Are you an influencer? What is your personal brand? What does it say about you. In Today’s study we would be looking at Hosea 13,
In this study, the tools we would use for this study are
- Who, What, When, Where, and How tool
- What does it mean?
- How does it apply to me today?
So let’s dig in and turn the bible to Hosea 13
Who, What, When, Where, and How tool
Ephraim was a powerful and influential tribe within Israel. Then they too became guilty of Baal worship (idol worshiping) and died.
They increased their making of idols from any materials of their choice and increased their idol worshipping which invariably led to an increase in their sin. And because they offered human sacrifices, Ephraim will disappear like the early dew, like the smoke escaping through a window.
The Lord declares He has been Ephraim God since its infancy when He brought them out of the land of slarvery in Egypt. God is stating He is the only God that Israel should acknowledge and their only savior. God reminded Israel of how He cared for and preserved them through when they were vulnerable in the wilderness. He protected and fed them.
Now Israel is satisfied, proud and has forgotten God.
Israel is about to experience God as a God of judgement. The verse says “like a lion I will devour them”.
You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.
The kings, princes and rulers, Israel had put her confidence in are no match to the God of the whole universe. He gave them their king and He removed them too.
An unborn child knows that when the labour pains start, it’s time to exit the womb of its mother. The unborn child knows what to do but Israel does not know what to do.
But God will deliver Israel from the power of the grave.
In Israel’s judgement, she will experience:
- her spring & well will dried up
- all her treasures would be plundered
- they will fall by the sword, the men, women and their little ones.
They will bear the guilt of their sin
What does (this passage ) mean?
Ephraim was a powerful and influential tribe within Israel. Then they too became guilty of Baal worship (idol worshiping) and died. Ephraim mixed her worship of God with worshipping idols, thereby breaking the first and second commandment. Which are;
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall make no idols.
They lost their relationship with God. As they no longer followed God wholeheartedly their sin and idol worship increased. They got involved in human sacrifices to their idols so God’s judgement is upon them. Ephrahim will disappear like the morning dew. Short lived and transient.
God delivered Israel from slavery and establised her as a strong and successful nation. Israel is satisfied and comes to her own, so Israel is now proud and has forgotten God. God who took her from a state of despair and vulnerability to a state of power, strength and success.
Israel is about to experience God as a God of judgement. The verse says “like a lion I will devour them”. The term lion is normally used in conjunction with protection when talking about Israel. The lion of the tribe of Israel. Israel has now made herself an enemy of God. In opposition to the Lion of the tribe of Israel. So she will see the lion as the lion mets out its judgement against Israel.
An unborn child knows that when the labour pains start, it’s time to exit the womb of its mother. The unborn child has more wisdom than Israel. With the sign, warning and prophecy God has been sending to Israel she makes no changes. She heed no warning but continues in her sin and idolatry and sin. Israel’s knowledge and understanding is compared to that of an unborn child. The unborn child may be so limited in knowledge but at least it knows that with the labour pain it’s time to exit the womb. It knows what to do. The unborn child knows what to do but Israel does not know what to do.
In Israel’s judgement, she will experience:
her spring & well will dry up – that is drought and famine. An invasion of war in her territory as her treasures would be plundered, men, women, young and old would fall by the sword. Not just her fighting men.
They will bear the guilt of their sin
How does it apply to me today?
Powerful and influential is a term that is not alien to anyone. Especially when businesses, personalities and everyone’s on one form of social media or another. A lot is invested into being influential. It is termed either a business brand or a personal brand. For you and I, what would our brand say about us? Would our influence be to draw people to the light of God’s word or would it be to just what is acceptable by our generation and society? Ephraim had influence in Israel but the influence was used to increase sin and idol worshipping. What would your personal brand or influence do? What would my influence do? Will our personal brand point the world to Jesus Christ?
Israel mixed the worship of God with that of idols and the result was disastrous. Jesus warns of this in Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Israel forgot her helper God. She is satisfied, proud that you have forgotten God. In success and achievements we should never forget that God is the Who has blessed our efforts with success.
The unborn child knows what to do but Israel does not know what to do.
a time judgement. There is a time for everything. A time to sew and a time to reap.
The scriptures tell us in 1 John 4:7 ( Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God;) God is love and also P salms 25:8-14tells us God is a just God. Some people have said or presume that since God is love and so would not judge them. If that were so, I wonder if we would like our human justice system not to punish criminals would that not be condoning the crime.
God is a just God. He gives plenty of time and warning for people to come to repentance Israel got all the warning and time to repent but she did not. The verse in Hosea 13 the unborn child knows to exit the womb when the labour pains start had me pondering for days. Is it the instinct of survival that gets the baby into the action of being born? The baby receives all the warning that the atmosphere is about to change. And it adjusts itself.
Israel got all the warnings but she did not adjust herself. So the “lion” that had been her protector now brought judgement on her. God would have been her saviour and helper and protector now has brought judgment on her.
We should not be so naive to think that God will not pass judgement. God is love. God is also just.
Are there things in our lives or society that we needs adjustment? Are there warnings God is sending us that we need to adjust? Like the unborn child, let us heed the warning and realign our life, worship, choices and action to the ways of God.