What does a good parent do when one of their children willfully disobeys? A good and caring parent will give loving discipline when their child steps out of line. They don’t want to see their child get deep into trouble or sin, which disobedience will lead to. God is no different. He is more loving than the best of parents, and He does not want to see any of His children go down the path of willful disobedience. In our Scripture today the Lord speaks of how sometimes it is necessary for Him to bring discipline.
Our Old Testament Scripture this week comes from the prophet Hosea. Hosea was one of the Minor Prophets. (The term “minor prophet" means that their books were shorter than the books of what are called the “major prophets”, such as Isaiah or Jeremiah. It does not imply that their message was any less important.) Hosea preached and ministered to ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the mid-to-late 8th century BC, shortly before the fall of that kingdom to Assyria, and the people being taken captive. Shortly after the nation of Israel split into two (during the reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon), the country fell into idolatry, worshiping the pagan, Canaanite gods, and never returned to the true worship of Yahweh. Hosea used the analogy of an unfaithful wife to that of the unfaithfulness of Israel against the Lord God. In our passage, we see that the Lord is disciplining the people, with the hopes that they will mend their ways and return to Him.
As our passage opens, the Lord God is speaking (vs. 15). He says how He will go and return to His place, He will step aside, or remove Himself, until the people acknowledge their offense. Sometimes the Lord needs to do that to us, as well. When we fall into willful sin, and we do not heed the conviction of sin that the Holy Spirit brings, speaking to our heart, the Lord might step aside, and our prayers are not answered. We read in Psalm 66:18 that if we regard iniquity or sin in our heart, God will not hear us. If we are willfully sinning, God steps aside. He turns away until we acknowledge and repent of that sin.
God does not afflict, discipline, or punish us because He enjoys it (Lamentations 3:33). He allows adversity because sometimes that is the only way to get our attention, and it is the only warning that we will heed. A good parent will warn their child when they see them starting to stray towards disobedience. They may give them a couple of warnings, but if the child remains willful, then the punishment comes. If the child had listened, they wouldn’t be punished, but they refused. A good parent doesn’t enjoy punishing the child, and neither does God. However, sometimes that’s the only thing that will sink into their brain. When the Lord gives discipline, it is for the purpose that we repent and return to Him.
After having been punished, a wise child will learn from the discipline, and will return to being obedient (vs. 1). After we receive discipline in some manner from the Lord for misdeeds and sins we commit, hopefully we also repent and return to the Lord, we get our lives right with Him. Then He will heal and bind us up from the sins and waywardness we have followed. Israel, as a nation, has never come back to the Lord Jesus in the fashion represented here. However, when Jesus returns at His Second Coming, the nation of Israel will turn to Him.
Many times, both during Biblical days and today, people’s repentance is insincere. They “return” to the Lord only with lip service and meaningless sacrifices, rather than true repentance (vs. 4). These people profess loyalty, but like the dew or morning fog, it evaporates easily and has no substance. They maintain the appearance of being committed, but without deep and sincere loyalty to Jesus. Their spirituality is mere rituals which mean nothing.
God does not dislike sacrifices or religious rituals, however they are only helpful if they are carried out with an attitude of love for, and obedience to the Lord (vs. 6). If a person’s heart is far from God, rituals and sacrifices become empty mockery. God wants our hearts first, not empty rituals.
The prophet Hosea spent years preaching to the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He sought to call them back to true worship of the Lord, but they would not turn from their sinful ways, no matter how many times God sent various types of discipline. Have you strayed from the Lord, and know that He is trying to call you back to Him, but you haven’t yet heeded His persuasion? Don’t let your faithfulness to God be as fleeting as the people of Israel’s was! Acknowledge your offenses and seek His face.
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