Return! God is waiting for you!

It is impossible to return to somewhere unless there is a place where we used to be. The people of Israel were at one time enjoying a positive relationship with God. By the time of Hosea the Prophet (approximately 790 to probably no later than 722 BCE), Israel had departed from their cherished relationship with the Lord, who identified Himself as “your God.” (Hosea 13:4) That relationship was certified in God’s own words: “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:19, 20, NKJV) The call to Israel is to return to that relationship…a call that is powerfully present at all times.

Israel’s problem was disloyalty to God, expressed in having turned away from the God who had delivered them out of the Egyptian bondage, cared for them in the wilderness, established them in the Land of Promise by triumphing over their enemies. (See Hosea 13:4-6.) Now they trusted in what “they” could do. That is, by the time of Hosea, faith and trust in and reliance on God had been replaced by “sacrifices” and “burnt offerings” as the means of salvation. “Not so!” said God. His relationship with Israel and all of us, was and is based on His undying love, and not on “sacrifices” and “burnt offerings,” or what we do…or give!

Hosea’s call was: “Come, and let us return to the LORD.” (Hosea 6:1, NKJV) He also recorded God’s further instruction to His people: “You must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.” (Hosea 12:6. TNIV) This harmonizes with God’s earlier statement: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6) Here is a basic “positive vs negative” tension point. On the positive side, “Learn how to know God more deeply, and how to express that knowledge in loving, obedient loyalty to Him and others.” On the negative side, remember that “sacrifices” and “burnt offerings” can never bring redeeming grace to the heart and life of anyone.

1. Where is the focus of my trust for salvation and the assurance of heaven?
2. Where is God on the scale of my life? If I say in place number one, do I believe HE would agree?
3. Am I actively involved in the work of my church? Do I pay my tithes regularly? Why?
4. How much time do I actually spend daily in God’s Word? And daily in prayer?
5. Do I feel I need to learn more about “how to know God more deeply,” and “how to show mercy, according to His Word?”