“Return”
August 20, 2006
Hosea 14:1-9
Has it seemed longer than 10 sermons that we have been together in the book of Hosea?
Hosea has been full of doom, gloom, judgment, and discipline.
The first 3 chapters told the story of Hosea’s unhappy family. God called the prophet to marry an adulterous wife and to have children that were known for her adultery. And He did that as a pictorial message of judgment to the kingdom of Israel because they had engaged in spiritual adultery–idolatry and been unfaithful to God.
And chapters 4 through 13 were, by and large, prophecies of the discipline and judgment that Israel was facing because of her unfaithfulness to the Lord.
But that’s not the full picture is it? We have also seen–laced in and out and all around and all through–the amazing grace of God. We’ve seen God’s holy love for His covenant people and His promises of gracious restoration. We’ll see that again today.
Hosea may seem, on the surface, like a bleak book.
But it is really a testimony to the amazing grace and holy love of God.
And it ends with a call for Israel to “Return.”
To repent. To turn away from her sin and return to God. Return.
You can easily see where the title for this message comes from. V.1
“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!”
In many ways, this sums up the entire book, doesn’t it?
So much of Hosea has been a call to repentance.
You and I, though we don’t like to admit it, are a lot like Israel.
And we, too, need repentance. Point #1 of 3.
#1. WE NEED TO REPENT.
Remember, as we’ve said several times this Summer, repentance is not a one-time thing that you do just at the beginning of your Christian experience.
It’s a daily thing. It’s a 24/7 thing.
Martin Luther said that the Christian life is a “race of repentance.” And I think that that’s a very helpful metaphor for thinking about it. “A race of repentance.”
Because, like Israel, our sins will be our downfall, our stumbling block if we don’t turn from them.
We need to repent.
And in Hosea chapter 14, the prophet instructs Israel in how to actually do that. V.2
“Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.’”
These two verses are kind of like a “manual” on repentance. And they needed it because they weren’t too familiar with the concept!
In our day and age, we are not very familiar with what true repentance is, either, so I think it would be helpful to slow down and notice a few things.
First, notice how repentance means personal interaction with God.
Hosea says, “Return, O Israel to the LORD your God.”
This is personal. It is interpersonal. You and God. It is relational.
Repentance is not a mechanical transaction with an impersonal divine force.
It is actually an interaction with a personal God. A transaction between personal beings, beings who are persons.
Israel was not going to get off with some impersonal, mechanical, sacrificial payment for her sins. Notice what Hosea tells Israel to take. V.2
“Take words with you and return to the LORD.”
Not, take a sacrifice. Not, take a payment. Not, go through some motions or ritual.
It has to be real. And it has to involve words. Why? Because we use words in interpersonal communication.
Yes, words can be fake, too, but this is saying that the words need to come from their hearts.
Hosea is saying to Israel, “You need to have a heart-to-heart with God.”
Personal interaction.
If you and I want to run the race of repentance, it will take real relationship with God.
Personal interaction.
Notice also, that repentance means personal admission of sin. V.2 again.
“Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously...”’
Do you remember several weeks ago when we looked at Hosea chapter 6 and the idea of false repentance?
The problem with Israel’s repentance in chapter 6 was that they expected God’s restoration without any reference to their sin and the sinfulness of their sin.
Their motto was “Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, all we’ve got to do is call, and He’ll be there” without personally owning their sin.
But Hosea, in this instruction on how Israel needed to repent, makes sure that they include their iniquity.
He says to take these exact words, “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously.”
He knows that they are dependent on the mercy of God. If they don’t admit their sin and cry out for grace and forgiveness, it will be their downfall.
Personal admission.
This last week, I sinned against my daughter Robin. She told me that Drew was allowed to do something I didn’t think his mother would allow.
And instead of believing her and seeking the truth before making my judgment, I just decided that she was making it up or lying. And I condescendingly told her, “I doubt it.”
But then later, I asked my wife, and she said that she does allow Drew to do this thing and that Robin was right and telling me the truth.
What did I need to do?
I needed to own my sin. I needed personal admission.
And I need personal interaction. I needed to go to Robin and ask for her forgiveness.
