Hosea 10 Devotional

Break Up the Hard Ground

“Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.”Hosea 10:12 (BSB)

Israel was a thriving vine, but the more fruit it produced, the more altars it built (10:1). Prosperity did not draw them to God. It funded their idols. Their hearts are devious (10:2), their covenants are sealed with empty oaths (10:4), and the calf they honored will be hauled off to Assyria as tribute (10:5-6). The day is coming when people will beg the mountains to cover them (10:8). They plowed wickedness and ate the fruit of lies, because they trusted their own way and their many warriors (10:13).

In the middle of the warning comes an invitation. Sow righteousness, reap steadfast love, and break up the unplowed ground, because it is time to seek the LORD until he comes and rains righteousness on them (10:12). Notice where the righteousness finally comes from. They are to seek, but he is the one who sends it like rain. Seeking him is never wasted, because he is the one who makes dry ground fruitful.

To think about: What part of your heart has grown hard from neglect, and how could you begin seeking the LORD there this week?