Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 11.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+11&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath.
10 They will walk after the LORD,
He will roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar
And His sons will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
And like doves from the land of Assyria;
And I will settle them in their houses, declares the LORD.

12 Ephraim surrounds Me with lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
Judah is also unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.”  Hosea 11:8-12.

———————

Israel (a/k/a Ephraim) was unfaithful, but God was faithful.

Israel was bent on turning from God (verse 7), but God was bent on turning to Israel.

There is great hope for us in today’s Scripture.  We may be unfaithful, but God is faithful.  We may wander from God, even rebel for a while against God, but God is faithful and will preserve His elect.

Article 3.  By reason of these remains of indwelling sin, and the temptations of sin and of the world, those who are converted could not persevere in a state of grace, if left to their own strength.  But God is faithful, who having conferred grace, mercifully confirms, and powerfully preserves them herein, even to the end.  FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Perseverance of the Saints of Canons of Dordt.

“… God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13.

“… you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:7-9.

“O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.”  Psalm 89:8.

“O LORD, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have worked wonders,
Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”  Isaiah 25:1.

“But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.  For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him.  For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes;  therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.  Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.”  2 Corinthians 1:18-21.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 10.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+10&version=NASB

I quote only the following verse.

“Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”  Hosea 10:12.

———————–

As we seek the LORD to understand and know Him and His works, our faith is built up in the LORD, and we are sowing with a view to righteousness.

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
Who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were hewn
And to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 “Look to Abraham your father
And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain;
When he was but one I called him,
Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”  Isaiah 51:1-2.

“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.  For what does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  …  Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;  yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.  Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.”  Romans 4:1-3 and 19-22.

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.  For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness.  But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows:  “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”  But what does it say?  “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”  Romans 10:1-10.

And, as we grow in faith, we recognize that this righteousness is a gift of God.

“10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.”  Isaiah 61:10-11.

“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”  Romans 5:17.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 9.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+9&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“7 The days of punishment have come,
The days of retribution have come;
Let Israel know this!
The prophet is a fool,
The inspired man is demented,
Because of the grossness of your iniquity,
And because your hostility is so great.

…

17 My God will cast them away
Because they have not listened to Him;
And they will be wanderers among the nations.”  Hosea 9:7 and 17.

———————

Listening to God as used most often in Scripture includes more than superficial hearing;  listening includes heeding a/k/a obeying God.

The consequences of not listening to God in today’s Scripture leads us to meditate on some verses in Scripture about the importance of listening to God.

“22 Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy truth, and do not sell it,
Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who sires a wise son will be glad in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.”  Proverbs 23:22-25.

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:  the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I am commanding you today;  and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.”  Deuteronomy 11:26-28.

“17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
18 “If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your well-being would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand,
And your offspring like its grains;
Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”  Isaiah 48:17-19.

“Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One;  listen to Him!”  Luke 9:35.

Finally, it is a gift and a blessing from God to truly listen (hear, understand, and return to God)

“Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.  For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance;  but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables;  because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, because they see;  and your ears, because they hear.”  Matthew 13:11-16.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 8.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+8&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“8 Israel is swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a vessel in which no one delights.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.
10 Even though they hire allies among the nations,
Now I will gather them up;
And they will begin to diminish
Because of the burden of the king of princes.”  Hosea 8:8-10.

————————

We think that diversity is the best virtue.  We think that every doctrine and every religion have equal validity.  We want to be like every other people and nation.

But, God concluded that although Israel was now among the nations, “Israel is swallowed up”.

Israel lost its distinctiveness as the people of God who followed God’s law.

Such diversity was the cause of Israel’s downfall and can be the cause of our downfall.

“8 Israel is swallowed up;
They are now among the nations
Like a vessel in which no one delights.
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has hired lovers.” Verses 8-9.

“Now this came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons of Israel, and in the customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.  The sons of Israel did things secretly which were not right against the Lord their God.  Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city.  They set for themselves sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them;  and they did evil things provoking the Lord.  They served idols, concerning which the Lord had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”  Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.”  However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God.  They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them.  And they followed vanity and became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which the Lord had commanded them not to do like them.”  2 Kings 17:7-15.

“14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers;  for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For we are the temple of the living God;  just as God said,

“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
18 “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.”  2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

Instead of trying to be like everybody else, we should embrace the fact that we are distinctive, “a peculiar people” in the King James Version language.  We are God’s people whom He has chosen to be His people upon whom alone He has lavished the riches of His grace in Christ Jesus.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;  that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”  1 Peter 2:9.  King James Version.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 7.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+7&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“10 Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet they have not returned to the LORD their God,
Nor have they sought Him, for all this.
11 So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without sense;
They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
12 When they go, I will spread My net over them;
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.
14 And they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves,
They turn away from Me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me.
16 They turn, but not upward,
They are like a deceitful bow;
Their princes will fall by the sword
Because of the insolence of their tongue.
This will be their derision in the land of Egypt.”  Hosea 7:10-16.

