Rain Down Righteousness

[dave c]

simpletruth #138ay Revisited 04 DEC 10 salicart@msn.com

HOSEA 10:12—Part Fifty One: Rain Down Righteousness

by rev. dave c

Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).

I began to write this Hosea 10:12 series as God through the Holy Spirit gave me questions regarding the verse, and as He gave me the inspiration to seek answers to those questions through prayerful study. It has struck me that the passage begins with our being commanded to “sow for ourselves righteousness” and it ends with “the Lord will come and rain righteousness down on us”. We have to ask ourselves why Hosea 10:12 begins and ends with the subject of righteousness, first from the human, and then from the Divine perspective. While I’m sure that others can, and have, gleaned more of truth from this particular Scripture, I offer the following as a summation of what God has shown me: “Through His mercy and grace, righteousness brings peace with God. The ground of righteousness is faith. The seed of righteousness is obedience. The fruit of righteousness is love. Love is the glory of, from, and to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.”

Please consider Romans Chapter Four beginning with verse 16: Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead--since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." 23 The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification (NIV).

Romans Chapter Five continues: 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (NIV).

Paul tells us in Romans 5:5, “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit….” In Isaiah 44:3 we read, 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; 4 And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water' (NAS). Quoting Joel 2:28&29, Peter preached to the crowd on the day of Pentecost: "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy (Ac 2:17&18; NIV).

Water is essential for life. God, in His mercy and grace, provides oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and springs so that we might have life, and life abundant. Throughout Scripture water serves as a metaphor for the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as mankind dams up rivers to create lakes, as he works to alter the course of streams, and as he sells bottled water—I fear that our religions too often attempt to control and direct the Holy Spirit and so bring glory to individuals, fellowships, and denominations. When it rains, however, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind from wince the rain comes and to whom goes the glory. Rain defies control. Rain defies containment. Rain can wash away all of humanity’s (all of my) structured efforts to limit God’s divine nature and eternal power. I am beginning to long for that rain—the rain that is spoken of in Zechariah 10:1 Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone (NKJV). ...It is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (Ho 10:12; NKJV). "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the LORD, have created it (Is 45:8; NIV). Amen.

[RamboPreacher]

haven't replied to these in a while, but wanted to drop a note of thanks for continuing these. I have used them in our men's ministry and other devotionals in our church. thanks!

[dave c]

Thank you for the encouragement. It means more than you know. God bless and keep you in the shadow of His wings. dave c