Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

DESERTED Judah, the southern nation, experienced three great spiritual awakenings: one under Jehoshaphat, another under Hezekiah, and the third under Josiah. Yet, there were no revivals in Israel; never once in the sordid history of the northern tribes do we find a record of sorrow for sin. From the beginning when "Jeroboam taught Israel to sin," violence and corruption reigned. Into these evil times, Hosea comes to preach. Married to a wife who refuses to respect her marriage vows, Hosea suffers deep personal pain. Deserting her children, Gomer, Hosea's wife, leaves for the luxury of her former friends. She ends up in slavery, and Hosea buys her back. He probably had to repeat this action several times, and there is no evidence that she ever learned her lesson. Through this heartbreaking story, God teaches Israel how He feels about their unfaithfulness. There is no pain so deep as that caused through betrayal by the one who has pledged to love us. God's heart is broken because of Israel's spiritual philandering. One day, God would have to buy them back from slavery. Hosea, known as "the prophet to Israel," brings three charges against them: (1) There is no faithfulness in the land. (2) There is no kindness to one another. (3) There is no knowledge of God. Moral corruption such as this always wrecks a nation, and it soon brought captivity to Israel. Lessons for modern man are obvious in this abrupt and frank book. We plainly see the attitude of God toward those who forsake Him and His house. But running like a silver thread throughout the book is the offer to restore and return the enslaved people if they would turn to the Lord. God is more than eager to forgive and forget.