Reading from Tuesday, December 7

Merry Christmas Eve, friends.

Reading for December 7
Hosea 6:1-9:17
At the end of the last reading, God continued to lay out the awfulness that Israel has progressed to - emphasizing that parallel between Israel and a prostitute because of their consistent infidelity. He also lays out the punishment that will come upon them but - and this is important - he gives a reason for the punishment. God is comparing himself to a lion tearing apart Israel's prey- tearing them apart.

¹⁵ Then I will return to my lair
   until they have borne their guilt
   and seek my face—
in their misery
   they will earnestly seek me.”

Again, we see this message of forced humility that God imposes on his people, and so should we be reminded to humble ourselves. As individuals and as a nation. 

In this reading, we see that it has worked. At least for the writer of this book:

¹ “Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us to pieces
   but he will heal us;
he has injured us
   but he will bind up our wounds.

But we also see that God is not buying this new found love and admiration. He compares the Israelite's love to the morning dew - there for a short while and then gone. And he also goes into the idea that he wishes for people's hearts rather than ritual and going through the motions:

⁶ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
   and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

There is one more small but beautiful verse in this reading:

 ¹⁰ “When I found Israel,
   it was like finding grapes in the desert;

Think about being in a desert and finding fresh grapes. What rapturous happiness you would feel. How you would treasure that finding - this is how God felt when finding Israel. This is somewhat strange because God didn't actually "find" Israel. Maybe this means when he created Adam and Eve he felt this way. Interesting. 

3 John 1:1-14

This is another one-chapter-book. Instead of love, the writer focuses on goodness.

¹¹ Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

Pretty simple. But this brings up the question again - is morality a God-only idea? Can goodness only come from God? I don't think so. I do believe that anyone who truly believes in God and has "seen" him can only be good, but I don't think that type of goodness is exclusive to Christians.

What say you, readers?

Psalm 126:1-6
In the last few books of the Old Testament, we've heard a lot about the punishment God planned to unleash on his people. This psalm shows what happens when God turns back in favor of his people.

 ¹ When the LORD restored the fortunes of^[a] Zion,
   we were like those who dreamed.^[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
   our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
   “The LORD has done great things for them.”
³ The LORD has done great things for us,
   and we are filled with joy.  

Proverbs 29:12-14

 ¹² If a ruler listens to lies,
   all his officials become wicked.
 ¹³ The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
   The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.
 ¹⁴ If a king judges the poor with fairness,
   his throne will be established forever.