Take Two: Hosea 12, Proverbs 17

In Hosea 12, we see a parallel/explanation between the current activities and sins of Israel and Judah to the actions of Israel (Jacob) in Genesis. The Prophet is making an argument that his readers are seeking to struggle and control their own destiny (just as Jacob/Israel did), yet his blessing came when he yielded and trusted in God rather than his own efforts.

In vv.1-2, we are reminded that instead of trusting in God as provider and protector, Israel sought out a protection treaty and trade treaty with Assyria and with Egypt. They were acting as if they must control their own destiny. Let me illustrate this in a modern day approach.

A friend of mine shared with me that when he went to Seminary, God was trying to teach him to trust Him (a revelation he gained after the events I am about to share). He went to school all morning, slept in the afternoon, and worked 3d shift doing manual labor. One day, the car quit working (transmission I think). To that point, whenever a need had arisen, he would pray and God would show a way out in pretty short order- within days. On this car incident, my friend prayed. After which (thinking he could not wait a couple of days to fix his car since he needed it to get to work and school) he found a mechanic and charged the repairs on Discover Card at 21% interest.

Now catch this: God had shown Himself to be faithful to this point, but my friend felt it important to secure his own ride. That credit card bill haunted him for months. After going for a couple of days of real suffering...his boss called him into the office. (This is months after the transportation problem). His boss, who had never helped him before with extra needs...asked him what was wrong, paid for the car repairs, and bought them some basic needs. This was the same way God had provided for him at all of the other challenges. My friend learned from this that it is not enough to simply pray to God...but one must rest in relying on God's character and faithfulness.

In the same way, God had proven Himself faithful to His people, yet now they saw fit to begin to secure their own protection. In vv.3-6, we see the same parallel...that Jacob wrestled to provide for himself, even from the womb...but he found peace when learning to yield to God's way over his own.

v.11 stuck out to me in the next section and I will wrap up Hosea with it. The false altars are like the rocks that one tills up when working new ground. Is there anything worse than digging or tilling and hitting rock after rock? No! On the surface, the worship practices may have seemed benign, but they were in fact great stumbling blocks and dangerous to the people.

Proverbs 17:12 is my takeaway today. "Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly (foolishness)." Now that is a strong statement about hanging out with and getting involved with the ideas of those who pursue things other than God's agenda.