Personal Devotions
Notes from Mark's personal Bible reading and meditation
With a goal to apply one truth from each day's reading to my life that day
Jul 7, 2024, 2:14 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 4-7
Meditation Verses: 7:13-14
Thought
Ephraim is destroyed for lack of knowledge. When God desires to heal them, their sin is uncovered. To them, it is all like a game: Say the magic words when things get tough, offer the right sacrifices when trouble comes, and God will fix things, God will restore blessing. Ephraim would like God to bless them, but they speak lies against Him.
Jul 6, 2024, 2:16 AM
Passage Read: Daniel 12 - Hosea 3
Meditation Verses: Hosea 2:8-15
Thought
Those whom the Lord loves, He rebukes and disciplines. He loves Israel but Israel keeps going after other gods, ignoring His commands and His ways, and pursuing those who grant her every wish and fulfill her every want. She thinks it is her lovers who provide all her riches and wealth and comfort, but it is the Lord, her Husband and Maker.
Jun 19, 2023, 6:42 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 8-11
Meditation Verse: 11:9
Thought
The Lord is longsuffering indeed. He is frustrated to the point of destroying Israel, but He then is reminded of His compassion and can't follow through with it. Yet He does. But He also determines to bring them back in faithfulness. He will not completely destroy them, but He will scatter them among the nations, and then one day call them back to Himself. Men are quick to anger; God is slow to anger, but even He can be provoked to wrath, to turn the people He loves over to their enemies. But not forever, and not all of them.
Jun 18, 2023, 6:43 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 4-7
Meditation Verse: 7:14
Thought
God has many things against the Israelites; they sin against Him regularly. They are very good at it, very prolific in their evil. He longs to redeem them, but they lie to Him and lie against Him. Here He says they cry out to Him, but not from the heart. When they have need they seek Him, but they have no real intention to repent and no desire to seek Him when they have no desperate need. They gather together for grain and new wine, but have no time to meet with Him.
Jun 17, 2023, 6:44 AM
Passage Read: Daniel 12 - Hosea 3
Meditation Verse: Hosea 3:1
Thought
The Lord loves the Israelites, even though they pay no attention to Him, but lavish their affections on other gods. The Lord doesn't stop loving Israel, even though she doesn't deserve His love. How does that not break their hearts and bring them back to Him in humility, recognizing that they don't deserve in the least His mercy?
Jun 22, 2022, 7:35 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 12 - Joel 1
Meditation Verse: Hosea 14:9
Thought
The righteous shall walk in the ways of Jehovah, but transgressors will stumble in them. Those who truly believe the Lord will have little trouble walking in His ways. They will recognize what ways are the Lord's and will do them. But the wicked, the sinners, will have trouble walking in God's ways. They will continually trip up and fall. They won't know them all, but even what they know will be hard for them to walk in.
Jun 21, 2022, 7:36 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 8-11
Meditation Verses: 11:7-9
Thought
As bad as Israel has become and as much as the Lord is compelled to discipline them, He cannot bring Himself to completely abandon them. He is moved with compassion for them and will bring them back, and they will return to Him in truth and faithfulness. But for now, He must cast them out of His good land, yet not for good. His goal is restoration not complete rejection.
Jun 20, 2022, 7:37 AM
Passage Read: Hosea 4-7
Meditation Verses: 6:6-7
Thought
God desires to show mercy, not receive sacrifice; He desires that His people understand Him rather than offer burnt offerings. But instead, like Adam, they sin against Him, breaking His covenant and betraying Him. He wants to do good, but His people want nothing of Him. They just want the blessing, they don't want the instructions. If God insists on having His way with them, they'll go elsewhere. So God is left with judgment, instead of the mercy He desired, the understanding of Him and His ways.
Jun 19, 2022, 7:38 AM
Passage Read: Daniel 12 - Hosea 3
Meditation Verses: Hosea 3:3-5
Thought
Hosea buys back Gomer and says she will remain with him, but be without lover or close relationship with him. God explains that this signifies Israel being many days without king or ruler, without sacrifice of Temple or priest. After that, they will seek the Lord and David their king, fearing the Lord in the end of days. So this is a prophecy about the present days! About the time from Jesus' resurrection onward. Israel today has no king, they have a rotating president, but no Temple or priests and certainly no sacrifices.