Hosea 2:1-23
Saturday, 28 May 2022
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.” -Hosea 2:14
Our text for today is subjective in nature; it surrounds the very life story of the prophet, Hosea. Through his chaotic marital relationship, God speaks the truth of His strained love relationship with His own children. The personal language is very touching and evokes responses from the very bottom of our hearts. God through this has not only spoken to Israel of past, it is also a lesson for us- the reason we meditate on this topic today.
I hope the reader will notice the excitement in the tone -'Behold!'. God is excited about the way in which His people (the apple of His eye) will be allured back to Him. As God enters the very scene He is sharing His excitement through the prophet’s words and how He would have longed for this moment of intimacy with his beloved bride. “I will allure her”- calling His own to be alone with Him! Sometimes God calls us to Him through our lonely situations. Times of loneliness are heartbreaking situations in life, when we yearn for the right person to be beside us. If that is going to be the long-absent beloved one, then it will be the most exciting time of life. Here we see Israel entering into a time of “God-made loneliness” so that He can tenderly speak to her and give her hope for a wonderful future with God. “I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.” (Hosea 2:15)
In our Christian walk also we come across times of loneliness. Even though we are so busy with our daily work and pressures of life, we feel isolated and detached from everything. This isolation drives us to our spiritual senses of seeking the Lord for answers and times of introspection. Good time for fasting! As we set aside time to be alone with the Lord, He will start ministering to us and allow us to grow and mature in certain areas of our lives. This does not mean that our life will be in solitude. No!- it means there are times of being lost and lonely, these are best suited times for God to speak to our lives. If you are such a person, please look around whether you can see God has already prepared a wonderful place of hope as we read above. Instead of brooding over your loneliness and being distressed, return to Him and heed to His dealings. Then you can see how God cares and loves you. Your face will brighten up and you will soon be out of your lonely miserable situation!
If we are led by God then we are in safe hands. But there are self-pity-driven loneliness as well, that is driven by Satan and his fallen angels who bring in devastation into a person’s life. So if that is the symptom we see in a person, then we need to immediately understand the enemy’s hands behind the situation and try all our means to save such a kind of person. In today’s busy world there are many who are driven around by Satan in this way, ultimately leading to eternal destruction. Let us understand clearly the situation and act wisely :“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire;…..”(Jude 22-23)
Prayer: Abba Father, help me to heed to You when I am called into paths of loneliness and refine my life the way You want, so that I can help others who are passing through such situations. In Jesus name, amen.
תגובות