After reading Hoesa with Steve recently, and coming on a verses that said "it will be a terrible day when i turn away and leave you alone" (Hosea 9:1２b) and "God will reject the people of Israel..." (Hosea 9:17a) which sorta seemed to contridict things like "And i will be with you, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b) and "as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Joshua 1:5b) I came up with this "House Analogy" to try to explain what i think is going on.


Imagine you have a house. It's got four walls and doors and windows. One day, you are in your house, trying to make it beautiful so everyone can see how pretty it is, when there is a knock at the door. You open it and It's God who says to you, "You are doing an alright job decorating here, but i've got some ideas that will make your decorations shine so brightly every one will want to see them. Some people may even be so jelous that they want to knock down your house, but it will be beautiful and I will have seen it."

You think about this and agree - you need help decorating your house, you were too short to dust down the cobwebs in the corners and there were somethings that just weren't sticking like they were supposed to. So you let God in. Life is great, it's hard work but the walls are stripped bare and sanded back untill you see the beauty that was underneath the gaudy wall paper. Sometimes the negibours come by, some of them are amazed by the work God is doing in your house and ask him to come into theirs. Others don't think it's so good and go out to buy more wall paper to cover up the natural beauty.

One day you look out the window as you are sanding with God, and you see the next door people have roses in their living room. They look very pretty and you begin to wonder what it would be like if you had thoes roses in your living room. God sees you looking at them. "Be careful," he warns, "The roses may look pretty, but there are thorns underneath that will cut and cause you pain. I will always be here for you, but don't try to take what isn't yours." [Genisis 4:7b and Joshua 1:5b]

A part of you listens to what God says; he's probabaly right - look at what he has done to your house so far! Surley he knows when something just won't go in the room. But a part of you looks back out the window and sees the roses again, looking beautiful.

That night, you sneak over to your neighbours house and take the roses from his living room and put them in yours.

In the morning God sees your hands and knows what you have done. The roses, which were so beautiful, had the thorns that have cut your hands. You have been scared. God shakes his head and says "You have invited someone else into this house, and though i love you, I can't stay here while you try to serve two masters." [Matthew 6:24] With that, God puts down the brush he was going to use to help you lacker your walls to make them strong and leaves your house.

He dosen't go far, just outside the door. He dosen't want to leave you, but he can't stay while you try to decorate your house without consoulting him, and listening to his advice.

For a while, you tell yourself you don't need God's advice on how to make your house beautiful. You were a good decorater before he came along. So you start to put things back on the walls and cover the beauty that God had discovered. But soon, you realise you want your decorator back. You can't seem to make things shine the way that he did, and it's not fun trying to re-decorate a whole house by yourself; it was alot more fun with God beside you.

So you open the door and ask God back inside. It's the hardest thing you have ever had to do, but God doesn't say anything mean, or even laugh and say "i told you so". [malichi 3:7b] He comes back inside with some bandages and cleans your hands that were scared and cut by the roses and the crime you committed and wraps them up. He goes with you as you take the rose plant's back to your neighbours house with an apology and a repentant heart.

And then together, you come back to your house and start once again to clean out what doesn't belong, and let the natural beauty shine through.


In Hoesa, the people of Israel had been ignoring God for a long time. They had been worshiping other things and trying to decorate their houses with out God's help. God was sad, but he was also frustrated. He was pulling out his hair becuase he loved his people so much, and they just didn't get it. He would have loved to stay with them, but when sin is invited in, God jsut can't stay around. He never goes far and he is always ready to come back when you ask, but sin and God just don't mix.

Whatever has happened in your life, whatever you have invited in to help you decorate, God is only just outside the door, waiting for you to open it so he can come in and heal your wounds.