Hosea 12 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 12.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/12/1/s_874001

Meditate on verses 1a and 8.

Ephraim feeds on wind, and pursues

 the east wind continually;

 he multiplies lies and violence.

And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich;

 I have found wealth for myself. 

In all my labors, they will find in me

 no iniquity which would be sin.”

Ephraim (Israel) was so delusional in their sin they convinced themselves they weren’t sinning (v. 8). God said they were feeding on wind, and as their pride and wealth increased, God condemned them for multiplying their violence and lies (vs. 1, 8, 14).

On what are you feeding? Satan and the world want you to feed on a continual diet of wind, leaving you unfulfilled and longing for more because what you are devouring is actually nothingness. God wants to fill you with His divine power, which gives you everything you need for life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Stop eating the wind by devouring Christ and His Word.

Man shall not live on bread alone,

 but on EVERY Word that proceeds

out of the mouth of God.

—Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4

Pray God’s Word from Hosea 12:1 and 6 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, do not let ________ and me feed on wind

and pursue the east wind any longer.

Please stop our multiplication of lies and violence.

 Our covenant is with You, LORD!

 We return to You, our God. 

Help us observe kindness and justice

 and wait for You continually.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Hosea 11 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 11.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/11/1/s_873001

Meditate on verses 8-9.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?

How can I surrender you, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart is turned over within Me;

 all My compassions are kindled.

I will not execute My fierce anger;

I will not destroy Ephraim again.

 For I am God and not man,

the Holy One in your midst,

and I will not come in wrath.

Oh, the steadfast love of God! Oh, the incomprehensible compassion of the Almighty! Oh, His forgiveness and mercy! Oh, His unquenchable desire for His people to know Him!

Perhaps God’s unending pursuit of His rebellious children leaves you shaking your head. Yet, it is His determination to not give-up on Israel— and you—and me—that drives Him to the cross to pay the price for mankind’s sinful rebellion. Incredible!

Come humbly and gratefully to the LORD, thanking Him for all He has done and is doing for you and those you love by praying the words from Hosea 11:3-4 and 9-10 as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, thank You for teaching ________ and

me how to walk with You.  Thank You for taking

us in Your arms and for healing us. 

Thank You for leading us with the bonds of Your love. 

Thank You for lifting the yoke from our jaws

 and for bending down to feed us.  Thank You for not executing

 Your fierce anger and for not destroying us. 

You are God, the Holy One in our midst, and

You will not come against us in wrath.

 We will walk after You, LORD, and

You will roar like a lion.  Indeed, You will roar.

And we will come trembling before You, in Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Hosea 10 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 10.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/10/1/s_872001

Meditate on verses 12-13.

Sow with a view to righteousness, reap

 in accordance with kindness;

break up your fallow ground,

for it is time to seek the LORD

until He comes to rain righteousness on you. 

You have plowed wickedness;

 you have reaped injustice;

You have eaten the fruit of lies.

 Because you have trusted in your way,

 in your numerous warriors.

Israel used God’s fertile blessings to produce fruit for herself rather than fruit for God (v. 1). As she continued to selfishly plow and harvest, she became more and more wicked, eating the fruit of the lies of self- sufficiency and self-made success (v. 13). God said, “Enough!” But rather than destroy her completely, He harnessed her with His yoke and gave her the opportunity to harvest righteousness rather than injustice (vs. 12-13).

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

 for I am gentle and humble in heart,

 and you will find rest for your souls.”

—Matthew 11:29

Ask God to show you areas where you are plowing with a view of yourself, rather than a view of God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. Get in the yoke with God and pray Hosea 10:11-12 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, harness ____________ and me with Your yoke.

 Let us sow with a view to righteousness and

reap in accordance with kindness. 

Break up our fallow ground, for it is time to seek You, LORD!

 Come and rain righteousness on us!

For the glory of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Hosea 9 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 9.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/9/1/s_871001

Meditate on verse 9.

They have gone deep in depravity

 as in the days of Gibeah;

He will remember their iniquity;

He will punish their sins.

What a sad chapter in God’s Word! Ephraim (one of the twelve tribes of Israel and a name for the northern kingdom of Israel in Hosea¹) had been a watchman and a prophet with the LORD (v. 8). Tragically, the people got full of themselves and full of sin; the results were devastating—the death of their children, hated by God, and wandering among the nations (vs. 10-17).

As you ponder these difficult truths from Hosea 9, thank God for the salvation He gives you through Jesus Christ. Do not take lightly His everlasting love for you. Purpose in your heart to hate sin like God does because trivializing and toying with it results in devastation.

