For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more. Hosea 2:17
Family namesakes are often remembered by what was done in the family’s past. What had been done could have been something very good or something very bad, but either way it is something that both the family and everyone else remembers. People want to remember what was good but strive to bury and forget the things that were bad. Going back to what was bad is often easy, though one tries not to go there.
Hosea records God saying of Gomer/Israel that He will remove from her the talking to the Baals and that the Baals shall no longer be remembered.
The Baals of the Bible were the idols that people bowed down to and worshipped. The Israelites would put their Baals before God.
Although many people today do not physically bow down to physical idols, they have many other Baals in their lives. Position, material things, status, money, fame and nearly anything else can be a Baal in one’s life. Anything that people put before God is a Baal in their life.
When a person chooses to follow Christ, the Baals in their lives will try to remain to be their god. Temptations will arise to go back to the Baals to meet their needs rather than going to God.
In order to stop the pull, God will sometimes remove the memory of the Baals. The believer will suddenly have no desire to go back to the Baals in their lives. God will become the center and purpose of their lives. Certain sins will lose their pull and influence in the life of the believer. God has set them free to live for Him.
There has most likely been some Baals in your life and some may still remain. Begin by putting God first in your life. Seek to be filled with God’s Spirit to change your life. Ask God to help remove the memory and pull of those Baals so that you can serve Him and Him alone.
The more you put God first in your life, the less room there will be for the Baals or sin in your life. The attractiveness of sin will diminish allowing room for God more and more.
Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that God will reveal any Baals in your life; that God will remove the pull of the sin in your past; that you will know God’s loving forgiveness; and that God will be number one in your life.
Photo by Anthony Wade on Unsplash
Oh yes, God has given us a new name, Tom! Our identity is in him!
Amen!
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