———————

Though our sins testify against us, there is hope!

Today’s Scripture gives us that hope through the use of the following phrases.  Although Israel (Ephraim) did not do these things, they are available to us to give us hope.

“Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,
Yet they have not returned to the LORD their God,
Nor have they sought Him, for all this.”  Verse 10.

“… I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.”  Verse 13.

“And they do not cry to Me from their heart …”  Verse 14.

“They turn, but not upward, …”  Verse 16.

God does grant repentance.  Therefore, through God’s grace, we can return to the LORD our God.  We can seek Him.  We can confess our sins and speak truthfully to God.  We can cry to God from our heart.  We can turn upward to God.

“I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord;  and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.”  Jeremiah 24:7.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 6.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+6&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Come, let us return to the LORD.
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
2 “He will revive us after two days;
He will raise us up on the third day,
That we may live before Him.
3 “So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth.”

4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud
And like the dew which goes away early.
5 Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.
6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,
And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”  Hosea 6:1-6.

————————–

“So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn …”  Verse 3.

“For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,
And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”  Verse 6.

“Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. ”  John 17:3.

But, let us know the LORD in truth and not in falsehood such as through our lazy, sinful preferences for idols of an image of God based on our desires.

“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;  for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.  God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  John 4:23-24.

“But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.”  Titus 2:1.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;  but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.  But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”  2 Timothy 4:3-5.

So, let us press on to know the LORD through diligently persevering in the use of the means of grace of preaching and teaching of pure sound doctrine and pure proper administration of sacraments at a true church.  “… The marks, by which the true Church is known, are these:  if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein;  if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ;  if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin:  in short, if all things are managed according to the pure Word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ acknowledged as the only Head of the Church.  Hereby the true Church may certainly be known, from which no man has a right to separate himself.  …” Article 9 of The Belgic Confession.

Let us also press on to know the LORD through diligently and accurately reading the Bible.  “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”  2 Timothy 2:15.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 5.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+5&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Hear this, O priests!
Give heed, O house of Israel!
Listen, O house of the king!
For the judgment applies to you,
For you have been a snare at Mizpah
And a net spread out on Tabor.
2 The revolters have gone deep in depravity,
But I will chastise all of them.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot,
Israel has defiled itself.
4 Their deeds will not allow them
To return to their God.
For a spirit of harlotry is within them,
And they do not know the LORD.
5 Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him,
And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also has stumbled with them.
6 They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.”

…

15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.
Hosea 5:1-6 and 15.

———————–

“They will go with their flocks and herds
To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him;
He has withdrawn from them.”  Verse 6.

It is the saddest experience to seek the LORD and not find Him.

The wicked will never find Him.

But, there are times even in the righteous’ life when the righteous sometimes lose the sense of God’s favor for a time as stated in the following Articles of Canons of Dordt, FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Perseverance of the Saints.

Article 5.  By such enormous sins, however, they very highly offend God, incur a deadly guilt, grieve the Holy Spirit, interrupt the exercise of faith, very grievously wound their consciences, and sometimes lose the sense of God’s favor, for a time, until on their returning into the right way of serious repentance, the light of God’s fatherly countenance again shines upon them.

But, there is hope!

Article 6.  But God, who is rich in mercy, according to his unchangeable purpose of election, does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from his own people, even in their melancholy falls;  nor suffers them to proceed so far as to lose the grace of adoption, and forfeit the state of justification, or to commit sins unto death;  nor does he permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge themselves into everlasting destruction.

Article 13.  Neither does renewed confidence or persevering produce licentiousness, or a disregard to piety in those who are recovering from backsliding;  but it renders them much more careful and solicitous to continue in the ways of the Lord, which he hath ordained, that they who walk therein may maintain an assurance of persevering, lest by abusing his fatherly kindness, God should turn away his gracious countenance from them, to behold which is to the godly dearer than life:  the withdrawing thereof is more bitter than death, and they in consequence hereof should fall into more grievous torments of conscience.

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.  Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin.  Selah.

…

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”  Psalm 32:1-5 and 10-11.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 4.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+4&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel,
For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness or kindness
Or knowledge of God in the land.
2 There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky,
And also the fish of the sea disappear.

4 Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof;
For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
5 So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.

7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
8 They feed on the sin of My people
And direct their desire toward their iniquity.
9 And it will be, like people, like priest;
So I will punish them for their ways
And repay them for their deeds.
10 They will eat, but not have enough;
They will play the harlot, but not increase,
Because they have stopped giving heed to the Lord.”  Hosea 4:1-10.

——————————

One would think that because of the shocking guiltiness of the sins, there were be no statement of a seemingly innocent cause for the sins and the people’s destruction.

