I know all about Ephraim;
    Israel is not hidden from me.
Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;
    Israel is corrupt.

Hosea 5:3

Abraham Lincoln said …. “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

I think Hosea would add “AND YOU CAN’T FOOL GOD ANY OF THE TIME.”

The people of the Israel kept up the pretence of being God’s people. A casual observer might have thought they were faithful followers of Yahweh. Hosea reminds them that they weren’t fooling God. He knew all about what they were doing, nothing was hidden from Him. He saw the idol worship, He saw the sex with anyone and everyone except their spouse, He saw the injustice and exploitation of the poor.

Let’s be honest just like Israel under Jeroboam, at times, we have an enormous capacity for self deception. We deceive ourselves into thinking that there are areas of our life where God doesn’t notice what we’re up to. We compartmentalize our lives and keep God out of some areas and somehow think He doesn’t notice. Hosea reminds us, there aren’t any areas of our lives that are hidden from the Lord. That’s a sobering thought.

Think back over the last week, is there anything you have done that you hoped God didn’t see?

Hosea reminds you that you were wrong. Every action, every attitude, every word, and unspoken thought, He saw them and heard them.