And I’m very thankful that she immediately granted it. That was sweet of her.
The same thing is true of our relationship with God.
We need to personally admit our sins and ask for forgiveness and ask that He receive us graciously.
If you have never confessed your sins to God and asked for His forgiveness, I call you to do it today. For God to grant this forgiveness, it took the death of His Son Jesus on the Cross. That’s how much He loves you. And He invites you to turn from your sins in repentance and turn in faith to Him today.
But you have to admit your sin.
And even once we have professed faith in Christ, we still need to admit our sin. We still are in need of regular cleansing.
Not to establish a relationship with God or to keep a relationship with God, but to keep our fellowship with Him close.
The race of repentance includes personal admission of sin.
Notice also that repentance means personally turning away from sin.
Hosea instructs Israel to get specific about which sins she is admitting and to personally turn away from them. To renounce them. To swear them off. V.3
“Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
Notice what this does. It makes their repentance specific.
David Powlison calls this kind of thing, “Intelligent Repentance.”
Knowing what you are turning from and putting words to it.
Israel was to admit that they had wrongfully put their faith in Assyria and their war horses.
And Israel was to admit that they had committed spiritual adultery. They had said, “Our gods” to what their own hands had made.
And they were not only to admit these sins, but turn from them.
The basic meaning of repentance is “turning.”
They were to renounce, resign, repudiate, foreswear, quit, turn away from bad alliances and idolatry.
Now, this is not works-salvation. Repentance is simply the other side of the coin of faith. To turn to God means to turn away from sin.
This wasn’t earning their salvation by stopping sinning. They couldn’t have done that anyway!
True repentance is a heart-turn away from sin, a true desire to “make a break” with sin.
Repentance is not merely confession. It is not only to personally admit sin, but to turn away from it.
So often, I think I’ve repented when I’ve merely confessed. I like to think that I’ve done something really good when I’ve said, “You’re right, I did that, and that’s bad.”
August 20, 2006
Hosea 14:1-9
Has it seemed longer than 10 sermons that we have been together in the book of Hosea?
Hosea has been full of doom, gloom, judgment, and discipline.
The first 3 chapters told the story of Hosea’s unhappy family. God called the prophet to marry an adulterous wife and to have children that were known for her adultery. And He did that as a pictorial message of judgment to the kingdom of Israel because they had engaged in spiritual adultery–idolatry and been unfaithful to God.
And chapters 4 through 13 were, by and large, prophecies of the discipline and judgment that Israel was facing because of her unfaithfulness to the Lord.
But that’s not the full picture is it? We have also seen–laced in and out and all around and all through–the amazing grace of God. We’ve seen God’s holy love for His covenant people and His promises of gracious restoration. We’ll see that again today.
Hosea may seem, on the surface, like a bleak book.
But it is really a testimony to the amazing grace and holy love of God.
And it ends with a call for Israel to “Return.”
To repent. To turn away from her sin and return to God. Return.
You can easily see where the title for this message comes from. V.1
“Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. Your sins have been your downfall!”
In many ways, this sums up the entire book, doesn’t it?
So much of Hosea has been a call to repentance.
You and I, though we don’t like to admit it, are a lot like Israel.
And we, too, need repentance. Point #1 of 3.
#1. WE NEED TO REPENT.
Remember, as we’ve said several times this Summer, repentance is not a one-time thing that you do just at the beginning of your Christian experience.
It’s a daily thing. It’s a 24/7 thing.
Martin Luther said that the Christian life is a “race of repentance.” And I think that that’s a very helpful metaphor for thinking about it. “A race of repentance.”
Because, like Israel, our sins will be our downfall, our stumbling block if we don’t turn from them.
We need to repent.
And in Hosea chapter 14, the prophet instructs Israel in how to actually do that. V.2
“Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.’”
These two verses are kind of like a “manual” on repentance. And they needed it because they weren’t too familiar with the concept!
In our day and age, we are not very familiar with what true repentance is, either, so I think it would be helpful to slow down and notice a few things.
First, notice how repentance means personal interaction with God.
Hosea says, “Return, O Israel to the LORD your God.”
This is personal. It is interpersonal. You and God. It is relational.
