Passage Read: Hosea 8-11
Meditation Verse: 8:14
Thought
There are at least two things revealed in these chapters that gave Israel and Judah boldness to ignore the Lord's commands: wealth and security. As Ephraim prospered, they built more idols and palaces. Judah built fortified cities for itself. They thought they had everything they needed, and even the Lord couldn't take it from them. They thought they could withstand any enemy, even the Lord couldn't breach their fortresses. So they could worship cooler gods, they could overlook the less desirable commands of God and serve Him and whomever else they wanted, seeking their desires from whatever god would grant them. They could provide for themselves and protect themselves, so they could pursue whatever fleshly desire they wanted.
Application
If I must depend on the Lord alone to provide for me, then I am compelled to hold fast to Him and seek His will in every area of life. If I am dependent on the Lord for my safety and protection, then I am compelled to seek His will and live as He prescribes. But the more I am able to provide for myself and protect myself, the less inclined I am to follow the Lord carefully, because I am able to bless myself and make up for His withdrawn blessing. Prosperity allows for fortress-building. Fortress-building gives a sense of invulnerability. God is intangible, but money and fortresses are tangible. I naturally gravitate toward the tangible and fear less the intangible. But in truth, it is the invisible that is more real than the visible; the visible is only temporary, the invisible is eternal. I must not be deceived by the material world around me, but trust first and always in the Lord alone, so as to seek to please Him in everything.