Scripture Text: Hosea 14:1-3
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of
your iniquity.
Hosea 14:1
Dorothy got back to Kansas with a click of her heels and the phrase, “There’s
no place like home.” Alice sent the house of cards flying as she woke up from
her Wonderland adventure. Lucy walked back through the woods and the
wardrobe to return to the Professor’s house. And Hansel and Gretel let bread
crumbs mark their return trail. Like so many children’s stories, Israel’s main
need was as simple as finding their way home.
They needed God to show them how to return to Him. Israel didn’t get to their
miserable condition by a cyclone or magical portal. Sin was the gateway to
their destruction, and their sin needed to be addressed and eliminated before
God would welcome them back. They needed new hearts in order to utter
words of repentance that would lead them to forgiveness.
Israel first needed to ask God to forgive their sins, which would include
admitting they had sinned in the first place. Such confession was the key
component missing from their plea in chapter 6. Once they had received
forgiveness, they could once again offer their praises to God (v. 2).
The people also needed to admit the futility of turning to Assyria for help. They
had to recant from their dependence on military fortifications, horses, and
chariots in accordance with a commandment issued through Moses—before
Israel had even asked for a king, God anticipated their desire to assemble an
army like Egypt’s ( Deut. 17:16 ). God’s people were to depend on the
superiority of their God instead of their artillery.
Finally, Israel needed to acknowledge that they would follow God alone, never
again giving their worship to manmade objects. God connected commitment
to Him with a statement about His compassion. God wasn’t standing at a
distance demanding allegiance from His lowly subjects. God’s command for
exclusive worship came from a heart of compassion, loving the most humble
inhabitants of His kingdom. Israel could never receive forgiveness if they
persisted in their adultery of spirit.
Reflect
1. Can you still recognize what sin is and isn’t?
2. Can you still admit that you sin against God?
3. Can you still see how far have you gone astray?
Remember
Asking for forgiveness from God seems simple, but it often doesn’t feel easy.
It can be tempting to try handling sin ourselves. We think that if we just
discontinue our sinful actions, we won’t have to bring God into the picture.
But, like Israel, we aren’t very good at dealing with sin on our own.
The only way to true freedom comes from admitting your sin to God and
asking Him for forgiveness. Acknowledge how your wrongdoings are an
offense to God and tell Him with the help of His Spirit you will no longer
persist in sin! And this would take you to need a change of heart and this is
only possible through His power; and yes even on our own, we will not and
cannot.
It is terrifying not to see, admit, ask for forgiveness and promise to follow God
only in our lives.
Read
Psalm 51:2-10; Ezekiel 26:25-26; Acts 26:18-20
Pray
Heavenly Father, give me a new heart. One that always seeks to do Your will.
One that is always sensitive to Your will. One that readily admits when I sin,
asks for Your forgiveness and One that loves to love You always. This I pray in
Jesus' Name. Amen.
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