Repentance is not a mechanical transaction with an impersonal divine force.
It is actually an interaction with a personal God. A transaction between personal beings, beings who are persons.
Israel was not going to get off with some impersonal, mechanical, sacrificial payment for her sins. Notice what Hosea tells Israel to take. V.2
“Take words with you and return to the LORD.”
Not, take a sacrifice. Not, take a payment. Not, go through some motions or ritual.
It has to be real. And it has to involve words. Why? Because we use words in interpersonal communication.
Yes, words can be fake, too, but this is saying that the words need to come from their hearts.
Hosea is saying to Israel, “You need to have a heart-to-heart with God.”
Personal interaction.
If you and I want to run the race of repentance, it will take real relationship with God.
Personal interaction.
Notice also, that repentance means personal admission of sin. V.2 again.
“Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously...”’
Do you remember several weeks ago when we looked at Hosea chapter 6 and the idea of false repentance?
The problem with Israel’s repentance in chapter 6 was that they expected God’s restoration without any reference to their sin and the sinfulness of their sin.
Their motto was “Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, all we’ve got to do is call, and He’ll be there” without personally owning their sin.
But Hosea, in this instruction on how Israel needed to repent, makes sure that they include their iniquity.
He says to take these exact words, “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously.”
He knows that they are dependent on the mercy of God. If they don’t admit their sin and cry out for grace and forgiveness, it will be their downfall.
Personal admission.
This last week, I sinned against my daughter Robin. She told me that Drew was allowed to do something I didn’t think his mother would allow.
And instead of believing her and seeking the truth before making my judgment, I just decided that she was making it up or lying. And I condescendingly told her, “I doubt it.”
But then later, I asked my wife, and she said that she does allow Drew to do this thing and that Robin was right and telling me the truth.
What did I need to do?
I needed to own my sin. I needed personal admission.
And I need personal interaction. I needed to go to Robin and ask for her forgiveness.
And I’m very thankful that she immediately granted it. That was sweet of her.
The same thing is true of our relationship with God.
We need to personally admit our sins and ask for forgiveness and ask that He receive us graciously.
If you have never confessed your sins to God and asked for His forgiveness, I call you to do it today. For God to grant this forgiveness, it took the death of His Son Jesus on the Cross. That’s how much He loves you. And He invites you to turn from your sins in repentance and turn in faith to Him today.
But you have to admit your sin.
And even once we have professed faith in Christ, we still need to admit our sin. We still are in need of regular cleansing.
Not to establish a relationship with God or to keep a relationship with God, but to keep our fellowship with Him close.
The race of repentance includes personal admission of sin.
Notice also that repentance means personally turning away from sin.
Hosea instructs Israel to get specific about which sins she is admitting and to personally turn away from them. To renounce them. To swear them off. V.3
“Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
Notice what this does. It makes their repentance specific.
David Powlison calls this kind of thing, “Intelligent Repentance.”
Knowing what you are turning from and putting words to it.
Israel was to admit that they had wrongfully put their faith in Assyria and their war horses.
And Israel was to admit that they had committed spiritual adultery. They had said, “Our gods” to what their own hands had made.
And they were not only to admit these sins, but turn from them.
The basic meaning of repentance is “turning.”
They were to renounce, resign, repudiate, foreswear, quit, turn away from bad alliances and idolatry.
Now, this is not works-salvation. Repentance is simply the other side of the coin of faith. To turn to God means to turn away from sin.
This wasn’t earning their salvation by stopping sinning. They couldn’t have done that anyway!
True repentance is a heart-turn away from sin, a true desire to “make a break” with sin.
Repentance is not merely confession. It is not only to personally admit sin, but to turn away from it.
So often, I think I’ve repented when I’ve merely confessed. I like to think that I’ve done something really good when I’ve said, “You’re right, I did that, and that’s bad.”
But repentance goes one step further, it says, “I want to do better. I want to change. I don’t want to sin in that way any longer.”
“Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made...”
How are you doing at repentance?
Let me mention–for the very last time [in this sermon series!]–my carpenter ants.
They’re gone!
