COV LIFE BLOG

Hosea 2:1-13 The Right Object of Our Worship

This is a very interesting aspect of the human condition. Our refusal to give credit where credit is due when it comes to all that God does for us.

And for me, this was a fresh insight that I had into the nature of our idolatry. It’s not just that we are idolaters, but that our idolatry manifests itself in INGRATITUDE. And why is that? Because every religion outside of Christianity is fundamentally a “do” religion. It is about doing what you need to do in order to get from your deity whatever it is you want.

But it’s not just ingratitude to God according to these verses – it is TRANSFERRING gratitude to your counterfeit god – that’s of the essence of idolatry. It’s not that you don’t give thanks at all – it’s that you give thanks to something or someone other than God.

Why is it that? Because you are WIRED for worship. That’s what Romans 1 teaches. It says that worship is not an ACTIVITY – worship is your IDENTITY. So you are not WORSHIP-NEUTRAL. You’re either worshipping and praising and giving thanks to the true and living God, or you’re worshipping and praising and giving thanks to your false god. You’re making offerings on the altar to your true God through your behaviors, through what you say and do, through what you think, or to your false god.

Listen: YOUR IDOLS DO NOT LOVE YOU! They hate you. Not only are they unable to save you from whatever it is you dread – loneliness, being a loser, being ugly, failure, discomfort – not only are they UNABLE to save you, they are UNWILLING to. They don’t want to save you; they want to destroy you.

So you need to remember this – you need to remember that the Lord will love you no matter what. He will marshal all of his omnipotence to do good to you. He will do whatever it takes to keep you as his wife…because he loves you. He is not like your hateful idols who only accept you if you continually perform up to snuff. If the Lord woos you AS A PROSTITUTE his love for you CAN’T possibly be conditioned upon your performance!

Jesus became filthy to make you his beautiful bride. This is the love that he woos you with in the wilderness. God’s amazing love for prostitutes like you (and me). Love that crushes every idol and overcomes every lover. Amen.

R.W. Glenn

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Heart Preparation
Read Hosea 2:1-13. Consider the areas of your life where you are tempted to transfer gratitude and worship to other lovers (yourself, your possessions, your glory). How can you kill this sin and give proper worship to the rightful object of your worship, the one true God?