the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 5 of 5
Hosea 13:1-16
Nothing more touching is spoken by God than this series of rebukes, of tender utterances and of invitations to return to happier times. But all has been in vain: God has had to pass judgment and to resort to His sovereign grace, which will lead Israel to repentance and to Himself "There is no saviour beside me," says the LORD. Ephraim will have to be convinced of it after having waited in vain for deliverance by the hand of their kings and of their judges (v. 10). "Neither is there salvation in any other," confirms Acts 4:12, speaking of the Name of Jesus.
God had known His people in the wilderness. There Israel went after Him in a land that was not sown (v. 5; Jeremiah 2:2). As one has said, so long as there was only God and the sand, they had no option but to count on the LORD step by step, whilst prosperity and plenty contributed later to their guilty estrangement (v. 6; Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18). Alas! This is so often the case in the life of the Christian. As soon as he feels that he need no longer count on the Lord for his daily needs, he is in danger of becoming proud and of forgetting the God on whom he depends.
1 Corinthians 15:55 echoes the shout of victory found in v. 14. Besides the promise about Israel’s final deliverance, the Spirit lifts our gaze towards resurrection and the One who has conquered death.
