Hosea 9 Devotional

Becoming Like What We Love

“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.”Hosea 9:10 (BSB)

Hosea speaks at harvest time and tells Israel not to rejoice like the nations, because they have been unfaithful to their God (9:1). The threshing floor will not feed them, and they will not remain in the LORD's land (9:2-3). The prophet who warns them is called a fool (9:7). Then God remembers the beginning with delight. Finding Israel was like finding grapes in the wilderness or the first figs of the season. But at Baal-peor they gave themselves to a shameful idol and became as detestable as the thing they loved (9:10).

This is one of the hardest chapters in the prophets. It speaks of lost children, of God driving them from his house, and of a people left wandering among the nations (9:12-17). It should not be softened. It shows how seriously God takes worship, and how worship shapes the worshiper. A psalm says those who make idols become like them (Psalm 115:8). Loving the living God is the one devotion that makes us more fully alive.

To think about: What are you giving your heart to most often, and what is it slowly making you into?