Wind in the Belly, a devotional thought

One of the things that makes Hosea stand out among the prophets is the poignancy and vividness of his imagery. Take, for instance this strange but poignant image from Hosea 12: "Ephraim feeds on the wind; he pursues the east wind all day and multiplies lies and violence" (12:1).

In the context here, "feeding on the wind" is Hosea's way of describing Israel's secular and ultimately futile foreign policy. They've cut a treaty with the ruthless Empire of Assyria (12:1b) and they've brokered trade deals with Egypt (12:1c). These efforts to establish peace and security for themselves are empty at best and idolatrous at worst (Egypt, after all, is the tyrannous nation God delivered them out of; and the Emperor of Assyria is a despotic megalomaniac, strutting around like he's the Lord of Heaven and Earth); trusting in deals with the likes of these guys to prosper and protect them really is like chowing down on a plate of "wind" and expecting that to fill you.

But it's more than great poetry (though it is that), it's also rich food for thought: in what ways I might be "feasting on the wind" in my life? I mean, sure, I haven't made any treaties with any ruthless, idolatrous super powers to protect and prosper me, lately, but at the same time, when you think about "the powers" in the Ephesians 6:12 sense of the term-- that is, describing the spiritual dynamic that's sort of always present in every and any aspect of human society and culture-- technology, political structures, media, economics, entertainment, the world-wide-web-- when you think about "the powers" from that angle, well, let's just say there's a lot of "wind" on the menu in the restaurant that is modern North American Society.

May God would give his people a craving for the good, solid, wholesome food that is life with him, and keep us from consuming all those empty calories.