Hosea 13:9-13 (NKJV)

“O Israel, you are destroyed,
But your help is from Me.
I will be your King;
Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities?
And your judges to whom you said,
‘Give me a king and princes’?
I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.

“The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up.
The sorrows of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him.
He is an unwise son,
For he should not stay long where children are born.”

What was ancient Israel’s greatest sin—its greatest offence against the LORD? What thing did they do that rejected God the most? Was it casting another golden calf?

No, though that might hold the record for the dumbest thing they did, it wasn’t pure rejection.

No, the purest rejection of God was when they asked for a king. God is their king. God is supposed to be their king. God wants to be their king.

Another king will command the people. He will be their lord. He will do the job that’s supposed to be reserved for the LORD Himself.

God’s response is, “What am I? Chopped liver?”

I will be your King;
Where is any other,
That he may save you in all your cities? …
I gave you a king in My anger,
And took him away in My wrath.

Israel’s earthly kings failed by design. God wouldn’t allow such an affront to succeed.

Yet again, we see this book pointing to Christ—the one true king.

We talk about Christ as king all the time, but do we envision Him that way? Because He’s our savior, we often focus on that aspect of Christ and don’t pay much attention to His role as ruler of all creation. Ever thank Jesus for creating the sun? Or gravity? Or whatever your favorite thing is (roses, ice cream, etc.)?

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.–John 1:3 (NKJV)

We thank Jesus for going to the cross, but that’s pretty much it. We need to expand our point of view to encompass the whole Lord.

He is worthy of a glory, praise, and honor, and not just for one thing He did.

All the weekly study guides, which include all five devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

The Job book is on Amazon and is eligible for Amazon Prime.

https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Purposes-Lesson-God-Job/dp/1684719534