the hand of Pharaoh, God delivered them. When, in the time of Judges, they fell into sin, God delivered them. Now, in the midst of their rebellion and trusting in their riches, they have once again abandoned God. Like Hosea's wife, purchased and married even though she was a whore and who returned to her whoredom, so, too, Israel. This is the story of the book of Hosea. This book is a story of what happens when we sin. In the book of Genesis we God pursuing Israel to make her His Bride. In Exodus was see God pursuing Israel to redeem her from enslavement. In the above passage we see God now pursing Israel to consume them. God is characterized as a leopard; a bear; a lion and a wild beast seeking to destroy them. This is the effect of sin in our lives. God goes from being close to us and seeking us as His bride to the hunter seeking to discipline us. God does not change, but our relationship with Him does. Once close, sin puts Him at arms length. God is the God who wants a close relationship with us. These verses show us how sin disrupts that warmth.
No comments:
Post a Comment