Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

Hosea

Hosea 
Day 
Day 143

"Surely I have become rich"

Text: Hosea 12:8

WEALTH HAS ITS OWN DANGERS

The desire to be wealthy seems to be found in the human heart from the earliest times. Israel was not spared from the desire to become rich. There were hidden dangers that came with wealth.

“And Ephraim said,
‘Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labours
They shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.'”
Hosea 12:8

1. “And Ephraim said”

a) This is a reference to Israel.
b) Ephraim was the leading tribe.

2. “I have become rich”

a) The focus was wealth.
b) There is no mistaking the following:
i) The sense of smugness.

ii) The pride and arrogance.

iii) The self-sufficiency.

iv) There is no reference to God at all.

v) There was no sense of gratitude to the Lord and His gracious blessing.

3. “I have found wealth for myself”

a) Israel prided in its own efforts.
b) It was as if they could have obtained wealth without the LORD’s help.

4. “In all my labours they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin”

a) Israel was declaring that it obtained wealth through righteousness.
b) There was a denial of sin or iniquity.
c) The spirit of arrogance stood out.

THE SOURCE OF WEALTH

God is not against riches or against wealthy people. We are reminded of the following text in the Book of Deuteronomy.

1. It was God who had blessed them with wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:11-17)

2. Without the Lord’s blessings they would have perished. (Deuteronomy 9:1-6)

3. Israel had no reason to boast in its righteousness. (Deuteronomy 9:6, 27)

Israel had no right to boast with reference to its spiritual state.