A Forgotten Maker

2/13/26 Bible Thought (Hosea 8)

Photo by Ryan Duncan-Kofman on Unsplash

Main Idea: A forgotten God will be of no help in judgment.

A Look at the Text:

In today’s chapter, we see so clearly that judgment was on the horizon for Israel. A trumpet was to be sounded because vultures were overhead, eager to devour (Hos. 8:1).

In response, God’s people cried out to Him—but their cries fell on deaf ears for they called to a God whom they did not know (Hos. 8:2). They had transgressed God’s covenant (Hos. 8:1). They had spurned the good (Hos. 8:2). As such, the enemy would pursue.

They went their own way. Setting up not only their own leaders (Hos. 8:4a) but their own gods (Hos. 8:4b). They forsook the living God of heaven for the products of men’s hands in the worship of golden calves in honor of Baal.

Their relationship, as we have seen throughout Hosea, was utterly estranged. God said if He were to write His law by the ten thousands, “They would be regarded as a strange thing (Hos. 8:12).

The people whom God ransomed from Egyptian slavery, who were purchased as His own, didn’t actually know Him at all. They had forgotten their Maker (Hos. 8:14a). As such, they would sadly return to Egypt—that is, to slavery (Hos. 8:13b).

Bringing it Home:

The Bible consistently presents a picture of a God who is gracious and merciful and who is slow to anger. Yet, a God who is slow to anger is also a God who does, in fact, get angry. With this, there is a coming day of judgment for the world just as there was for Israel.

It will not be enough to call out on judgment day. We need to be reconciled to the living God today. There will come a day when it will be too late. As in the days of Noah, the Lord will effectively shut the door to the ark.

Yet, at present, there is a window of time to find mercy before His wrath is poured out (see 2 Pet. 3:9).

The wrath of God is a concept that isn’t very popular in the twenty-first century. It seems outdated. However, we must remember that the wrath of God is merely an outworking of His holiness. He is both Creator and Judge, and He will judge justly.

The only hope is reconciliation. Israel was chosen out of the world by covenant. They were to be His people—a kingdom of priests and holy nation (Ex. 19:5-6). Yet, they had forsaken His covenant.

If we, as the ransomed people of God, have experienced a much greater salvation, let us never take this for granted.

We have been purchased by God (1 Cor. 6:20) with the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18-19). We have been freed, not from Egyptian slavery, but from slavery to sin (Rom. 6:6).

If we have experienced such a great deliverance, let us not forget our Maker and Redeemer and run after idols.

A day is coming when we will need to be found under the shadow of His wings—on that day, it is in mercy alone that we can hope.

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Challenge:

How highly do I value my salvation? Do I see the great cost that God paid to ransom me from my former ways?

Let us not forget our Maker by running off to replacements that cannot satisfy or save.