I was bound and determined to kill those buggers on Thursday night. Because I didn’t want to end this sermon series without reporting that I had actually done something about it. And I knew that this message was going to be on repentance, so I thought it would be perfect to spray on Thursday night.
So I told Heather that, and she said, “Oh, I think they’re gone. I haven’t seen one in several weeks and there aren’t any signs of them. No chewing sounds, no sawdust, nothing.”
They were gone!
And I didn’t have to do a thing about them. Hooray!
And that’s when I knew that my carpenter ants weren’t really like my heart-idols after all.
Because they do requiring killing. And if they seem like they’ve gone away without my personally turning away from them, I’m kidding myself.
We need to repent.
And if you and I want to run the race of repentance, we need to personally interact with God, personally admit our sin, and personally turn away from that sin and to God.
That’s the last big thing I want you to notice in Hosea’s instruction manual on repentance.
Repentance means personally trusting in the gracious character of God.
“Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made...”
How are you doing at repentance?
Let me mention–for the very last time [in this sermon series!]–my carpenter ants.
They’re gone!
I was bound and determined to kill those buggers on Thursday night. Because I didn’t want to end this sermon series without reporting that I had actually done something about it. And I knew that this message was going to be on repentance, so I thought it would be perfect to spray on Thursday night.
So I told Heather that, and she said, “Oh, I think they’re gone. I haven’t seen one in several weeks and there aren’t any signs of them. No chewing sounds, no sawdust, nothing.”
They were gone!
And I didn’t have to do a thing about them. Hooray!
And that’s when I knew that my carpenter ants weren’t really like my heart-idols after all.
Because they do requiring killing. And if they seem like they’ve gone away without my personally turning away from them, I’m kidding myself.
We need to repent.
And if you and I want to run the race of repentance, we need to personally interact with God, personally admit our sin, and personally turn away from that sin and to God.
That’s the last big thing I want you to notice in Hosea’s instruction manual on repentance.
Repentance means personally trusting in the gracious character of God.
There is a turning from sin and a turning to God.
It’s both sides of that same coin.
Turning from sin and a turning to God Whom we know to be gracious. V.3 again.
“Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
Israel was to know this about God. God was compassionate to the fatherless.
And because Israel knew that, Israel was to trust in Him.
The repentance isn’t complete until the repent-er has put their faith in the gracious character of God.
Do you see that?
Hosea has been painting the picture, all along, of a gracious God slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness. A forgiving God. A merciful God.
A holy God! But one that has a holy love for His covenant people.
Remember Hosea 11, two weeks ago, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.”
And that’s the God whom Israel is to turn to and trust in!
Can you guess what Hebrew word is translated “compassion” at the end of verse 3?
It’s “Ruhammah.”
The opposite of what Gomer’s daughter was named.
Because that’s our God. He’s a God of second chances. He’s a God of forgiveness and mercy and grace and compassion on those who need it most–the fatherless.
And to run the race of repentance means that we put our trust in His compassion, His gracious character.
We personally come to him in personal interaction.
We personally admit our sin.
We personally turn from our sin.
And we personally trust in the gracious character of God.
That’s real repentance and we need it.
We need it for the first time.
And we need it again and again and again.
We need to repent.
And the most amazing thing is how God promises to respond to our repentance!
#2. GOD PROMISES TO RESTORE.
The fatherless do find compassion in Him. V.4
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.”
What a reversal! What a turnaround!
God promises to restore His repentant people.
There are a ton of illustrations here. Dew and lillies and cedars and roots and shoots and olive trees and shade trees and grain and wine.
And they are all pictures of a fully restored Israel–rich and luxuriant and healthy and vibrant again because of God’s grace.
And the key word that I love the most in this section is “will.”
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.”
God’s restoration will be efficacious. It will work. It will happen just as He promised.
Now, this didn’t happen before the discipline of the exile.
Hosea has made it clear that Israel was going to go through that discipline.
But it wouldn’t be total destruction.
And some day, Israel would repent and God would restore.
That probably was fulfilled in part with the return of Israel to the land in Nehemiah, Ezra, and Haggai.
But I can’t help thinking that the fullest fulfillment of this promise is found in the New Covenant when Israel’s Messiah came on the scene and Israel began (though they haven’t fully yet) to embrace their Messiah.
