Laziness now, means chaos later.
Hosea 8:7a
NLT: “They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind.”
MSG: “Look at them! Planting wind-seeds, they’ll harvest tornadoes.”
Hosea 1:2, “When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute,” so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.”
Hosea 2:14-16
“But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young,
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
16 When that day comes,” says the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’
instead of ‘my master.’
Hosea 3:1, “Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.”
A couple ways to avoid the whirlwind:
1.Church is not a vaccine.
Hosea 8:11 “Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!
2.Stop making excuses.
Hosea 8:12 Even though I gave them all my laws, they act as if those laws don’t apply to them.
3.Look for the root.
Hosea 10:13 But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins.
4.Allow the whirlwind to bring you back to Him.
Hosea 2:6 “I will fence her in with thornbushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way.“
How bloody do you have to be to repent?!
Hosea 2:16 “you will call me ‘my husband, instead of ‘my master.’
Hosea 7:13, “I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me. They do not cry out to me with sincere hearts. Instead they sit on their couches and wail.”
Hosea 14 Healing for the Repentant
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sins have brought you down.
2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
Say to him,
“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises.
3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
do the orphans find mercy.”
4 The Lord says,
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
my love will know no bounds,
for my anger will be gone forever.
5 I will be to Israel
like a refreshing dew from heaven.
Israel will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil
like the cedars in Lebanon.
6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
7 My people will again live under my shade.
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.
8 “O Israel, stay away from idols!
I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
all your fruit comes from me.”
9 Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.
But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.