Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Hosea 12:1-14. Let’s go!
To appreciate God’s message to the Israelites (and to us) in Hosea 12, you need to know something about Jacob, one of Israel’s forefathers and the man after whom the nation of Israel was named. Jacob’s life forms the backdrop to a lot of what Hosea 12 is talking about.
You see, Jacob lived much of his life thinking he had to scratch, claw and fight for everything he had. His approach toward all of life was “transactional”. Like a merchant, he was constantly striking deals with people, including when it came to finding a wife (v12), and even with God: “I’ll give you this, if you give me that.” As part of this, Jacob would often lie to get ahead, pretending to be someone that he was not. In this way Jacob lived up to his name, which means “deceiver”.