But the amazing thing to see today is simply that God promise to restore His repentant people.
There is forgiveness.
There is blessing.
There is rich fullness from God for people who don’t deserve it in the slightest but turn to Him.
Verse 4 again.
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely...” That means that there is no reason for Him to love us except that He freely chooses it in and of Himself.
“For my anger has turned away from them.”
We know now that this kind of grace is only available to us through the death of Jesus Christ for sinners like you and me.
Because of Jesus, God has freely loved us and turned away His wrath.
God promises to restore.
Are you “on the fence?”
Is there some sin in your life–perhaps your whole life or perhaps only what seems like a small part–that needs repenting of today?
Maybe Satan has been trying to tell you that it won’t do any good. You don’t deserve forgiveness and you’ll just mess up again if you get it.
He’s right that you don’t deserve it, but He’s wrong that it isn’t worth it.
When God’s people repent, God delights to restore them!
The New Testament says it this way, “Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
Don’t listen to Satan.
Listen to this description of restoration. V.8
“O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? [Come on! Return! Repent! Give them up!] I will answer [Israel] and care for him. I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me.”
God delights to restore His repentant people!
Because He gets the glory. Their fruitfulness is real and powerful and blessed and healthy...and comes from Him.
When God’s people repent, God delights to restore them!
And that’s what He offers to do for you and me if we would turn and return to Him.
He offers to be the source of our fruitfulness.
“Fruitfulness” is a play on words with Ephraim’s name. Joseph named his son Ephraim because God had given him fruitfulness in Egypt (Genesis 41:52).
God is offering to be the source of our fruitfulness even in Egypt!
Doesn’t that sound good?
Ironically, to some people it will not.
There are two kinds of people: the righteous and the rebellious.
The book of Hosea ends with one verse of wisdom that calls us to choose which one we will be. V.9
“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.”
#3. THE WISE RETURN TO THE LORD.
The ways of the LORD are right. Hosea says that there is no debating that.
But not everyone recognizes it.
The rebellious, even if they think they are doing well, will stumble over God’s ways.
They’ll stumble and stay proud.
They’ll stumble against the race of repentance.
And it will be their downfall. [Same Hebrew word in verse 1 and in verse 11.]
Stumble or downfall.
But the righteous, those in whom God is at work, will walk in God’s ways.
They will run the race of repentance.
Personally come to Him in personal interaction.
Personally admitting their own sin.
Personally turning from that sin.
Personally trusting in the gracious character of God.
And being personally restored by God the Father of Jesus Christ!
And if we are restored, how should we respond to that? Look back up again at verse 2.
“Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.”
Does that sound familiar?
It’s picked up again in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
If you and I are repentant and restored, we should be forever grateful.
But we have to choose.
Hosea ends with a choice, doesn’t it?
Are we going to walk or are we going to stumble?
Are we going to pridefully go to our downfall?
Or are we going to humble ourselves...and return?
It’s both sides of that same coin.
Turning from sin and a turning to God Whom we know to be gracious. V.3 again.
“Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say 'Our gods' to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
Israel was to know this about God. God was compassionate to the fatherless.
And because Israel knew that, Israel was to trust in Him.
The repentance isn’t complete until the repent-er has put their faith in the gracious character of God.
Do you see that?
Hosea has been painting the picture, all along, of a gracious God slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness. A forgiving God. A merciful God.
A holy God! But one that has a holy love for His covenant people.
Remember Hosea 11, two weeks ago, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.”
And that’s the God whom Israel is to turn to and trust in!
Can you guess what Hebrew word is translated “compassion” at the end of verse 3?
It’s “Ruhammah.”
The opposite of what Gomer’s daughter was named.
Because that’s our God. He’s a God of second chances. He’s a God of forgiveness and mercy and grace and compassion on those who need it most–the fatherless.
And to run the race of repentance means that we put our trust in His compassion, His gracious character.
We personally come to him in personal interaction.
We personally admit our sin.
We personally turn from our sin.
And we personally trust in the gracious character of God.
That’s real repentance and we need it.
