Daily Devotions
Hosea
"You trusted in your own way"
Text: Hosea 10:13
BITTER LESSONS NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN
Many and bitter would be the lessons that both Israel and Judah would learn in their captivity!
“You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,
In the multitude of your mighty men.”
Hosea 10:13
1. “You have plowed wickedness”
a) The imagery of farming was employed.
b) Israel and Judah had sown wickedness:
i) In idolatrous worship.
ii) In blatant disobedience.
2. “You have reaped iniquity”
a) The sins both nations had committed wantonly had severe consequences.
b) Sin reaped iniquity (evil).
3. “You have eaten the fruit of lies”
a) Because lies were sown.
b) The fruit of lies would be reaped.
c) Its fruit was both bitter and deadly.
4. “Because you trusted in your own way”
a) Both Israel and Judah had trusted in themselves.
i) They sought human counsel.
ii) They disdained the Word of God.
b) They sought to build a strong army.
c) They also hired mercenaries.
5. “In the multitude of your mighty men”
a) Israel built a strong army indeed!
b) This gave them a false feeling of confidence.
c) They had not reckoned with the size of the Assyrian army.
d) The Assyrians gained victory after victory by the sheer size of their army.
They literally overwhelmed all their enemies by size and brutality.