Hebrews 13:5 … He hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Beautiful words, wonderful promise!
The first half of the verse says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness,” and verse 6 says, “so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
That tells me, there are things that can get in the way of God being our helper, of Him always being with us. God will not leave or forsake us, but we can leave Him and forsake Him if we allow the desire of our heart to be turned from God by fleshly desires.
Verse 4 says, Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Think spiritually about these verses. Have we covenanted with God to love Him and serve Him faithfully, with our whole undivided heart, soul, mind, and strength? And are we keeping that covenant?
The book of Hosea is a wonderful spiritual example of God and His people. Desiring to leave this example for all of us, God told Hosea to take a daughter of whoredoms as his wife. But in time, she was unfaithful to him, and returned to her previous lovers. She was unable to find satisfaction in her unholy pursuits, and chose to return to her husband. Her husband had provided all for her, and she didn’t realize all the good he had done for her until she forsook him and he took all those blessings away from her. In her destitute condition, he sought her, and won her heart back to him.
God used this as an allegory for the children of Israel. Chapter 4 shows their condition. Chapter 5 shows a backslidden people who seek God’s help and don’t find it, because they seek only for His help, but not to do His will. God does not come to their aid, but waits for them to acknowledge their sin and to seek Him with a right heart and motive. Chapter 6 is a call for them to repent. If they will come in true repentance, forsaking their sin, God will revive them. Chapter 7 shows that, though God desires to heal, their continued sin stands in the way. They seek to the wicked nations around them, rather than returning to God wholeheartedly. Chapter 8 shows a people who claim to know God, but in all they do, they show their hearts and lives are contrary to God. In Chapter 9, God declares his rejection of their “worship” of Him. Chapter 10 further identifies their spiritual condition, which is the result of a divided heart. In Chapters 11-13, God recounts Israel’s history of continual backsliding, and expresses His desire for a people that will seek Him with all their hearts, turning from all sin to serve Him faithfully in righteousness. Chapter 14 is God’s promise of mercy and blessings if they will seek Him with a true heart of repentance and desire for God’s righteousness, forsaking all idols, worshipping God alone.
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