The God who keeps His promises to Israel will keep His promises to you.
Good morning. Today’s Bible verse is Hosea 1:11:
“Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!”
Through His prophets, God called Israel and Judah to turn from their idolatry and return to Him. But they refused, and the result was invasion, dispersion, and political upheaval. Yet even in judgment, God spoke a word of hope. Through Hosea, He promised that after disciplining Israel and Judah for their sin, He would restore them to the land and unite them under one King who would reign over all the land. As Hosea later writes, “Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days” (Hosea 3:5).
In this prophetic book, we see both God’s justice against sin and His mercy toward His people. Though Israel and Judah were punished and scattered, God promised to restore them to the land He swore to Abraham and to fulfill His covenant with David. All Israel will again be His people, and He will be their God. Just as God fulfilled His promise of judgment, He will also fulfill His promise of restoration, with a King and a kingdom.
So then, we know God has a future for the people of Israel and Judah. He will accomplish in them all that He has spoken. And if God does not keep His promises to Israel, then we who have believed the gospel of grace would have no assurance that He will keep His promises to us. But our God is a promise-keeping God.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us take note of the greatness of our God — the God over all the universe, the One who executes justice and extends mercy according to His will. We who are of the Body of Christ need not fear the punishment of God, for the punishment for our sin was dealt with at the cross. The bodily resurrection of our Head, Jesus Christ, is the testimony of our justification. And we have great and precious promises: that we will one day be raised from the dead and presented before God our Father, blameless.
Therefore, as members of the Body of Christ, we have full assurance that Jesus will return in the clouds for us, His Body, and that we will be presented holy and without blame before God and be with Him forever. Go forth today with confidence and hope in God, knowing He always keeps His promises.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ho 1:11.
Meditation:
Lord, thank You that Your promises never fail. Help me rest today in the assurance of my salvation and the certainty of Your future for me in Christ.
Reflection Question:
Where do you need to trust God’s faithfulness instead of your fears about the future?