Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind

Date: Jun. 20, 2019

Passage

Hosea 8:1-14 (ESV)

1   Set the trumpet to your lips!
    One like a vulture is over the house of the LORD,
  because they have transgressed my covenant
    and rebelled against my law.
2   To me they cry,
    “My God, we—Israel—know you.”
3   Israel has spurned the good;
    the enemy shall pursue him.
4   They made kings, but not through me.
    They set up princes, but I knew it not.
  With their silver and gold they made idols
    for their own destruction.
5   I have spurned your calf, O Samaria.
    My anger burns against them.
  How long will they be incapable of innocence?
6   For it is from Israel;
  a craftsman made it;
    it is not God.
  The calf of Samaria
    shall be broken to pieces.
7   For they sow the wind,
    and they shall reap the whirlwind.
  The standing grain has no heads;
    it shall yield no flour;
  if it were to yield,
    strangers would devour it.
8   Israel is swallowed up;
    already they are among the nations
    as a useless vessel.
9   For they have gone up to Assyria,
    a wild donkey wandering alone;
    Ephraim has hired lovers.
10   Though they hire allies among the nations,
    I will soon gather them up.
  And the king and princes shall soon writhe
    because of the tribute.
11   Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning,
    they have become to him altars for sinning.
12   Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands,
    they would be regarded as a strange thing.
13   As for my sacrificial offerings,
    they sacrifice meat and eat it,
    but the LORD does not accept them.
  Now he will remember their iniquity
    and punish their sins;
    they shall return to Egypt.
14   For Israel has forgotten his Maker
    and built palaces,
  and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;
    so I will send a fire upon his cities,
    and it shall devour her strongholds.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 8:7

  For they sow the wind,
    and they shall reap the whirlwind.
  The standing grain has no heads;
    it shall yield no flour;
  if it were to yield,
    strangers would devour it.

1. An eagle is over the house of the Lord (1-6)

The eagle hovering over the house of the Lord represents Assyria, the instrument of God's judgment on the kingdom of Ephraim. The first king of Northern Israel, Jeroboam, had set up two calf idols. It was a repeat of the sin of the Israelites when they set up the golden calf at Mount Sinai. Since Jeroboam's time, Israel had gone through one king after the other, not seeking God's blessing. God would finally put an end to their idolatry himself by sending the Assyrians.

2. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind (7-14)

Living for sinful desires is like sowing the wind-throwing away all our God-given gifts and potential. Then, when the whirlwind of life strikes, we have no foundation to stand on. Ephraim had sowed the wind by giving herself to idolatry and to foreign powers. All that the nation had built would be consumed in the judgment. The sinful life is the most fruitless life.

Prayer: Father, help me learn the lessons of history and not repeat the sins of idolatry. Help me sow fruit that will last through genuine repentance.

One Word: Don't repeat the sins of the past

Go, Stand, and Tell the Words of Life

Acts 5:17-42

Key Verse: 5:20

“Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”

Today's Question

What does the beginning of the Lord's prayer teach us?

See answer and references