O Israel, You have Sinned - Hosea 10:9

In the book of Hosea, Hosea said, “as for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water. The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us”, and in chapter ten and verse nine of Hosea, Hosea said, “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah” where we read,

O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood:

the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

The verse begins, “O Israel, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood:” Hosea began with the words, “O Israel” or “O Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “you have sinned” which means “you, Israel, have missed the mark, erred and were mistaken and wrong” “from the days” or “separate and apart from the division and period of time” “of Gibeah” which means “belonging to Gibeah whose name means hill and was a city in the mountain district of Judah”: “there they stood” or “in that place and location they, the people of Israel, remained, endured and continued”. (See Judges 19) Hosea called out “Israel” and their continual sinful state since the time when they made their stand in “Gibeah”.

The verse goes on to say, “the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.” Hosea continued with the words, “the battle in Gibeah” or “the war and fighting within Gibeah whose name means hill and was a city in the mountain district of Judah” “against the children” which means “in opposition to the offspring and progeny” “of iniquity” or “belonging to injustice, unrighteousness and moral perverseness” “did not overtake them” which means “in no way or manner reached, took hold of, secured and attained them, the people of Gibeah”. Hosea referred when the people of “Israel” rose up against the unjust people who sinned in “Gibeah”.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how Hosea called out “Israel” for their continual sinful behavior, and even from the time in “Gibeah” where they rose up against the injustice that was performed there, the people did not stop sinning against God. God knows we all have sinned and come short of His glory (See Romans 3:10; 23) and “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (See Romans 6:23). When we humble ourselves, repent of our sins and believe and trust in Jesus as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we no longer remain sinful before His eyes. 

Next time Hosea says, “it is in my desire that I should chastise them”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".