Day 509: Hosea 10- Reap What We Sow

Israel is a luxuriant vine
    that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
    the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
    he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
    now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
    and destroy their pillars.
 
3 For now they will say:
    “We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
    and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words;
    with empty oaths they make covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
    for the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests--
    those who rejoiced over it and over its glory--
    for it has departed from them.
6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
    as tribute to the great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
    and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.
 
7 Samaria's king shall perish
    like a twig on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
    shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
    on their altars,
and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
    and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;
    there they have continued.
    Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When I please, I will discipline them,
    and nations shall be gathered against them
    when they are bound up for their double iniquity.
11 Ephraim was a trained calf
    that loved to thresh,
    and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put Ephraim to the yoke;
    Judah must plow;
    Jacob must harrow for himself.

12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
    reap steadfast love;
    break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
    that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed iniquity;
    you have reaped injustice;
    you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
    and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore the tumult of war shall arise among your people,
    and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle;
    mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,
    because of your great evil.
At dawn the king of Israel
    shall be utterly cut off.
 
Meditation
God’s grace is the ground from which He desires believers to grow the fruit of the Spirit. Paul teaches that whatever Christians sow we will reap, “the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:8). Hosea speaks this same truth to Israel (12). We reap what we sow.
 
Hosea describes God’s divine design: If you plant righteousness you will reap steadfast love.
 
Hosea reveals God’s divine desire: God wants to rain righteousness upon you (12).
 
Hosea diagnoses the difficulty for God’s people: They have planted iniquity, reaped injustice, and eaten the fruit of lies (13).
 
How can we have a different harvest from our lives?
 
Hosea says look to your heart first. The heart of Israel was false (2) rejecting God as king (3). Their prosperity had a direct correlation to increase in idolatry (1). Judgment as severe as other nations was coming (4-11).
 
A new heart comes when we return to the Lord as king, planting righteousness by walking in His Word. Fruit of returning is God’s steadfast love. Repentance turns over the fallow ground of our souls and grace waters with righteous rain from heaven.
 
God desires us to repent, returning to His love and planting seeds of His Spirit in the soil of our souls. God promises we will see fruit of the Spirit that will grow from the ground of His grace to give glory to our God!
 
Richly Dwelling
-What are you planting in your life? What seeds are you sowing in the soil of your soul?
 
-What fruit do you see in your life? Do you see fruit of the flesh such as anger, sexual sin, lies, and division? Or do you see fruit of the spirit such as love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and self control?
 
-God’s grace through Jesus invites us to repent and return to His love. The ground of God’s grace is where the fruit of His Spirit will grow. Where do you need to repent, turning from planting seeds of the flesh? How can you plant the word of life in the soil of your soul?
 
Key Verse
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
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