Hosea: His Redeeming LoveSample

Yesterday we looked at the cautionary tale of the Israelites forgetting God in their prosperity. We read how much it angered God to be denied his rightful credit for blessing them. Today, we are warned against another troubling behavior. In fact, it’s one of the things that upsets God the most: religious hypocrisy.

God hates religious hypocrisy. So does Jesus. To the Pharisees of his day, Jesus said, “Woe to you... you hypocrites” as he described them doing things for appearances (cleaning the outside of the cup) but neglecting the rot on the inside. John the Baptist spoke out against the same issue. In Luke 3:8, we read John’s urging to do more than pay lip service to our faith but rather, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

In chapter 8 of Hosea, we find out that God is aggrieved by the empty religious gestures of the Israelite people. Just as John the Baptist would later warn against, they pay lip service to God but “reject what is good.” They bring their offerings but there is no real moral change. As verse 12 describes, they had given up on the Ten Commandments long ago. They have made idols, set up altars, and made sacrifices but God is not fooled. He is fed up with the emptiness of it all. God wants to see real repentance, real change.

That’s what he looks for—not your words, but your life; not your singing on Sunday, but your obedience on Monday.

Pray: Heavenly Father, I want my faith and my life to be pleasing to you. Help me to be genuine, offering you more than empty gestures but instead obedience in my daily actions.