May 19, 2013 God the Lion

Read Hosea 13-14 God the Lion Hosea 13:4-9 “But I am the Lord your God, who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. 5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. 6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. 7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart. 9 “You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.” GOD tells his people he will act as a lion, leopard and bear to rip them open. Wow. The images of God as ferocious wild beasts that devour the flock echoes the covenant curses for disobedience found in such scripture as Leviticus 26:21-22 “If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. 22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.” Divine judgment is more than severe. It is horrible. It tears you apart from God. it leaves nothing behind. Judgment is final. What do you do? You must be passionate to tell your family, friends and others the way to salvation. Let them know of the way to life. Pray for them. Call on the name of the Loved that they might be saved. It’s worth every ounce of energy you have. It’s True! Sin is an awful thing, isn’t it? Salvation is an amazing grace, isn’t it?