Scripture: Hosea 14:1-9
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria cannot save us;
we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
to what our own hands have made,
for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
4 “I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
he will send down his roots;
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
7 People will dwell again in his shade;
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
9 Who is wise? Let them realize these things.
Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.
Observation:
God, speaking through the prophet Hosea tells Israel to return to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Reject the idols that they have made with their own hands.
Then God says: “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots; his young shoots will grow.” (Hosea 14:4-6)
Application:
When we turn away from our sinfulness and turn back to God, God is faithful and just to forgive our waywardness, restoring us to a full reconciled relationship with our God.
Prayer:
Lord God, help us to see our unrighteousness and turn back to you, repenting of our sins. Your word tells us that if we are faithful to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, we will be healed by your grace. Keep us from sinning and give us a new life in your Spirit that we may honor you in everything we do and say. Amen.