READING: Hosea 6-9
“Come, let us return to the Lord.For he has torn us,and he will heal us . . ..”
Hosea 6:1
The Word truly does have a way of digging deeply into the soul, piercing it, and challenging it. As I read today about the state of the Hebrews in Hosea’s descriptions, the words at first seem almost hard to believe. God had been so gracious to them, but their love for God was “like the morning mist and like the early dew that vanishes” (Hos. 6:4). That love was there at the beginning, but it far too easily disappeared in the heat of the day. They apparently had not completely ignored their rituals of sacrifice and offering, but God much more wanted them to know Him and to love Him with complete faithfulness.
They committed atrocities, practiced fraud, worshiped idols, and installed leaders without God’s approval, seemingly ignoring the possibility that He would “remember all their evil” (Hos. 7:2). Even their kings were falling—often by assassination—yet no one called upon God. They claimed to know Him and ignored Him at the same time. They would not escape judgment, however. God would send them into exile, and they would “become wanderers among the nations” (Hos. 9:7).
Their only proper response? “Come, let us return to the Lord” (Hos. 6:1). Amazingly, He who tears us also heals us, and He who wounds us also binds up those wounds. He is worthy of our praise!
ACTION STEPS:
- Recognize that God knows all your evil. Hide nothing from Him today.
- Thank Him for times when He has not only lovingly judged you, but He has also brought you back.
PRAYER: “God, forgive me when I live apart from You. Do what You must in my life to draw me fully to You.”
