Greetings to you all greatly beloved of God and welcome to another episode of our daily study of the Scriptures. We bless the name of the Lord God for the gift of life and for His benefits on us each new day. Praise be to God! Happy Sunday to you all!
In our today’s episode 592, we shall be examining Hosea Chapter 9 titled:
Let The Reason You Are Celebrating Harvest Be To The Glory Of God
It is a normal thing to rejoice and celebrate when you experience a season of harvest either as a farmer dealing with crops or animals or as a businessman who has just experienced a season of profit boom. It is expected that you celebrate it. You deserve it.
However, in the case of the people of Israel, they were rejoicing and celebrating their season of harvest of corn to the god of baal. This implies they did it for the wrong reason and ascribed the glory to the wrong god.
And this singular act of idolatry brought upon them serious consequences as listed in verses 2-16 of chapter 9. The Prophet told them about how they would end their lives in captivity of Egypt and Assyria.
One major thing they have forgotten is that it is God who teaches us to profit, who leads us by the way we should go (Isaiah 48:17) and the moment we are experiencing that season of profitability, we must learn to return all glory to God and worshipping Him with our substance. We must learn to remember those in need too, because God blessed us so we can serve as a source of blessings to others and not to be worshipping idols.
Everything we become in life happens because of God’s grace. Remember the Bible says in Phil 2:13 that For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Your pleasure should be towards God. It should be a Godlike pleasure not a worldly pleasure.
It is sad to note that many people who experience seasons of harvest or profitability in their lives tend to engage in various forms of unworthy acts such as:
Getting extra wife.
Revisiting long abandoned court case to proof superiority.
Hijacking another person’s wife or husband.
Throwing unnecessary parties.
Buying ostentatious goods they do not need, to please or impress people who do not even know they exist.
A typical example is the prodigal son who mismanaged his resources but later came back to his senses. Luke 15:11-32
Note: You can drop in the comment section other ways by which some people mismanage their resources during the season of boom in an ungodly way…
Every believer must learn how to recognize God’s providence, give glory to Him, especially when we experience surplus or financial abundance. During this period, there is always the tendency or temptation to misbehave thinking we have arrived. Again, this is where a renewed mind sees things differently. A renewed mind sees what he has not as his own but to serve God and humanity.
Let’s read the Words of Jesus below:
The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’ Matt 25:40 GNT
You are indeed serving and worshipping God when you take care of humanity around you and you put a smile on their faces. When you are the reason someone is happy, then you have fulfilled God’s requirement of taking care of God as mentioned by Jesus Himself in Matt 25:40. Note that every human being is an extension of God on earth (Gen 1:26-27). If you hurt them, you are hurting God and if you take care of any of them, you are taking care of God and there is a great reward for that.
The Israelites celebrated their harvest, profit, substance, etc on the altar of baal (Hosea 9:1). Many people are celebrating their increase on the altar of sin. The question is, on which altar are you celebrating your increase? Remember, Samson celebrated his own strength on the lap of a woman. King David celebrated his increase in power and prominence by impregnating another man’s wife and committing murder in the process. The list is long, but one thing is common to all these people, they faced serious consequences.
As a child of God, we must not celebrate sin or rejoice in disobedience. Sin brings sorrow and the result is destructive. This was the very reason God kept on sending His prophets to the people of Israel and Judah warning them about the grave consequences of living in sin. Hosea Chapter 9 was one of them which was directed to the Jews. Now God is using this message to minister to your too.
Will you read and obey, or you will jettison the Word of God and continue with your life as usual? The ball is in your court.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed.
Let’s pray:
I want to pray with those who are hurting right now as a result of man’s actions in one way or the other, I declare they are comforted and healed from every hurt and heartbreak, in Jesus name.
Whoever is trying to prove superiority over you and planning to harm you, their efforts over you will fail and you will always escape from every harm, in Jesus name.
I declare a season of unlimited harvest and irreversible increase in all good things upon your life and family. You will not experience lack, you will have more than enough and serve God and humanity with your substance, in Jesus name.
Before this year runs to an end, the Lord God will put a joyful song in your mouth to sing and you will continue to have every good reason to praise God, in Jesus name. Amen.
Bible Readings For Today: John Chapters 13, 14 & 15 with Psalm 140
I call you blessed now and always.
Sunday November 15, 2020 (DDMI)
