NL-Day253 Hosea 1-2; Proverbs 23:1-18; Matthew 4

Daily Bible Reading Podcast

HOSEA 1-2:We have already heard that God considers the sin of idolatry to be parallel and just as offensive as a wife being unfaithful to her husband. Hosea is told by God to actually live out this situation. He is told to marry Gomer, a prostitute. Through Hosea, God shows just how ready He is to restore and be reconciled with His wayward people. Hosea prophesied to the Northern kingdom during the same time that Amos, Isaiah, and Micah were prophesying in the Southern kingdom. This was during the reign of Jeroboam the 2nd. Hosea was not a professional prophet trained in a school for prophets, but an ordinary man. I imagine his ministry must have been very lonely.

PROVERBS 23a:The Book of Proverbs doesn’t always support that being rich is better. Consider v.4 in the NLT:

Pro. 23:4 Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich.Be wise enough to know when to quit.

MATTHEW 4:Yesterday we heard of the ministry of John the Baptist, and Matthew is the only Gospel that records Jesus’ reply to John, “This (baptizing me) should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.”

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.