“When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction.

Now they continue to sin by making silver idols, images shaped skillfully with human hands. “Sacrifice to these,” they cry, “and kiss the calf idols!”

Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like dew in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney. “I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior.

I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me. So now I will attack you like a lion, like a leopard that lurks along the road.

Like a bear whose cubs have been taken away, I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal.”
‭‭Hosea‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Maybe the idea of carved images and pagan alters built on hillsides can feel far away from the practices of our current day. Maybe we’re tempted to read the prophecy of Hosea as though from a safe distance, believing the problems of God’s people and Hosea’s time are unrelated to today- self-centeredness however, is a problem for all people, including you and me.

 In Hosea’s day the people of God became enamored with and distracted by what Jesus would call “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). And the more they forgot God, the more irrational and immoral, their lives became. In Hosea 13:2, we even see that the people were willing to “offer human sacrifice” yet “kiss calves” made of metal- they valued false gods made by humans more than they valued humans made by God.

It would be remiss of me not to mention abortion here. Abortion is the baal worship of our current day. The self-centerdness of the “my body my choice” movement is nothing less than pride and the forgetfulness of God. Two pre-born human beings are murdered every minute of every day in the United States of America.

Just like in the times of Hosea, we too deserve God’s wrath but He remains patient.

God is showing you mercy right now, begging you to turn away from your sin and be reconciled to him. I love you and believe that the Lord is not slow about his promise but is patient toward you not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9).

I was once an enemy of God too, but it was his grace that saved me and set me free to follow him. It would be hateful to withhold this truth from you when you have the chance to be washed clean and reconciled to your Creator. Today is the day of salvation. God‘s judgment will not delay forever.