Daily Devotions
Hosea
"They make a king glad with their wickedness"
Text: Hosea 7:3
DEADLY INFLUENCE
Influence can go both ways. The king can influence his subjects for either good or bad. His courtiers can also influence him for the better or for the worse.
“They make a king glad with their wickedness,
And princes with their lies.”
Hosea 7:3
1. “They make a king glad with their wickedness”
a) The king is usually surrounded by the following:
i) The advisors or counsellors
ii) The ministers
iii) The priests
iv) The prophets
b) Many of the above were:
i) Self-serving
ii) Ungodly
iii) Avaricious
c) Making the king glad with their wickedness:
i) Deception
ii) Cunning
iii) Deadly plots
iv) Falsehood (false reports of the real state of the kingdom)
2. “And princes with their lies”
a) Flattery
b) Distraction
i) Entertainment
ii) Women
c) Bribery
3. Consequences
a) Neglect of the kingdom.
b) The courtiers enriched themselves at the expense of their poor victims.
These problems have always plagued many kingdoms and have brought them down to destruction!