June 27th~Put Your Hand to the Plow

Hosea 9:1-14:9

We finished the book of Hosea. God used this prophet to warn His people of their impending judgment and to plead with them to repent and return to a faithful relationship with Him. “O people of Israel,” He said, “you have been unfaithful to your God, hiring yourselves out like prostitutes... Now you will be carried off to Egypt and Assyria... Plant the good seed of righteousness and you will harvest a crop of My love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you. But you have cultivated wickedness and raised a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies... You have become satisfied and proud, and you have forgotten Me” (9:1, 3; 10:12, 13; 13:6).

These are sad words, indeed; and, the more I think on them, the more I realize that they could describe us, if we are not careful. How does a nation like Israel, who started so well, end up provoking the wrath and judgment of God? How do we avoid the same mistake?

In the passage above, the Lord through Hosea gave us a glimpse into how this happens. Hearts do not harden overnight; rather, by long dry spells, fresh soil turns to fallow ground. It happens one day at a time, one step from the Lord at a time, and, after a while, we realize that we are some distance away.

First, we become satisfied and proud. We become prosperous and successful in the world’s eyes. Life becomes easy to manage; we do not face difficulties regularly, and we believe that we can handle things on our own. We do not need the Lord. This leads to arrogance and self-reliance; we become prayerless, spiritually apathetic, and disinterested in God and His Word.

Second, having become prideful and callous, we grow curious in the wisdom of the world, less discerning of the truth and, instead, more keen on the ways which seem right to men. Before long, we are eating the fruit of their lies — we must have what they have, we must look like they look, we must listen to, follow, and watch what they do. We must believe what they do and put down the archaic beliefs of our past.

Finally, after we have wandered away from the faith, we begin cultivating wickedness and raising a crop of sins. It starts small, but we are good at hiding things from others. Then, the path leads us to bigger, more bold sins, but still we keep them out of sight. Before we know it, we have committed acts that we would have never dreamed of, not realizing how far the enemy has taken us.

Daily Reflection

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever allowed your heart to become hardened ground, so brittle that no one, not even God, could get your attention? How did it happen? How long did it take? How far did it take you?

The Lord gives you the solution to a hard- ened heart — plow it up! Always keep your soil loose and fresh, so that the Lord can plant seeds of righteousness, shower you with His kindness, and reap a harvest of love. But, this is easier said than done. How do you do this? What does this look like?

BiAY.org | Day 178 — 187 Days to Go