Title: Return to God
Scripture Reading: Hosea 6:1-3
Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
All Men and women are all created in the image of God. Ultimately, every man and woman is a valued human being created by God.
- Return to God
Hosea 6:1 says, ‘Come let us return unto the LORD.’ The Hebrew term translated as “return” is used more than 1000 times in the OT. In reference to what God desires for us, it is used more than any other term, and is a picture of repentance, reconciliation and restoration. In the book of Hosea alone, the term is used 23 times and all the way into the last chapter Hosea is pleading with God for His people and God promises to answer if they will just return to Him.
Who or what or why to return to?
Firstly, it is to return to God.
The word used for God was LORD. It means YHWH or the sovereign (self-governing and self-determining) God.
Secondly it is to return to repentance
The word ‘return’ implies repentance. In the AMP, the word ‘return’ was translated as ‘repentance.’
What do I mean by repentance?
It is to feel sorry, self-reproachful for past conduct and even present conduct. It is to regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, an attitude. It is to be penitent.
Thirdly, it is to recognize that He had torn but he will heal us
The verb ‘torn’ is a term that described God in judgment as a ferocious lion. A lion torn its victim to pieces.
The word used here; ‘has torn’ or ‘has wounded’ is pictures of a man or woman being violently and improperly torn.
The phrase ‘he has smitten’, in context could mean, ‘to smite with a single non-lethal blow or to smite repeatedly. The truth of the matter, the verb used in verse 1 is God has smitten me.
Yet, the purpose of Hosea 6 is to declare that you can receive healing and forgiveness from God for all the things you did wrong – but you need to cry out to him and say, ‘HELP ME.’
Joyce Meyer writes, ‘emotional healing does not come easily and can be quite painful. Sometimes we have wounds that are still infected, and before we can be thoroughly healed, those wounds must be opened and the infection removed. Our sin must be exposed before God and removed. Only God knows how to do this properly.
One of the most frequent prayers is ‘HELP LORD’.
If you want healing: you need to cry out to him: “HELP LORD”.
Bible commentator says that Hosea 6:1-3 are the words of the Priests.
Number 18:1 ‘And the LORD said unto Aaron (the High Priest). Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.’
John 20:23 says ‘Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.’
If you have understanding of Hosea 6, it is actually God’s last call for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. What I am trying to say is that it could be God’s last call to you to return.
- The Answer is Jesus
“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”
Hosea 6:2 KJV
3 Meaning in this verse:
Firstly, all your problems in life can only be solved by Jesus.
Secondly 2 days is a Hebrew Idiom for a short period of time. The meaning is that your suffering all this while is only for a short period of time compared to the eternal blessings
Thirdly the meaning for this verse is that it is a common proverb for the establishment of an agreement.
This morning Jesus is calling people: “Come back to me!” The invitation is to come home.
- We do not have to stay in disappointment, heartbreak and sorrow.
- We no longer have to bear the weight of guilt and shame; we were not designed to exist in misery, but in fullness, joy and abundance.
- There is a place where doubt can become faith, discouragement can become joy, despair can become fulfillment and defeat can become victory.
- Revive Us
Hosea 6:3 says, ‘“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’
God will revive our lives again. Revive comes from the root word, ‘to live’ or ‘revive’. It is parallel to ‘raise’
How does God revive us actually? He breathes unto us the Holy Spirit. You can call it the breadth of God.
This morning, if you want revival, you need the Holy Spirit to bring into your nostril the breadth of life. You need as the theme of our Harvest Month says ‘Catch a breath.’
What is involved in this revival of your life?
Firstly, we will become personally acquainted with him. This is found in Hosea 6:3, ‘Then shall we know.’ That is the very secret of the solution to the problems of life – to know the LORD.
Secondly, we shall experience blessings. Hosea 6:3 says, ‘He shall come to us as the rain.’ Rain speaks of blessings
