LIKE JACOB RETURNED TO GOD
Hosea 11:12-12:14
But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. (12:6)
chapter 11
12. Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One.
chapter 12
1. Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence. He makes a treaty with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
2. The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.
3. In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God.
4. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there -
5. the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name!
6. But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
7. The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud.
8. Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin."
9. "I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals.
10. I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them."
11. Is Gilead wicked? Its people are worthless! Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal? Their altars will be like piles of stones on a plowed field.
12. Jacob fled to the country of Aram; Israel served to get a wife, and to pay for her he tended sheep.
13. The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him.
14. But Ephraim has aroused his bitter anger; his Lord will leave on him the guilt of his bloodshed and will repay him for his contempt.
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1. As Hosea brings up Israel’s sin of deception, he tells the story of their father, Jacob. He was a heal grabber at birth and continued doing anything to gain what he wanted (2). The story of Jacob’s struggle with God in verse 3 points to when he returned to Bethel with his family (Gen 32).
2. Jacob had acquired wealth and prosperity. But he also made enemies for himself and could no longer stay in his uncle and wives’ hometown. As he was coming back to his homeland to face his brother Esau, who had previously vowed to kill him, he realized how helpless he was. Bethel was where he previously made a conditional vow to God to serve him if God gave him everything he wanted. As he returned to Bethel, he saw that God was faithful to him, but all the things he desired and received did not have the power to save him. He found God there and struggled with him all night, weeping and begging for his favor. He finally understood what it meant to call him the Lord and submit to him (6). The people of Israel might have enjoyed the prosperity they gained with their wicked deception (8). But like Jacob, they must also understand the meaninglessness of their gains and return to God.
Prayer: Father, thank you for your faithfulness and for giving me the strength to return to you. I desire to grow in your righteousness, following your way instead of following the deceptive ways of the world.
One Word: Return and find the Lord