What more needs to said to justify the destruction of the people for their swearing, deception, murder, stealing, adultery, and violence?!

“There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.”  Verse 2.

And yet, we see repeated similar seemingly innocent cause for the sins and the people’s destruction.

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. …”  Verse 6.

“… they have stopped giving heed to the Lord.”  Verse 10.

“… So the people without understanding are ruined.”  Verse 14.

Therefore, lack of knowledge, although it may seem innocent, is not innocent.  It is the cause for sins and people’s destruction.

Even when there is a zeal for God, such zeal without knowledge is not sufficient for salvation.

“For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”  Romans 11:2-3.

Jesus said both in Matthew 15:9 and Mark 7:7:  ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

Jesus also stated in John 4:23-24:  “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth;  for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus also stated in John 16:13:  “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; …”

There are those who “did not receive the love of truth so as to be saved”.  2 Thessalonians 2:10-13.

Therefore, we should seek wisdom with all of our heart like one searches for hidden treasure.

“4 If you seek her (wisdom) as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.”  Proverbs 2:4-5.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again;  and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  Matthew 7:44.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”  Matthew 13:45-46.

If we are to so seek for wisdom with all of our heart like one who searches for hidden treasures, how much more should we seek the true doctrine of salvation with all of our heart!!!

Scripture warns us to not be complacent about our salvation.

“AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS ARE SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?”  1 Peter 4:18.

“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  Matthew 7:5.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14.

Other doctrine is a broad teaching that God loves everybody and Christ died for everybody and that it is up to man to decide whether he will be saved by works or wisdom or even just the will to be saved and that man can control providing what he thinks is necessary for salvation.

But, Reformed Doctrine is a narrow teaching that God loves only His elect and that Christ only died for God’s elect and it is only up only to God to provide all that is necessary for salvation.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:14.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 3.

“Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”  So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days.  You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man;  so I will also be toward you.”  For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols.  Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king;  and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.”  Hosea chapter 3.

——

Today’s Scripture illustrates the faithful and steadfast love of God and patience of God toward His elect.

Although God’s elect may be mired in sin, and even mired in enormous sins, for a long time, God will not destroy His elect.  Rather, God still loves His elect and is patient toward them.  “Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king;  and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.”  Verse 5.  Amazing!

“But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:7-9.

Consider the following from the Canons of Dordt in the section FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Perseverance of the Saints.

Article 5.  By such enormous sins, however, they very highly offend God, incur a deadly guilt, grieve the Holy Spirit, interrupt the exercise of faith, very grievously wound their consciences, and sometimes lose the sense of God’s favor, for a time, until on their returning into the right way of serious repentance, the light of God’s fatherly countenance again shines upon them.

Article 6.  But God, who is rich in mercy, according to his unchangeable purpose of election, does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from his own people, even in their melancholy falls;  nor suffers them to proceed so far as to lose the grace of adoption, and forfeit the state of justification, or to commit sins unto death;  nor does he permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge themselves into everlasting destruction.

Article 7.  For in the first place, in these falls he preserves them in the incorruptible seed of regeneration from perishing, or being totally lost;  and again, by his Word and Spirit, certainly and effectually renews them to repentance, to a sincere and godly sorrow for their sins, that they may seek and obtain remission in the blood of the Mediator, may again experience the favor of a reconciled God, through faith adore his mercies, and henceforward more diligently work out their own salvation with fear and trembling.

Today’s devotion comes from Hosea chapter 2.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+2&version=NASB

I quote only the following verse.

“2 “Contend with your mother, contend,
For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;
And let her put away her harlotry from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts,
3 Or I will strip her naked
And expose her as on the day when she was born.
I will also make her like a wilderness,
Make her like desert land
And slay her with thirst.
4 “Also, I will have no compassion on her children,
Because they are children of harlotry.
5 “For their mother has played the harlot;
She who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
6 “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns,
And I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
7 “She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,
For it was better for me then than now!’

…

14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Bring her into the wilderness
And speak kindly to her.
15 “Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 “It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me Ishi
And will no longer call Me Baali.
17 “For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.
18 “In that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land,
And will make them lie down in safety.
19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the LORD.”  Hosea 2:2-7 and 14-20.

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It is startling to read the sharp contrast between Israel’s harlotry against God and God’s betrothal of Israel.  Israel ran far away from her husband, God.  It would have been just and good enough for God to only punish Israel and then forsake Israel.  But, God ran toward Israel, caught her and allured her, and betrothed her.  As faithless as Israel was, God was more faithful.  Who responds and restores that way?!

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it;  and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  Jeremiah 31:33-34.

Other doctrine futilely tries to exalt man and humble God.

But, Reformed Doctrine, following Scripture, humbles man and exalts God.

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man;  though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:6-8.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7.