In these final chapters of Hosea we feel the great ache of God’s heart towards wayward Israel once again. Israel still has no understanding that her idolatrous practices will inevitably lead to her downfall. Sin reaps its own rewards and Israel is leaving herself wide open for the judgment of God which will surely come. Images abound throughout Scripture of God as a protecting force. He is a safe place to be and we need to remind ourselves of that when we are tempted to choose ungodly paths.
In verse 4 of chapter 13, even amidst the prophecies of destruction, we hear the tender heart of the God who has watched over Israel for so long: ‘I am the Lord your God… I knew you in the wilderness ..’ Yet Israel has taken God’s abundant provision, become prosperous and then promptly forgotten from whence her prosperity came!
God’s passionate and frustrated cry continues in v 9:’Your help is from me! I will be your King; where is any other?’ Wake up Israel, says God. Look at the facts. What happened when you got the king you so desperately wanted so that you could be like the other nations? Did he save you? We are reminded that Saul, far from delivering the Israelites from the Philistines, came himself to a tragic and God-forsaken end at their hands. So much for the ability of earthly rulers to save and protect the nation.
From being a ‘fruitful vine’, the picture of Israel in verse 15 and 16 is one of a dry, barren wilderness, made desolate by an invading oppressor (which was to be the Assyrian army).
The book concludes with the clarion call of God’s merciful voice to Israel again: ‘O Israel, return to the Lord your God’. How long-suffering is this God, always creating opportunities for us to repent and turn back to Him. He even tells them how: ‘Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity, receive us graciously’’ (14 v 2). How quickly would Israel’s fruitfulness be restored v. 5 – 7.
Similarly, for us. Sin is not an issue for God where there is repentance. Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven. Hosea ends with an encouragement to learn from and to walk in God’s righteous ways.
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Today: is there an area in our life where we need ‘to take words with us and return to the Lord’? We need to tell God exactly what it is we are sorry about and repent. Our enemy loves the darkness and likes sin to stay covered and vague in the shadows of our thinking. Sometimes simply confessing our sin out loud and giving it a name can help us be free from its power.
