Thoughts on Hosea 9
“Rejoice not, O Israel!”
Hosea 9:1a ESV
This word is for us.
Us who have seen, and known, and experienced,
the goodness, the glory, and the grace of God.
Us who, by whatever reasons, have left His wondrous presence and have gone away from Him, indulging instead in worldly pursuits. Giving our hearts, our minds, our strengths, our souls, to man-made idols. False gods. The temporal for the eternal.
Us who by habit, or tradition, or simply following the patterns of this world, celebrate with feasts, and festivals, and parties, and other kinds of merry making. (Because why not? What’s wrong with having some fun?)
But this is not the time for rejoicing. Not for us.
Because the jealous love of the all-powerful God is coming to claim what He has so preciously redeemed.
It is foolishness to be hard-headed and hard-hearted against this relentless, fearsome love. That which we hold dear, but is ascribed incorrectly to idols, will fall away and fall apart. The severity of our pain is proportional to our stubbornness. Don’t be like Pharoah, don’t be like Israel.
This is a time for remorse, of repentance, and of returning.
Only then can, and will, we truly rejoice.