I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Hosea 8-14.

    In describing the consequences of their sins Hosea says the evocative phrase, “They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind.” Or, as the NIV translates it, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” In either case, this is such a colorful and succinct way of expressing the thought that it has become commonly used. Despite the fact that we use it all of the time and instinctively understand what it means, it is worth looking at a little closer. The people of Israel had rejected God and good. What do I mean when I say that? What did the prophet mean when he said the same thing using a few more words? Initially, they rejected God and started to worship other gods because they wanted to be like the “cool kids”, like everyone else. They didn’t think it mattered. They were still good people. Except that, in the process of rejecting God, they had rejected His definition of “good”. They no longer had any objective basis for good. Along with rejecting God, they had rejected the very idea that there was such a thing as good.

    In the same vein of agricultural metaphors Hosea tells the people of Israel, and us, to plow up the hard ground of their hearts. To be specific, he tells them that God had told them to plant the seeds of righteousness. Instead of doing as God had advised they had planted the wind. When Hosea was prophesying it was too late for the people of the Northern Kingdom, but it is not too late for us. We can plow up the hard ground of our hearts and plant the seeds of righteousness. If we do, we will harvest a crop of love. Now is the time to seek God. If we instead cultivate wickedness, which we too often do, we will harvest a crop of sin.