The Source of Blessing
2/16/26 Bible Thought (Hosea 9)
Main Idea: Idols don’t meet needs.
A Look at the Text:
In Hosea 9, we see both the prophet and the Lord speaking. Yet, with two speakers, the message is the same. Once again, judgment is on the horizon for Israel because of their spiritual adultery.
The prophet cries out:
“Rejoice not, O Israel! Exult not like the peoples; for you have played the whore, forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute’s wages on all threshing floors” (Hos. 9:1).
They were cheating on the Most High with the inventions of man. To prove the utter folly of this, God would bring about failing crops as a result (Hos. 9:2). There would be no need for the threshing floor, for there would be no wheat to thresh. Likewise, without grapes, they would run out of wine. God was going to shut off the supply to prove a point.
The people credited the source of their blessedness with their idols (see Hos. 2:5). Baal promised provision and fertility. As a result, there would be no fruit in the land or the womb (Hos. 9:11). In their pursuit of Baal, Israel lost sight of the fact that all good things came from Yahweh’s hand.
God had assured the people of Israel that covenantal blessing would be tied to covenantal obedience (see Deuteronomy 28). While God chose them by His gracious initiative, they were to be reflective of Him as His distinct, holy people (see Ex. 19:6).
Yet, they failed Him again and again. In Hosea’s day, God’s watchmen, the prophets, were considered madmen and their words were rejected, even in God’s house (Hos. 9:8-9). Since their rejection of God was so clear, God was going to make the truth clear to them, too.
Bringing it Home:
I wonder how often we fail to give God the proper credit as Provider. Truly, He is the source of all blessedness in this life.
While we may not be guilty of idolatry in the same sense as the Israelites, it can be easy to misplace the credit for the things we enjoy in this life and to glory in the gifts rather than the Giver.
Yet, at the end of the day, it is God who blesses us. It is He who gives us breath in our lungs, energy in our being, gifts to use, work to do, and all the rest. Apart from Him, we are nothing.
It’s just a bit harder for us to see the reality of this, as we don’t depend upon rain by faith as they did in the days of Hosea. Nevertheless, He is the source. As the apostle James once made it so clear:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).
This doesn’t necessarily entail a life filled with material blessings to the tune of luxury cars or private jets. However, it does showcase that God, as our Heavenly Father, cares about us and will meet our needs (see Matt. 6:33; Phil. 4:19).
Challenge:
Do I ever credit the blessings of God to other sources?
If every good thing in our lives is a gift from Him, then let us be sure He gets the credit.