Today’s passage: Hosea 13
Helpful thoughts:
- Ephraim went from a people who made others tremble, to being compared with morning dew, chaff, and smoke. This was the fruit of their idolatry.
- Believing in something does not make it real. Being real is what makes something real. There is only one God.
- In the midst of these questions and assertions concerning the judgment of Ephraim/Israel, the reader is reminded that God holds power over even death and the grave. (1 Corinthians 15:50-56)
Questions to consider:
- What starts to happen when we forget who God is (Perhaps thinking less of Him) and what He has done for us? How does a lower view of God affect our view of ourselves?
- Why is Christianity the only correct view in this world? Why is it right to hold to our faith exclusively?
- In what way is verse 14 used differently in Hosea 13 and in 1 Corinthians 15? Which one looks like it is used to reinforce reason for judgment? Which one looks like it is used to reinforce reason for hope and victory? What truth is consistent in both uses?