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The Scriptorium

Swelled Hearts, Shrunken Minds

Israel's pride made her crazy.

Hosea 13

Week 8, Tuesday: Israel forgot the Lord

The prophet does not tire of reminding Israel of all God had done for her as a nation. He made them His people, delivered them from Egypt, cared for them in the wilderness, and delivered them into the land. But their hearts swelled with pride in their achievement, and their minds turned away from the Lord.

Read Hosea 13

Meditate on Hosea 13.4-6

1.  In many places in Scripture God reminds His people of the grace He has showed them in the past. Why does God believe it’s important for His people to remember this? What does it say about them that they need so many reminders?

2.  God saved His people so that they would know Him (v. 4). How did God envision that working out once they arrived in the land of Canaan?

3.  God’s grace extends from saving His people to continuing to provide for them (vv. 5, 6). Why do you suppose it was so easy for Israel to fail to see all these blessings as evidences of God’s grace? Do you think we appreciate the daily blessings of the Lord as deeply and consistently as we should? Explain.

4.  The mention of the “heart” in verse 6 indicates that Israel became prideful about all she had done, including breaking away from Judah. How does pride become established in a believer’s heart? What is the antidote to pride?

5.  A swelled heart made for a shrunken mind in Israel (v. 6). What caveat does this situation suggest for believers today?

Summary
Israel became so full of herself and her agenda that she failed to keep the Lord in mind. She “knew” the Lord, she told herself, but she didn’t really “know” Him at all, as we’ve seen. Israel loved the blessings of God rather than God, and when she felt as though she could secure those blessings elsewhere, or by means other than trusting the Lord, she did, and turned her heart away from the Lord.

Closing Prayer
Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
Will You not revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
Show us Your mercy, LORD,
And grant us Your salvation.
I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

Psalm 85.4-9

T. M. Moore

The Week, T. M.’s daily print and audio offering of worldview insights, musings, and reflections, is now available for a free subscription. You can subscribe to The Weekby going to www.ailbe.org and, when the pop-up appears, put in your email, click on The Week, then click to update your subscriptions. You’ll be sent an email allowing you to add The Week to your list of subscriptions.

Each week’s studies in our
Scriptorium column are available in a free PDF form, suitable for personal or group use. For all available studies in Hosea, click here.

A primary theme of the book of Hosea is Israel’s failure to keep covenant with the Lord. God’s covenant is a central theme and provides the organizing motif for all of Scripture. Learn more about God’s covenant by ordering a copy of T. M.’s book,
I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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