Thoughts for the Day

A Plea for Repentance

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take words with you
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
‘Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
and we will offer
the fruit of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, “Our God”,
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.’

Assurance of Forgiveness

I will heal their disloyalty;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily,
he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.
His shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive tree,
and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
They shall again live beneath my shadow,
they shall flourish as a garden;
they shall blossom like the vine,
their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
your faithfulness comes from me.
Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The final chapter of Hosea begins with a call for Israel to return to God, acknowledging their past sins and seeking His forgiveness. The door to reconciliation with God lies open at this point. The prophet then goes on to describe the futility of putting their faith in alliances with countries like Assyria, or in a golden calf made by men's hands. Blessings will only come to those who turn back to the Lord. Hosea argues that the people should return to the Lord and ask Him to: "Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips." In other words they are to offer praise and worship to God as a demonstration of real repentance.

Then the prophet assures them that the Lord, in His infinite mercy, "will heal their disloyalty" and "will love them freely". He follows this by painting a picture of the nation as a beautiful garden lying in God's shadow, close to Him, where they will "blossom like the vine and their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon."

But we should note that Hosea closes the chapter with a solemn warning reminding the people that only the wise understand his words, and that otherwise they are a stumbling block for sinners. The book ends at this point and we are left in limbo as to the fate of the Northern Kingdom, though history is to tell us that Hosea's contemporaries were to ignore his warnings until Assyria swept down and destroyed Samaria and the Northern Kingdom.

The message is quite clear, when God gives warnings of judgement He is not playing with words. We should question ourselves as to how long His patience will last with us before we humbly seek His forgiveness.

Lord God,
You warned Your people through Your prophet Hosea
that judgement would occur for their sin
of ignoring Your words.
But they did not listen.
May we not be as stubborn
in ignoring the words of Your Son, our Lord.
May we seek Your forgiveness,
and Your loaving mercy this day.
Amen.