Daily Archive

Hosea now reaches the climax of this chapter in Hosea 9:17. He writes, “My God will cast them away, because they did not obey Him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.” Notice here that Hosea does not say, “Your God.” He says, “My God.” What a change. What a dramatic thing to say. God has just declared that He is no longer their God and they are no longer His people. He has cast them away.

As awful as this is please do not forget that this is what the people wanted, but they had no idea what it would mean to be given what they wanted. They were living in ignorance, forgetting Him, polluting His worship, rejecting His blessings, mocking His Word and His prophets. They knew the truth and suppressed it. And their disobedience leads to this – God has let them go.

The question for us to consider now is this – can something like this happen to a believer? Can we as a Christian fall so far into sin that we end up being cast away from God? Here is what God says, “4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5). We have been adopted as sons. Hebrews 13:5-6 adds this, “5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

The nation of Israel broke the Old Covenant. Their disobedience resulted in this judgment. And so God sent His Son to establish a New Covenant, a better covenant, a covenant in which He Himself has kept the requirements and given His obedience to us by faith through the imputation of His righteousness to our account.

Now, although we will still suffer temporal consequences for our sin and the loss of treasure in heaven (which all would be cast back at the feet of Jesus), we have this hope – we are secure in Christ, and we have boldness knowing the Lord is my helper – what can man do to me? That includes myself!

We must be reminded how serious sin is and we must understand that sin will affect our relationship and our walk with the Lord. But Romans 8 is our answer. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.