Hosea 2:8–9: “For she did not know / That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, / And multiplied her silver and gold— / Which they prepared for Baal. / Therefore I will return and take away / My grain in its time / And My new wine in its season, / And will take back My wool and My linen, / Given to cover her nakedness.”

October 25th, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The people of Israel were experiencing good times. They had plenty of grain, wine, and oil, but they were failing to recognize the true source of those blessings. The New Testament Book of James reminds us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (1:17). The average person today might counter this claim by saying, “But wait a minute; didn’t these people go out and plow the field, plant the seeds, and gather the harvest?” Or they might say, “I’ve worked hard for what I have. I applied my intellect and have prospered because of my shrewd business sense.” But in the first argument, God supplied the rain and sunshine, and in the second, He gave the health, intellect, and strength to even get out of bed to go earn or invest.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon must have possessed a tremendous intellect since he is said to have both designed and built 1 of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. And yet we read in the book of Daniel how the king arrogantly exclaimed one day, “Isn’t this all the work of my hands?” God heard and took him out to the woodshed of insanity for 7 years. After eating grass and growing hair and fingernails like an animal, he finally looked up and confessed that God alone gives power to whomever He will. There is no such thing as a self-made person. Anything profitable that anyone possesses is in fact only theirs by the grace of God.

“LORD, we openly confess to You that You alone deserve our worship and praise since we are all like sheep that have gone astray, everyone to his own way.”