Pray to be the opposite of Hosea 9:8-9 and 17 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, keep ________ and me with You as Your

 faithful watchmen and prophets.

Keep us from the snare of a bird catcher.

 Remove hostility from Your house, God.

Keep us from deep depravity.  Forgive

our iniquity and do not remember it. 

Keep us from sin and its punishment.

 Do not cast us away. Make us listen

 to You.  Keep us from wandering.

In Your name, Jesus~”

1. Retrieved from www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H669&t=NASB

Hosea 8 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 8.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/8/1/s_870001

Meditate on verse 7.

For they sow the wind, and they reap the whirlwind. 

The standing grain has no heads; it yields no grain. 

Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.

Notice how deceived Israel is. They cry out to God claiming to know Him, yet they do not know God at all. They choose their own kings, appoint their own princes, make their own idols, and completely forget their Maker (vs. 2, 4, 14). Blatant rebellion against God results in being swallowed by their enemies (v. 8).

Examine your life. Do you profess to know God, crying out to Him from time to time, yet you make your own plans, do your own thing, and live your own life without really giving much thought to your Maker? That kind of lifestyle results in reaping a whirlwind instead of a bountiful crop of life-giving grain (v. 7).

Confess areas of pride and self-sufficiency and pray Hosea 8:7-8 and 11-14 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, _________ and I have sown the wind

 and reaped the whirlwind.

Please forgive us.  Please let us yield grain,

 and do not let strangers swallow it up. 

LORD, do not let us be swallowed up! 

Do not let us multiply altars for sin.

 You have written ten thousand precepts of

Your law for us; may we not regard

 them as a strange thing.  Please forgive our sins

 and do not remember our iniquity. 

Though we deserve it, please do not

punish us for our sins.  Let us never

 forget You, our Maker.  Please do not consume us.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Hosea 7 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 7.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/7/1/s_869001

Meditate on verse 12.

When they go, I will spread My net over them;

I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.

 I will chastise them in accordance

with the proclamation to their assembly.

Observe God’s intimate involvement with Israel. He never takes His eyes off of her. He knows all her evil, wicked deeds, yet He desires to heal her (v. 1). In disobedience, the people seek help from Egypt, Assyria—anyone— except the One who can actually bring deliverance (vs. 10-11). God wants to redeem; they continue to rebel. God’s persevering pursuit of Israel is incredibly amazing.

Miraculously, He pursues you and your loved ones with the same dogged determination. Take that truth to heart as you pray for those running from the LORD. Hosea 7 gives you lots of Scripture to pray over them as their faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7). Prayers formed from Hosea 7:10-16 are printed below.

“LORD, the pride of __________ testifies against them,

yet they have not returned to You,

 nor have they sought You.

 They are like a silly dove without sense.

 Spread Your net over them;

bring them down like the birds of the sky.

 Chastise them in order to save them! 

They have strayed from You; destruction

is theirs, for they have rebelled against You.

 Redeem them, LORD!  Let them stop

 speaking lies against You!  Make them cry to You

 from their heart when they wail on their beds. 

Make them stop turning away from You!

 Please train and strengthen their arms;

do not let them devise evil against You.

 May they turn upward;

do not let them be deceitful. 

Remove from them an insolent tongue. 

For the sake of Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Hosea 6 - Praying God's Word

Please read Hosea 6.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/hos/6/1/s_868001

Meditate on verse 1.

Come, let us return to the LORD. 

For He has torn us,

but He will heal us;

 He has wounded us,

 but He will bandage us.

Oh, the joy that comes with restoration! God’s goal is always restoration. He gave His life for the purpose of restoring your relationship with Him. Do not let the liar and father of lies (John 8:44) deceive you into believing you have sinned so badly and are so far from God there is no hope for you. Hosea is all about God loving and restoring the hopeless. Just look at the words He uses in the first three verses of this chapter:

·      heal

·      bandage

·      revive

·      raise up

·      live

·      press on

·      going forth

·      come to

·      spring rain watering

Only God could offer such hope to those of us who have transgressed and dealt treacherously against Him (v. 7).

Pray Hosea 6:1-3 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-3).

“LORD, __________ and I come and return to You. 

You have torn us, but You will heal us. 

You have wounded us, but You will bandage us. 

You will revive us after two days;

 You will raise us up on the third day,

 that we may live before You.

  Let us press on to know You, LORD. 

Your going forth is as certain as the dawn,

 and You will come to us like the rain,

 like the spring rain watering the earth.

Water us in Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell