2008/03/13

“Therefore, this is what I will do: I will block her way with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so that she cannot find her paths.” Hosea 2:6 (HCSB)
We run from God; He calls us back. We hide from God; He seeks us out. We chase false gods; He reminds us He is the One True God, and He guards us jealously.
In order to illustrate his faithfulness and patience with us, God chose a prostitute named Gomer. Many men came to see her, but then one came, not to use her, but to marry her. 
He was a prophet from God; a holy man committed to pure and righteous living. He came saying God wanted him to marry her. You can imagine the shock, the laughter – and the mixed-up feelings. 
But it wasn’t too long before Gomer returned to her old lovers and old friends; however, God told Hosea to always go after her and bring her home – just as God forgives us and brings us home to Him.
Even though Gomer thought, “I will go after my lovers … (Hosea 2:5),” God blocked her path with a “hedge of thorns,” a spiritual wall He placed around her so she could not find her way back to those sinful relationships. (Hosea 2:6)
We can pray a hedge of thorns be placed around those in rebellion, but the same prayer can also be used as a “hedge of protection” for loved ones in vulnerable situations. For instance, asking God to place a hedge of protection around a child vulnerable to developing some wrong relationships, ones that may cause him to stumble or that may stall her Christian growth.
It is this hedge of protection that Satan points to when demanding God allow him to sift Job. The enemy couldn’t get to Job because God had placed a hedge around him. (Job 1:8-11)