Wait for your God always

Wait for your God always

Scripture: In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there— the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name! But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. The merchant uses dishonest scales and loves to defraud. Ephraim boasts, “I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin.”  Hosea 12:3-8

Observation: This passage of Scripture first brings us to remember the life of the patriarch Jacob. In the womb, he grasped his brother’s heel, and as a man he struggled with God. The picture given to us is of a man who always desires for more in life. In his mother’s womb, Jacob was not content to be second but wanted to be first. When he struggled with God, he would not let go but wept and begged for favor. Jacob was not a perfect man. He had many weaknesses and started off life in Esau’s shadow. Yet the Lord chose him. The Lord even blessed him with divine fellowship at Bethel. Jacob was the opportunist who took Esau’s birthright in his moment of weakness, the master trickster who tricked his own father and the strategist who outwitted his Uncle Laban. Yet in spite of all these, God in His grace chose to build Israel through him. Esau from young depended on his own strength. He had no need for God, and God could never use him. On the other hand, Jacob, despite his weaknesses honored God.

Jacob is a picture of us today. We too are not perfect, perhaps some of us even walk with a limp. However, God is dealing with us, blessing us, and moving us into His ways all in His good time.

Hosea then gives three things that we must do. Firstly, we must return to our God. Perhaps some of us have fallen away, ensnared by the temptations of the world. We have to get out and come back to God. God always welcomes and forgives the repentant sinner like the father welcomed the prodigal son.

Secondly, we are to maintain love and justice. There is no true love without justice. Love is something that has to be maintained, cultivated. We walk in love by having fellowship with the Lord. We love because the Lord loves us. God is a God of love, yet He is also a God of justice. Sin must be punished. Judgment is God’s way of refining the world, of creating a people that will be loyal to Him and follow in His ways. To those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and follow in His ways, their sins are forgiven, nailed to the cross. However, for those who persist in sinful ways, there will be wrath and judgment.

Thirdly, we are to wait for our God always. Waiting is a difficult discipline for many. Typically, we always want to be on the move, doing things, being efficient. However, to sit at the Lord’s feet and wait like Mary is a most blessed thing. It is good for us to learn to wait and write down what the Lord would say to us.

The last part of the passage highlights that the Lord’s eyes are on the corrupt, those who cheat others for personal gain. And there are also those who think they are pure because of their wealth. There is a stern warning there for us not to trust in our wealth and not to cheat others.                                                     

Application: Recognize that we are sinners like Jacob, and imperfect in many ways. Yet thank God that He reaches out to common people like us, who will humble ourselves and seek His salvation and blessing. Let us remember to always come back to God even if we have fallen away for a season. Let our lives be full of love and justice, and let us learn to wait for our God. His sweet presence and fellowship will surely come to those who wait for Him. Beware of trusting in wealth and cheating others which our Lord detests.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for Your grace that You shower upon a sinner like me. I thank You that You look not upon my weaknesses, but upon my heart. Help me always come back to You, even if I fall. Let my lives be filled with love and justice. Teach me to wait for You that I might enjoy Your sweet presence. May Your name be praised forever. In Jesus name, Amen.