12/18/2018 0 Comments Day 18 - Advent DevotionalRead: Hosea 2:14-23 Therefore, I am going to persuade her, lead her to the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt. In that day (this is the Lord’s declaration) you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer call me, “My Baal.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names. On that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will shatter bow, sword, and weapons of war in the land and will enable the people to rest securely. I will take you to be my wife forever. I will take you to be my wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. I will take you to be my wife in faithfulness, and you will know the Lord. On that day I will respond (this is the Lord’s declaration). I will respond to the sky, and it will respond to the earth. The earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the fresh oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will sow her in the land for myself, and I will have compassion on Lo-ruhamah (*Marc's note–this means "not my loved ones." Loved ones are referring to Israel); I will say to Lo-ammi (*Marc's note–"not my people," referring to Gentiles): You are my people, and he will say, “You are my God.” Think:
Hosea was another prophet of God whose life is an allegory of God’s relationship with His people, Israel. You see, Israel was like an unfaithful spouse. Israel kept “cheating” on God with other fake gods by worshipping them instead. They didn’t keep the promise they made when they said they wanted to be in relationship with Him. However, in this prophesy, Hosea is telling Israel that God is going to forgive them and take them back, even after all they have done to Him. How have you “cheated” on God? Hope: The amazing thing about being a Christian is that our ability to stay faithful to God doesn’t change His faithfulness to us (2 Timothy 2:13). Just like Israel, we have “cheated” on God with other things. Yet, because of what Jesus has done, we can have a completely restored relationship with Him, not feeling the shame of our past mistakes. This is the hope of Christmas! Pray: God, thank you for coming to this Earth to win me back even when I was the one who “cheated” on you. Thank you for not keeping a list of my mistakes, but you look at me as pure because of what Jesus has done. Apply: Buy coffee or another little treat for your mom today because, let's be honest, she probably needs some love from you today.
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