They made kings, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for themselves, to their own destruction. Hosea 8:4 NABRE
Hosea is denouncing sins which the Hebrew people have acted out. The have appointed kings without God’s approval and they have made idols of silver and gold. These are grievous sins and there will be punishment. For the most part the people are ignoring God, as if they do not know Him at all. He is not against a monarchy, but the people are selecting kings on their own without the assistance of God. The alliances Israel makes will be to no avail, they are alliances that are against Israel’s true nature and they will eventually take away their freedom. The alliances increase their pacts with other nations, incorporating the rites of the foreign nation and weakening their worship of God. But more importantly their worship and sacrifice are all simply motions, the people have no true heart in their prayer and worship. Outward sacrifice to be acceptable must be an expression of the heart serving as well. This reliance on themselves and other nations are human reactions to the political circumstances but it is not the way they should behave. God has taken care of the people and they should always remember to rely on Him, not their own inclinations.
The message is constant through the journey of humanity. We try to depend on our own devices, thinking hard work, gathering our own resources and filling our coffers with accruements will bring us a life of safety and security. But often we are making a pact with the devil, rather than trusting in God for our day-to-day needs. Move from depending on yourself to trusting God and life will become a reward of abundance.
Do you depend on your own security? What would it be like for you to trust God daily?
We think gathering our own resources and filling our coffers with accruements will bring us a life of safety and security. But often we are making a pact with the devil, rather than trusting in God for our day-to-day needs. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #alliance #sacrifice #Hosea #everybodyalways#god#jesuschrist#jesussaves#godisgood#dailydevotion#biblestudy#scripture#bibleverse#verseoftheday#cross#last#gospels#loveeachother#godisgreat#thisVineyard#youversion#everythingalways