Quote:
Am I willing to reduce myself simply to “me,” determinedly to strip myself of all my friends think of me, of all I think of myself, and to hand that simple naked self over to God? Immediately I am, He will sanctify me wholly and my life will be free from earnestness in connection with everything but God.
When I pray–“Lord, show me what sanctification means for me,” He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself in me. (1 Cor 1:30). -Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 22
Hosea 13:2 (HCSB)
Now they continue to sin
and make themselves a cast image,
idols skillfully made from their silver,
all of them the work of craftsmen.
People say about them,
“Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves.”
-There it is with the calves again…
– “Continue” to repeat…again. Common theme going on. Again. Still.
Hosea 13:4 (HCSB)
I have been Yahweh your God
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but Me,
and no Savior exists besides Me.
-This verse is FULL!
-He was God in Egypt, even though they didn’t know Him by name until Moses. He is God today, even though people don’t know Him.
-“Know no God but me” because there is no other God or gods. The gods–like Baal, Thor, the Greek gods–are all man-made, figments of man’s imagination. How powerful our minds are!
-“No Savior exists besides Me.” Mic drop. Hosea was written over 700 years before Jesus was born! There are many Jesus prophesies in the Old Testament. This one is HUGE!
Hosea 13:6 (HCSB)
When they had pasture,
they became satisfied;
they were satisfied,
and their hearts became proud.
Therefore they forgot Me.
-This world, the rat race, is a trap.
-When we have little to worry about on earth–the American lifestyle–it is easy to become “satisfied,” think we have achieved it all ourselves, be prideful and forget God.
-He wants a relationship with us, regardless of our social status and opulence of our lifestyle. Rich or poor, He wants both; rich or poor in earthly terms and spiritual.
-Spiritual, mental, physical. Spiritual most important but it is the part that earthliness–Satan–tries to hide, conceal from many. How many people don’t even recognize they have a spirit, soul? Then how many people don’t recognize God in their spirituality? “New Age” and naturalism, there are a variety of “religions” and practices that people claim to be “spiritual.” But until they recognize Yahweh, their “spiritual” is just a head game being played by the devil, and the person is losing. (Hosea 13:4 No Savior exists besides Me.)
Hosea 13:15 (HCSB)
Although he flourishes among his brothers,
an east wind will come,
a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.
His water source will fail,
and his spring will run dry.
The wind will plunder the treasury
of every precious item.
-“His water source will fail.” I live in a place where water is very precious–very scarce. Most people in the US go to a faucet, turn the knob, water comes out. It is that way for us, too, except to make sure the water comes out, we have to haul water from town, in a tank, in the back of a pickup, 350 gallons at a time.
Using water is a bit different when it has to be hauled, which requires resources, times, and money. It gives a different perspective when water is flowing out of the faucet. No longer is it taken so much for granted.
No other time is it appreciated more than as it runs out. There is no meter or gauge to tell when the cistern is low, its always a guessing game. The most opportune time–Murphy’s Law–for water to run out is when I’m all soaped up in the shower. This is when water runs out–and has run out–two our of three times in the past.
“Flip the switch!” I scream from the shower to anyone in the house. See, there is a little bit of grace. There is a switch that runs the pump, and we’ve figured out that if it is turned off and back on, it gives about another 5-10 seconds of water pressure. This switch trick only works twice, then really, seriously, no more water.
Nothing will bring the realization of blessing than to suddenly not have it, especially when we’ve come to depend on it so much! Jesus was compared to water, on of the basic requirements for humans. Not only do we need water for survival, it needs to be clean and accessible. Jesus is water for the soul!
Hosea 13:16 (HCSB)
Samaria will bear her guilt
because she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword;
their little ones will be dashed to pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open.
-People ask, “How can there be a God if kids die of cancer, or children are molested, raped, abused?” Right here, Hosea 13:16, children will be dashed to pieces. Why? Because people rebel against God. Because earth is Satan’s domain, it has been since Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. Because human nature can’t follow instructions!