Sow the Wind and Reap the Whirlwind #1425

5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria! My anger is aroused against them— How long until they attain to innocence? 6 For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces. 7 They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; It shall never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up. (Hosea 8:5–7, NKJV)

From the “excellent sacrifice” Abel offered God “by faith,” to the worship contained in the new covenant of Christ, God has always demanded reverent homage that obeys His revealed instructions concerning approved worship (Hebrews 11:4; John 4:23-24; Acts 20:7). It was a great sin when Jeroboam distorted Jehovah worship by building two golden calves for Samaria as an alternative to worshiping at the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25-33). Even as Hosea prophesied, God was preparing to destroy the calf and the people who had flocked to it to worship. Israel sowed the wind of nothingness by honoring the graven image, and was about to reap the whirlwind of divine judgment. Whether an individual or a nation, beware when sin becomes the pattern and purpose of existence. The whirlwind of God’s destruction is not far behind. Only by repenting of sin and turning to God through His Son Jesus Christ will reaping the whirlwind be avoided (Acts 4:12; 26:20; Romans 2:1-6).

When Sin becomes Comfortable #1153

They do not consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness; Now their own deeds have surrounded them; They are before My face. (Hosea 7:2, NKJV)

We can become comfortable in our sin – even defensive, when rebuked for our transgressions. Israel had become at ease and complacent in her sins. When God’s prophet Amos cried out against her idolatry and injustices, Amaziah, the ungodly priest of Bethel, lied about Amos to Jeroboam, the king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words” (Amos 7:10). Truth was viewed as a threat, and God’s prophet was shunned. When we become comfortable in sin, tender consciences turn into calloused hearts toward the word of God. Are you becoming comfortable in your sin? If so, now is not the time to make excuses, or blame others. It is not time to convince yourself that God does not care – that He does not remember your sins. Though you may forget them, they are ever before the face of God Almighty. Now is the time to fear God, repent with a contrite heart, and tremble at His word (Isaiah 66:2).