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Hosea 7 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
“Two-faced and double-tongued,they steal you blind, pick you clean.It never crosses their mindthat I keep account of their every crime”
Hosea 7:2
God exposes Israel’s two-sided nature in this chapter. He compares them to someone who is two-faced or double-tongued. Today we would call such a person a hypocrite. We hear the same words spoken by Jesus to the church in Laodicea…
“You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.”
Revelation 3:15-19 MSG
Every conflict sets up an opportunity for a response. So what is the response here? It does not matter whether we look at the Old Testament verses of Hosea, or the New Testament verses of Revelation, there is consistency in the prescription. Repent.
Jesus says it this way in Revelation…
“The people I love, I call to account – prod and correct and guide so that they’ll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!”
Revelation 3:19 MSG
I love this statement. Is discipline a bad thing? Well, it’s bad in the sense that it hurts, but it’s good in the sense that we know God loves us. He wants the best for us. He exposes our two-sided nature so we can deal with it and conform to His image. This is where the Holy Spirit leans in and begins to prod and correct. His nature is to lead us to be our best which always means we look more like Jesus.
It’s not natural to desire prodding and correction. It takes the Holy Spirit to humble us and bring complete brokenness so that we can be made whole. But, once we experience that prodding and see the fruit of repentance, we will continue to come back to it again and again. Sadly, some so-called Christians will rarely experience this kind of spiritual growth. They are content to remain the same people year after year.
Are you thankful for the conviction in your life today? Are you thankful for the prodding and the correction? The truth is, God wants to continually restore you in some way. No one will ever reach the pinnacle of holiness this side of Heaven. So, we should expect that His prodding will occur regularly and that our response of repentance will lead us to freedom.