Daily Devotions
Hosea
"Their mother has played the harlot"
Text: Hosea 2:5
DEPARTURE TO IDOLATROUS WAYS
Israel’s departure to idolatry began from the reign of King Solomon. The following facts were chronicled in 1 Kings 11.
1. Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians (1 Kings 11:5a).
2. And after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:5b).
3. Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab (1 Kings 11:7).
4. And for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon (1 Kings 11:7).
5. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods (1 Kings 11:8).
HOW IDOLATRY CAN WARP THE HEART AND MIND
Why did Israel turn to idols though the LORD had proven Himself over and over again as their true and faithful God? Hosea noted how sin had warped the heart and mind of idolatrous Israel.
“For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.'”
Hosea 2:5