I Think You Made Him Mad . . .

By Matt

I read: Hosea 5-8

These four chapters of Hosea could be summarized with one statement: our God who is slow to anger is pissed. Israel has sinned mightily: jumping in bed with false gods and carven idols, totally neglecting the one who brought them out of Egpyt and protects them to this day. Basically, it's four chapters of that kind of rant. It's kind of a weird section because there's not a lot to gain since it's just God outlining very clearly and with much detail how unfaithful Israel (and Judah too) have been. Maybe the lesson is this: God can and will get mad if you're not faithful. And if that's the case, expect consequences. But, and I'm interested to see how this will pan out in Hosea, he will be the first to welcome you back with open arms when you realize and proclaim how stupid you've been.

Unrelated to this set of chapters, but completely related to 1-3, check out the song "Beloved" by the band Tenth Avenue North. I am absolutely loving this song and it's a great, great adaptation of the ideas from Hosea and even some from Song of Songs that complete the analogy of husband:wife::God:us. You can probably hear it on their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/tenthavenuenorth