We need it for the first time.
And we need it again and again and again.
We need to repent.
And the most amazing thing is how God promises to respond to our repentance!
#2. GOD PROMISES TO RESTORE.
The fatherless do find compassion in Him. V.4
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.”
What a reversal! What a turnaround!
God promises to restore His repentant people.
There are a ton of illustrations here. Dew and lillies and cedars and roots and shoots and olive trees and shade trees and grain and wine.
And they are all pictures of a fully restored Israel–rich and luxuriant and healthy and vibrant again because of God’s grace.
And the key word that I love the most in this section is “will.”
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon. Men will dwell again in his shade. He will flourish like the grain. He will blossom like a vine, and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.”
God’s restoration will be efficacious. It will work. It will happen just as He promised.
Now, this didn’t happen before the discipline of the exile.
Hosea has made it clear that Israel was going to go through that discipline.
But it wouldn’t be total destruction.
And some day, Israel would repent and God would restore.
That probably was fulfilled in part with the return of Israel to the land in Nehemiah, Ezra, and Haggai.
But I can’t help thinking that the fullest fulfillment of this promise is found in the New Covenant when Israel’s Messiah came on the scene and Israel began (though they haven’t fully yet) to embrace their Messiah.
But the amazing thing to see today is simply that God promise to restore His repentant people.
There is forgiveness.
There is blessing.
There is rich fullness from God for people who don’t deserve it in the slightest but turn to Him.
Verse 4 again.
“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely...” That means that there is no reason for Him to love us except that He freely chooses it in and of Himself.
“For my anger has turned away from them.”
We know now that this kind of grace is only available to us through the death of Jesus Christ for sinners like you and me.
Because of Jesus, God has freely loved us and turned away His wrath.
God promises to restore.
Are you “on the fence?”
Is there some sin in your life–perhaps your whole life or perhaps only what seems like a small part–that needs repenting of today?
Maybe Satan has been trying to tell you that it won’t do any good. You don’t deserve forgiveness and you’ll just mess up again if you get it.
He’s right that you don’t deserve it, but He’s wrong that it isn’t worth it.
When God’s people repent, God delights to restore them!
The New Testament says it this way, “Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
Don’t listen to Satan.
Listen to this description of restoration. V.8
“O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? [Come on! Return! Repent! Give them up!] I will answer [Israel] and care for him. I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me.”
God delights to restore His repentant people!
Because He gets the glory. Their fruitfulness is real and powerful and blessed and healthy...and comes from Him.
When God’s people repent, God delights to restore them!
And that’s what He offers to do for you and me if we would turn and return to Him.
He offers to be the source of our fruitfulness.
“Fruitfulness” is a play on words with Ephraim’s name. Joseph named his son Ephraim because God had given him fruitfulness in Egypt (Genesis 41:52).
God is offering to be the source of our fruitfulness even in Egypt!
Doesn’t that sound good?
Ironically, to some people it will not.
There are two kinds of people: the righteous and the rebellious.
The book of Hosea ends with one verse of wisdom that calls us to choose which one we will be. V.9
“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.”
#3. THE WISE RETURN TO THE LORD.
The ways of the LORD are right. Hosea says that there is no debating that.
But not everyone recognizes it.
The rebellious, even if they think they are doing well, will stumble over God’s ways.
They’ll stumble and stay proud.
They’ll stumble against the race of repentance.
And it will be their downfall. [Same Hebrew word in verse 1 and in verse 11.]
Stumble or downfall.
But the righteous, those in whom God is at work, will walk in God’s ways.
They will run the race of repentance.
Personally come to Him in personal interaction.
Personally admitting their own sin.
Personally turning from that sin.
Personally trusting in the gracious character of God.
And being personally restored by God the Father of Jesus Christ!
And if we are restored, how should we respond to that? Look back up again at verse 2.
“Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.”
Does that sound familiar?
It’s picked up again in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 15.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
If you and I are repentant and restored, we should be forever grateful.
But we have to choose.
Hosea ends with a choice, doesn’t it?
Are we going to walk or are we going to stumble?
Are we going to pridefully go to our downfall?
Or are we going to humble ourselves...and return?
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