Hosea 10
?É¬Ø v. 5 The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth
Aven.
here Hosea shows that God has renamed Bethel (House of God) to the
House of Wickedness. The people are worried about their god being taken
away by the Assyrians. Can you imagine their fear? “Oh, I hope they
don’t find our god in here. I hope they don’t come and take him away.”
and can you imagine their prayers? “Oh calf-idol-god, protect us and
protect yourself, so they don’t steal you and take you away.”
Of course they wouldn’t want to give up their idols, because their
idols don’t want to be rid of. The bondage that keeps them from knowing
the true and unmanufactured God holds them fast and rules over them.
Who would want to share a religion of legalism and bondage?
Our God is to be shared. His love endures forever to any who would
call on Him. The people of Hosea’s day for got their God, and forgot
all His goodness. They ceased to share Him and spread His good name,
and so He took the blessing away.
I read yesterday that 70 churches close every week in the US. But I
know for a fact that over the last 2 years or so, our church has grown
by almost 1000 people. So what does that mean? where are all these
closing churches, and what denominations are they?
v. 10 Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous
priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken
from them into exile.
May God cleanse us of our idols. Show us what we worship besides You,
God, so we can destroy it. May we throw away our greed, our fear of
losing what we have, and our desire for self-pleasure so that we may
give God all He deserves.