God Gives Us A Future

Photo by Molly John

Scripture: Hosea 2:15b

And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.

Insights: This part of verse fifteen is all about a future.  To fully understand it we must go back to the book of Joshua.  In the book of Joshua we are told the history of the battle of Ai.  In this second battle to take the Promised Land the children of Israel are utterly defeated.  There are a great deal of reasons for this disaster, but as Joshua begins to mourn and cry out to God he is told why they were defeated.  God tells him there is sin in the camp.  Joshua casts lots to find out which of the twelve tribes has the sin.  He then casts lots to find out which clan of that tribe has the sin.  Then he casts lots to find out which family of that clan has the sin and eventually he arrives at a man named Akin.  Akin took some of the spoils of the battle of Jericho for himself even though the Lord God had explicitly stated it was all for Him and no one was to take any of the spoils.  The consequences of this singular action caused Akin, his family, his live stock and every thing he owned to be taken to the valley of Achor.  In this valley the living things were put to death and the tangible items were utterly destroyed.  It was a waste land of pain and suffering.  The name Achor literally means trouble.  So, in our context of this verse we are being told that even though our lives have been filled with trouble, pain and suffering, God is going to give us a future hope—a doorway to His goodness.  God ultimately does give us this land of goodness in eternity with His Son, Jesus.  All we have to do is receive His gift of grace and become born again.  If you have never encountered Jesus, then you are living in the land of trouble.  In the New Testament we are told Jesus IS the door.  He IS the door of hope of eternal life.  It is my prayer you will open that door and receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Questions:

1. Have you expressed gratitude to the Lord for the future He has in store for you?

2. Has the Lord given you a glimpse of this earthly future?

Prayer: Father, thank You that I am able to trust You for my future.  I do not have to fret and worry about how things are going to turn out.  One day I will be with you in paradise and as such I can experience a great deal of joy on this side of eternity.  Amen.

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