“Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies; because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.”
Hosea was written to the northern kingdom of Israel as they approached their last days. It is mostly negative, because that’s what it had to be, however, God had not stopped loving them but He wanted them to repent. There is also a message here for us. “Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity.” This is another way of saying that you “reap what you sow.” Hosea also wrote in 8:5: “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind; it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal; if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.” Paul also dealt with this theme in Galatians 6:7-8: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Israel had sown idolatry and all that this lifestyle entailed and they were about to reap the judgment for what they had sown. This is also a warning to us. But let’s look on the bright side of this: If we reap good things in this life, we will sow good as well. Wouldn’t you really hate to come to the end of your life and all that you had sown was negative and bad. The Bible also teaches that if we sow love and friendliness that we will reap love and friendliness. Look, for example at Proverbs 18:24a: “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly…” It would be a good idea for us to heed the warning here and be careful that what we sow with our lives and deeds will enable us to reap good things. This doesn’t mean that we would never have to face the difficult things that life brings, but it sure would make life better for us and for all of those who know us. “Ye have eaten the fruit of lies…” The NIV translates this: “You have eaten the fruit of deception.” Jesus warned His disciples that people would tell lies about Him, and early Christian writers, especially Paul, warned that there would be people who would twist the Christian message into what they wanted it to be. You can be sure that there is plenty of deception today. We need to be careful what we listen to and stick to the biblical message about who Christ really is. The main test of falsehood is in what people teach about Jesus. If their message does not include that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead on the third day, and ascended to heaven after forty days, and is at the right hand of the Father today interceding for us and is coming again, don’t accept it. This is not all there is to it, but this is the fundamental truth of all that Christ did. “Because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of the mighty men…” When people take their eyes off of God and put them on things that they can see, and they trust in what they think instead of seeking God’s will they are headed for trouble. We should trust God above our own ideas and above worldly security. Proverbs 3:5-7 has a great word for us in this matter: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thy own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. 7. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil.” There are things in this world that can help us feel secure, but we should not replace our trust in God for any of these things. Israel, referred to as “Ephraim” by Hosea, went their own way, ignoring the God who loved them and wanted to bless them. Instead of believing God, they believed lies and went their own way. Let’s be careful that this does not happen in our lives. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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