Hosea 7 Devotional

Calling Everyone but God

“All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings fall; not one of them calls upon Me.”Hosea 7:7 (BSB)

Hosea pictures Israel's plotters as an oven. Their anger smolders all night and blazes in the morning, and they devour their rulers. King after king falls, and not one of them calls on the LORD (7:6-7). Ephraim is like a cake left unturned. Foreigners eat away his strength and he does not notice, and his hair turns gray without his knowing it (7:8-9). He flutters like a senseless dove, calling to Egypt, then turning to Assyria (7:11). They wail on their beds for grain and new wine, but they do not cry out to God from their hearts (7:14).

In the middle of this, God says he would redeem them (7:13). He trained and strengthened their arms, even while they plotted against him (7:15). The tragedy is not that help was unavailable. It is that the one Helper who could save them was the only one they never called. Decline can be slow and quiet, but the way back is simple: turn to the God who is still willing to redeem.

To think about: When trouble comes, who or what do you call on first, and how often is God the last name on the list?