Hosea Chapter 10

Scripture Reading:  Read Hosea Chapter 10. 

Planting Wickedness:

Hosea 10:12-13a – Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.  But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. (NIV)

The words of Hosea here sound very familiar to something that we read from the Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (NIV)  This is a theme that runs throughout the bible.  You cannot expect to experience the goodness of God if you plant the seeds of wickedness throughout your life. 

Israel, especially in the northern kingdom Hosea is prophesying to, experiences the wretched results of sin. Israel indeed experiences judgment and devastation because of its commitment to wickedness. This devastation of sin reminds me of a young woman I met through our church years ago; she was struggling to reconcile God's love with the awful things other people had done to her.  You could see the devastation in her life that came from a commitment to wickedness, her sin, and the sins of others. 

But praise the Lord for the incredible promise we see in this passage.  If we seek the Lord and plow up the hard ground of our hearts and allow God to plant seeds of righteousness within us, we will experience a harvest of God’s love and goodness.  That same young woman I spoke to has recently turned to Jesus in faith, has even been baptized, and is growing in her faith.  Though she has experienced the devastation of sin in her life, she will now experience the gracious goodness of our God.

Reflection:  Are you planting seeds of righteousness or seeds of wickedness?