Hosea, 8
4. They have reigned, but not by me. Leaders have emerged, and I did not recognize them. Their silver and their gold, they have made into idols for themselves, so that they might cross over.
4. They have reigned, but not by me. Leaders have emerged, and I did not recognize them. Their silver and their gold, they have made into idols for themselves, so that they might cross over.
Hosea 8 describes how the people of Israel rebelled against God, rejecting the divine laws and statutes in favor of human leaders and false gods. Following are five verses from other parts of the Bible that relate to the topics addressed in Hosea 8.
Deuteronomy 8:19-20: "If you divert, worshiping and following other gods, I declare them today that you will surely be destroyed ... You will be eliminated as the nations that the Lord has destroyed before you, for not obeying the Lord , your God. " This excerpt highlights the importance of faithfully following God and not deviating to worship other gods, or suffer serious consequences.
Exodus 20:3: "You will not have other gods before me." This commandment emphasizes the exclusivity of worship of God, and how wrong it is to put other entities at the same level as the Creator.
Jeremiah 2:13: "My people have committed two sins: They abandoned me the source of living water, and dug their own cisterns, cracked cisterns that do not retain water." This verse illustrates how foolish and useless it is to look for unsatisfactory water sources and neglect the true source of life in God.
2 Kings 17:15: "They rejected their statutes and the pact they had made with their ancestors, and the warnings he had given. They followed false idols and became false in themselves, following the neighboring nations that the Lord had expelled from before them. " This passage describes how the people of Israel moved away from God's way and became the pagan nations around them.
Jeremiah 7:4: "Do not trust misleading words, saying, 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!'" This verse highlights the importance of not relying only on places of worship or religious rituals External, but in a personal relationship with God.
“É preciso amar, amar e nada mais”. São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina
