Hosea 10:12-15 Mediation

12 Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate];
Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness.
Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing]
Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.
13 
You have plowed and planted wickedness, you have reaped the [willful] injustice [of oppressors],
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way and your chariots, and in your many warriors,

14 
Therefore an uproar will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 
In this way it will be done to you at [idolatrous] Bethel because of your great wickedness;
At daybreak the king of Israel will be completely cut off. (Hosea 10:12-15 AMP)


This is a massive passage, it sucks my heart with a principle. V12 God is telling us to seek Him diligently and don't be discourage or distracted. Here is truly telling us a principle to seek God and not give up because there is a season of testing. God purposely will hide Himself and test us in a season of dryness, a season of hard ground, a season where it seems like He has not heard our prayers. That is the exact season where God is revealing our true intention of going after Him. Are we in it because we are after the gifts the blessings. If we face a wall of difficulty and a lacking of answers what will we do? When cannot feel His presence and understand His words what will we do? When we ask for blessings and it seem like heaven is brass and nothing is working out what will we do? Many giants of faith shared their testimony of their first few years of ministry are usually completely opposite of what they imagined. When they seek for healing and believe for it, they actually see more people die and perish. When they believe for financial and growth in congregation they actually see the opposite of what they pray for. What will we do in times of crisis? Here God tells us: My son! you are sowing seeds! You are breaking up the uncultivated ground the fallow ground! You are going against the current and going against the atmosphere the darkness you're in. The resistance and the difficulties are only for a season. They are their like the placement test to filter out the cowards, the proud, the self-seeking, the comfort lovers. Only those who are really hungry and sincere and pass this first placement test, this filter to enter in to the call of God! The point is diligently seek God and not count the time and the days. Just go for it for a decade and loose count of your time period of when God will answer you. Young people try giving God the best 10 years of your life and not turn back and not ask for refund. You're in for the long hall, you're in for the long term investment. Because God guarantees us the reward will be extreme great, now the return interest rate is at the highest, but we must invest in the long hall. Give yourself to the word of God for 20 years. Give yourself to a life of prayer and humility for 20 years, then you'll begin to see truly greatness and blessings are for those who sow in righteousness, because you will reap in mercy favor and the bright kindness that shines down from His face.

The opposite of people who respond rightly to the makers are those Christians who instead of seeking and walking in humble surrender they gave in to the strength of their own abilities. We can serve God and be a minister and grow the church with our natural ability and wisdom. Here it says verse 13 you are plowing and planting wickedness when you are trusting your own way and your own chariots (meaning crafty tech, and the ways of the world) and your many warriors (all friends that are into their own strength). The whole point of the Christian walk is to depend upon Christ. To count all things as loss, your PHD, your title, your many, your this and that, and come to Him from ground zero. Absolute nothing like dirt, and says God I can do nothing for you, I can offer you nothing but a broken and a surrender life, Master lead me and teach me. Without this rightful humble attitude we are operating from the arms of the flesh. And the flesh will only beget flesh, it will never win the favor from heaven. It will never result in revival and outpouring of the power of God. And it can never will the battle against sin. Our flesh and its sinful nature is utterly wicked and deceitful, the place for it is the cross. We are to forsake all to lean upon Christ, to trust completely upon Him. Even our talents we are to lay it at the alter and say, God use me in your ways. All I can do is to surrender to you. All I want is your workings through me. This day and age human secularism has infiltrated the church and filled the pulpit of the world, we grow our church with methods, we lead our prayer meetings with human ideas. This is exactly what Satan wanted a church that exalt men above Christ. This is the very nature of antichrist, against the anointing of Messiah! The Spirit and the flesh is at war within and without! That is the difference between Saul and David. The two leaders and the two kings that are opposite. Either one house will increase and the other diminish. Our walk with God is the same. We must grow to become that mature sonship being constantly governed and led by the Spirit and letting the flesh get out of the way. The worldly system is operated by self, by human ideology and pride. Jesus our King demonstrated what a Son should look like, what the purpose of man is, and how we can walk as humans on the earth as originally intended by God. A life surrendered, not my will be done, but yours. It is the full blessed life, a life that is emptied, of self a life possessed by God. I want to suggest that at the fruits of lies is the spirit of the age, which is human secularism. As long as this lie rule us, we will continue to sleep and not experience the awakening force of the Kingdom. We will not need to pray fast and depend on the Power of Christ. We must awaken and turn all force to cast our strength upon Christ. He is our only hope and answer, not science not our ability. It is only Him that all things shall accomplished. This should be the basis of our daily walk and services for God.

God truly condemn that works of self, as you can see it perverts Bethel, which led to its destruction. Bethel suppose to be the place of the house of God, the place where Jacob encounter the supernatural help of Heaven and establish a nation not by His strength, yet by God's mighty hand. You see the point of Jacob's life is to depend on Holy Spirit, and give up his strength, that's why God touched his thigh. Have we been touched by God in such level, that we learn we are crippled, that we learn to depend? It is a blessing to be disciplined. It is a blessing to be broken by God, so we will not run around with our ideas and strength like Jacob once was. But we will learned as created beings are rightful place is to lean. Lean upon our beloved walking upon the wilderness as the psalmist says.  The judgement is to cut off the king of Israel that Saul was once too. It means to cut off our rightful inheritance and God's favor and authority in our lives. If we continue to sow in the flesh, at one point we loose what we have in God. This is a severe warning for us to stop living a life by our own management skills, our own planning and own endeavor, but come before God daily and says, what is your plan, what do you want me to do. God how can I please you today.

I'm encouraged by this passage of such promise, to sow in this season. No matter the circumstances no matter the situation, no matter the people around, no matter your struggle within. God is asking us to sow in righteousness. To do the things we know we ought to do whether is a life of prayer, dig into the word of God, whether is fasting and giving. We must dig deeper and deeper, build that solid foundation which His favor and glory will come. And we believe sooner or later God will pour out His mighty Spirit to bless those who hunger and endure till the end. God we are here for you. We will wait till you come!

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