Two Examples of God's Grace

Today's reading had a couple different examples of the extent of God's grace:

1. In Hosea 11:5-11 God's righteous judgment suddenly turns to inexplicable grace and God determines to give Ephraim (Israel) yet another chance in the short-term and also, in the big picture, he promises to "roar like a lion" through the sacrifice of Jesus--a roar that will help to gather his people from all corners of the earth.
2. How incredibly talented King Uzziah is! The People's Bible author calls him "an early prototype of a Renaissance man"--someone with great skill in a variety of areas. He was very successful. The Bible makes clear, however, that all glory goes to God (2 Chronicles 26:5, 7, 15) for his abilities. This is a great reminder to us to thank God for where he has put us and for what he has given us as far as our time, talents, treasures, and truth. It is a comfort to us, as well, to know that all of our needs are easily covered by God.