Return to the LORD Your God (Hosea 14)
In the final chapter of Hosea, we see God’s last call through this prophet for Israel to return. Ok, imagine the worst kind of harlot you can imagine – a wretched woman, perhaps wearing a lot of make up but few clothes. A woman who has offered up her body time and again to be used and abused by men for what they could offer. This is what God saw when he looked down on the nation of Israel. They had tried every other god, tried to mix the idols with their worship to the one true God, and committed sins of all kind. But yet, God called for Israel to return because of His undying love and the covenant He had with them.
God even told them what to say in verse 2: Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously”…Oh friends, how gracious our God is. When we return to Him, He will never throw our former sin back in our face. He will never say, “Remember that time you worshipped that idol or that time you offered sacrifices to Baal”. Nope, Satan is our accuser, not Jehovah Rapha (the God who heals). He will take us back, heal our hearts, and cause us to flourish!
Verse 5 tells us that when Israel returns, God will cause them to grow up like a beautiful lily. He will restore their former beauty. He will also cause them to grow down like the roots of a cedar of Lebanon. What good would beauty above the surface do if we didn’t have a root system to keep us grounded in Him?
Finally, imagine faithful Hosea as he pursued his harlot-wife Gomer. She surely had lost some of her beauty through her adulterous, wild life style. But Hosea pursued Gomer as God pursued Israel. He redeemed and restored her as the wife that he loves. Hosea was the earthly example of what God was experiencing with Israel. So my final word to all of you is the same…”Return, O (insert your name), to the LORD your God”.
