Daily Devotions · July 5
Reading for July 5
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Hosea 2–5 · Hebrews 2
Hosea 2–5 · Hebrews 2, Berean Standard Bible
Hosea 2
“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’ 2 Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. 3 Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst. 4 I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery. 5 For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’ 6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way. 7 She will pursue her lovers but not catch them; she will seek them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will return to my first husband, for then I was better off than now.’ 8 For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold—which they crafted for Baal. 9 Therefore I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were given to cover her nakedness. 10 And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands. 11 I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts. 12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers. So I will make them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field will devour them. 13 I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD. 14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly. 15 There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. 16 In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’ 17 For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked. 18 On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and battle in the land, and will make them lie down in safety. 19 So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion. 20 And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.” 21 “On that day I will respond—” declares the LORD—“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth. 22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. 23 And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Hosea 3
Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. 3 Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.” 4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol. 5 Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
Hosea 4
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! 2 Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. 3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear. 4 But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest. 5 You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother— 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. 7 The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace. 8 They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity. 9 And it shall be like people, like priest. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10 They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves 11 to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding. 12 My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God. 13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin. 15 Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’ 16 For Israel is as obstinate as a stubborn heifer. Can the LORD now shepherd them like lambs in an open meadow? 17 Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone! 18 When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace. 19 The whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings, and their sacrifices will bring them shame.
Hosea 5
“Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor. 2 The rebels are deep in slaughter; but I will chastise them all. 3 I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled. 4 Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD. 5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; even Judah stumbles with them. 6 They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. 7 They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land. 8 Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the battle cry in Beth-aven: Lead on, O Benjamin! 9 Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of rebuke. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain. 10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, for he is determined to follow worthless idols. 12 So I am like a moth to Ephraim, and like decay to the house of Judah. 13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound. 14 For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them. 15 Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Hebrews 2
We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every transgression and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. 5 For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? 7 You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor 8 and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.” 13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.” 14 Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham. 17 For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
Added to your journal. Go to journal
Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.