| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| @October 29, 2023 | ESV (2016) | ESV Prophets Plan 2023 |
Pericopes
- Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant
Application
God desires to bring healing and redemption but Israel persists in sin and rebellion. It does not dawn on them that God remembers all their evil. Both the people and the leaders (king and princes) are accused; the people for their hot indignation and the leaders for being made glad in the treachery of the body politic.
The heat and intensity of sin portrayed in this chapter is compelling. Hosea makes reference to “adulterers…like a heated oven” (Hos.7:4), that the princes “became sick with the heat of wine” (7:5) and that “all night their anger smolders” (Hos. 7:6). This depicts sin not as something we merely stumble into but actively and passionately pursue. Without divine corrective action, the foolish and darkened hearts of men are set on self-gratification rather than the things of God. These we will recklessly seek, even to our own destruction.
But thanks be to God that He has both revealed our wretchedness and provided its eternal remedy in the person and work of Jesus Christ. His death at our hands exposed our sin and by His resurrection proved Himself to be its victor. He now keeps our hearts afresh of His goodness through His Spirit, convicting and empowering us to follow the path of righteousness until His return or until He calls us home.
Commentaries & Resources Used
- ESV Study Bible. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008)
- Faithlife Study Bible (Lexham Press, 2016)
- Believer’s Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson, 2016)
- CSB Study Bible Notes (Holman Bible Publishers, 2017)
- Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Guardian Press, 1976)
- The Bible: A Reader’s Guide (Sterling Publishing, 2011)
- The Infographic Bible (Zondervan, 2018)
- ESV Digital Scripture Journal (Crossway, 2019)