Are we in danger of forgetting God?
Generally speaking, I’m not a forgetful person. Those who know me best sometimes tease me because I have a strange ability to remember some of the most inconsequential details. I usually do well when playing trivia games, and I retain a decent percentage of what I read. But, contrary to this pattern, there was a season of my life when I noticed that my typically good memory was noticeably deficient.
During the early 2000s, my wife and I had four children during a five and a half year span. At the same time, I was also attempting to lead two ministries at once. I was the lead pastor of a church and the director of a Christian camp and conference center. I loved everything I was doing, but the nature of trying to juggle all those responsibilities at once came at a price.
As someone who was known for having a good memory, I was always shocked when people would reference things they had told me, events I had been present for, and people I had been introduced to that I honestly couldn’t remember. It was the strangest thing and very disconcerting, but it was also a sign that I needed to make some changes because I clearly couldn’t keep track of everything I was trying to manage.
Sometimes in life, we become forgetful because we’re busy or overwhelmed. Other times, we become forgetful by choice because there are certain things we would prefer not to think about.
During the days in which the prophet Hosea ministered in Israel, the people of Israel had become forgetful by choice. Sadly, the one they had chosen to forget was the Lord who had rescued and redeemed them. As we can see in the pages of Hosea’s book, there were severe consequences that came with their elective forgetfulness toward God. Those consequences aren’t completely unique to ancient Israel. In our own way, we may experience similar consequences if we forget our Creator.
How can we avoid the perils of forgetting Him? Are there patterns and principles we can glean from the cautionary words the Holy Spirit inspired Hosea to write?
Don’t forget that God desires a genuine relationship with His people.
Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the Lord,
because they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law.To me they cry, “My God, we—Israel—know you.”
Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.
Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing.(Hosea 8:1-3, 12)
Hosea ministered among the people of Israel for about 60 years and wrote the words of this passage sometime between 755 and 725 BC. He served them for a good long while during a spiritually low season for the nation.
Ironically, even though it was a spiritually low season, many of the people seemed blissfully unaware of this. I get the impression that they thought they were spiritually strong and mature, but when you examine the nature of their spiritual faith, it was polluted with idolatry and the pagan influence of the neighboring nations.
God wanted His people to live a life that was empowered by Him, a life of genuine holiness. He wanted His people to live their days in the blessing of a healthy relationship with Him. One of the primary ways a person can assess the nature of their relationship with God is to take an honest inventory of their obedience to His word. Was Israel obedient to the Lord during that era? Are we obedient to the Lord during our era?
According to the word the Lord had given Hosea, Israel had transgressed God’s covenant and rebelled against His law. They claimed to know God, but their lives showed that they may have known about Him, but didn’t really know Him in a relational way.
There is a caution for us in this passage that we would do well to notice. God desires that we know Him, and the same test that was applied to Israel can be applied to us. If we know Him, we will obey Him. If we know Him, we will submit to His word without excuse or equivocation.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
To know God is to love Him. Jesus made it clear that if we sincerely love Him, we will keep His commandments. Don’t fool yourself like ancient Israel was doing. Don’t convince yourself that you’re spiritual and close to God if your life is actually demonstrating how far you are from Him.
Don’t forget who your real King happens to be.
“They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.” (Hosea 8:4-6)
One of the primary, intrinsic longings that is present in the human heart is the desire for good leadership. We want to be led well. This is something we desire in all spheres, from our households to our churches, to our workplace, to our nation. When leaders lead well, we’re relieved. When they do a poor job, we get anxious. And in our fear, we get critical and keep placing our hopes in one human leader after another. Even though they all have limitations and weaknesses, we seem to live in the continual hope of finding the perfect leader right up until the day we die.
There is one perfect king, and His name is Jesus.
“Which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,” (1 Timothy 6:15)
But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.” (Hebrews 1:8)
Our intrinsic desire for good leadership is a demonstration of the fact that our hearts long for the presence of Jesus in our lives. Only He can truly satisfy our longing for perfect leadership. No earthly king can accomplish what Jesus alone is meant to do.
Ancient Israel desired effective leadership, but they kept making the mistake of seeking leaders without first seeking the guidance of the King of kings. They raised up earthly kings without inquiring about the Lord’s will. They created large idols that looked like calves and paid homage to these idolatrous images. But God assured them that their idols would be broken to pieces. Their presence was an offense to our holy God.
As we think about these errors and acts of rebellion in the lives of our ancient counterparts, please ask yourself, “Who am I leaning on for leadership? Who am I offering my life over to by seeking their guidance and influence?”
For some of us, we’re placing hope that should only be reserved for Jesus in our politicians. Some of us may not like politics, so we’re placing our hope in the guidance of our favorite authors and influencers. It’s also possible that some of us are looking for leadership and guidance primarily from some of the personal heroes we interact with on a daily basis. Where is your hope for good leadership being placed?
Every earthly leader you’ve been tempted to trust is eventually going to break your heart. They’re all going to be taken from you. In the end, the only one you’re going to have left is Jesus. Don’t forget Him because He’s the only leader with permanence in your life. He’s the only one who can actually do the job perfectly.
Don’t forget where you’re actually meant to find a home.
“For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.” (Hosea 8:14)
In the era in which Hosea lived, and in most of the centuries of human existence since, nations have evaluated their strength, in part, by their ability to keep their enemies out. In the physical sense, that has often been accomplished through the construction of fortified cities, strongholds, walls, gates, and towering palaces.
Israel and Judah fell prey to this mindset as well. It wasn’t automatically wrong for them to build fortifications. We can see some instances in Scripture where the direction to do so came directly from God. The greater problem that was taking place during Hosea’s time was the fact that the people of Israel believed that their humanly conceived defenses were their ultimate source of solace and security. They forgot their Maker, the one in whom we find true solace.
God promised that the day was coming when He would destroy Israel’s strongholds. He certainly did that through the other nations of the day, and He rebuked their lack of faith. Is there a false source of solace in our lives that the Lord may also need to rebuke?
I was recently speaking with several people who are in the process of looking for a place to live. They long for a place to call home. A safe place to rest their heads at the end of the day. We can all understand that longing, but please make sure you never forget that ultimately God wants to provide a place of solace for our souls through Him, not through anything on this earth that can eventually be taken away.
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)
We groan for a home, but we find one through Jesus. In Christ, we are reconciled to the Father. Through Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the inheritance that awaits us in God’s eternal kingdom.
Life is busy. Your responsibilities are many. You may have more things on your mind than you can naturally count, but in the midst of it all, don’t forget your Lord who loves you. In Christ, you will find the ultimate relationship, the perfect King, and an eternal home.
© John Stange, 2025