Greetings to you all greatly beloved of God and welcome to another episode of our daily study of the Scriptures. We bless the name of the Lord God for the gift of life and for His benefits on us each new day. Praise be to God!
In our today’s episode 589, we shall be examining Hosea Chapter 6 titled:
This Is Obviously Fake Love In Demonstration, Their Repentance A Mere Farce
It’s all farce and did not come from a genuine heart. Their call for repentance was a mere religious display that lacked true persuasion. Hosea told them, “Your love for God disappears as quickly as morning mist; it is like a dew that vanishes early in the day.
What did God really want from these people?
It’s right there in verse 6: I want your constant love, not your animal sacrifices. I would rather have my people know me than burn offerings to me.
During the time Hosea told the people the above statement, the people of Israel and Judah were still very good at sacrificing animals and observing all the religious activities they learnt from the Torah (five books of Moses). Unfortunately, they lacked the ability to show mercy to their fellow Jews. They perverted justice and they did not practically demonstrate the love of God to the people.
Everything they were doing was all farce – a charade. Remember they learnt all these from their religious and political leaders. No wonder, Hosea was so furious with them.
Jesus Himself quoted Hosea
Did you know that when Jesus was rebuking the religious leaders of His day too, He quoted Hosea about two times? Yes, He did. The first time was in Matthew 9:13 and the second time was in Matthew 12:7
And that’s why they hated Jesus so much to the point that they collaborated with the Romans empire to put Jesus to death.
Each time religion and politics feel threatened, they go as far as killing their threats. The romans killed Jesus because He was a threat to their political influence, while Israel’s religious leaders killed Jesus because He was a threat to their religious relevance.
Apparently, this kind of lifestyle has become hereditary among leaders of Israel and their followers and this has become generational. You can imagine the number of generations that have passed between the era of Hosea and Jesus and yet the Jews have not stopped behaving in that manner.
Did you know that the same thing is still playing out today?
Religion and politics have eaten deep into the fabric of every nation to the point that we have neglected the weightier matters of the law, which are Love and Justice. There is hate almost everywhere. There are discriminations. There are divisions. There are killings almost all the time.
Sadly enough, majority of those involved in these nefarious acts are religious and political folks.
We know how to spend long hours in churches, mosques and shrines praying to different gods but have neglected the one and only true God, who is Love.
Israel brought animals for sacrifice, but they never brought themselves as a living sacrifice as taught by Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1.
What God wants from every human being is a close relationship anchored on Love. Remember, it was because of the Love He has for human beings that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
The truth is that God would rather have the right and sincere hearts come to Him than those displaying fake love through their religious activities.
Which one are you? Think about these things.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let’s pray as we declare the followings together
I know and believe with deep conviction in my heart that God is Spirit, He is Love and He lives in me. God’s creative power is activated within me to give me unlimited access to sound health, wealth, security, and peace of mind always. In Him I live, move, and have my being, in Jesus name. Amen.
Bible Readings For Today: John Chapters 4, 5 & 6 with Psalm 137
I call you blessed now and always.
Wednesday November 11, 2020 (DDMI)