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Daily Devotions

Hosea

Hosea 
Day 
Day 15

"Their mother has played the harlot"

Text: Hosea 2:5

DEPARTURE TO IDOLATROUS WAYS

Israel’s departure to idolatry began from the reign of King Solomon. The following facts were chronicled in 1 Kings 11.

1. Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians (1 Kings 11:5a).

2. And after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:5b).

3. Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab (1 Kings 11:7).

4. And for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon (1 Kings 11:7).

5. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods (1 Kings 11:8).

HOW IDOLATRY CAN WARP THE HEART AND MIND

Why did Israel turn to idols though the LORD had proven Himself over and over again as their true and faithful God? Hosea noted how sin had warped the heart and mind of idolatrous Israel.

“For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has behaved shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.'”
Hosea 2:5

1. “For their mother has played the harlot”

a) Idolatry was compared to harlotry.
b) Israel who had borne children had behaved shamefully.
c) Her heart and mind turned to worship idols instead of the LORD.

2. “For she said”

a) Her words reflected what she thought in her mind.
b) Her word also reflected how she felt in her heart.

3. “I will go after my lovers”

a) The word “lovers” was a reference to idols.
b) The idols that Solomon worshipped were the same idols that latter generations venerated.
c) They added more deities with the passing of the years.
d) The nation’s heart and mind were badly warped by sin.

4. “Who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink”

a) Israel’s heart and mind were on things material and physical.
b) There was little or no thought about things that really mattered.
i) Things that were spiritual.
ii) Things that were eternal.