USER!

“She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’” Hosea 2:7

Have you ever felt deceived or used by someone? You treat them with kindness, you show them compassion, you extend yourself, but at the end you discover that they didn’t really value you as much as you did and all they ever wanted was to use you.

In verse 7, we read that Gomer is being compared to the people of God who would return to Him out of convenience and desperation. In the context of the passage, the Israelites were prophesied to meet God’s judgement because of their sins. They turned to Baal and regarded their idols higher than the One who parted the seas and miraculously poured down manna. They put God in a corner and turned their backs to Him to enjoy what was pleasing to their eyes and their flesh. They had the time of their lives and dismissed their conscience. We recall from Judges how the Israelites repeatedly went into a cycle of sin and repentance. Everyone did “as he saw fit” (Judges 17:6) but God’s rush of loving kindness rescued them from being captives. Once everything settled in, the cycle continued on.

Repeatedly, we have read about a nation who saw God’s intense power flash before their eyes but would easily forget how God pursued them in such an intense and passionate way.  They were apathetic and unmoved by His pursuits. Returning to God when times are rough is far better off than to rebel, but to return to Him only when we most need Him is like an insult to His nature. It’s true that we are most receptive during the most trying and bleak stages of our lives, but why wait to get there when we can experience a life of abundance and a consistent life of faithfulness by going before a God for who He is and not for what we can get from Him?

Application:

·         Do you go to God because you are expecting something in return?

·         When was the last time you worshipped God simply for who He is?

·         Why do you think the Israelites were easily lured away from God?