Skip to main content

318. Prophecy of the Resurrection

Hosea 6:1-3
Key Verse: "After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us that we may live in His presence."
Hosea 6:2

No matter how it appears to us, God is in control. Hosea was speaking to a people who had rejected the Lord. They had turned their backs on Him and had chased after other gods as a foolish woman chases after another man and rejects her own husband.

For their unfaithfulness, God would punish, but as sure as the sun rises, He would also restore. To turn their backs on the One true God was the height of foolishness. To crucify Him and reject Him and prefer a man made religion about Him was just as evil and foolish. After all He had done for them, after all the love He had shown, He had been rejected.

In love, however, He could not leave His people in that rejected place. It is His nature to extend the hand of fellowship and strive again to restore what He had intended. "Come, let us return to the Lord." (Hos. 6:1A) It is the only right thing to do. "He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds." (Hos 6:1B) There has been great suffering on this Sabbath. Jesus’ followers have felt very separated from God, without direction or hope, but restoration is coming. Then, "We will live in His presence." (Hos. 6:2B)

"Let's acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him." (Hos. 6:3A) It's like the praise of the Psalmist in Psalm 13 again. We must remember that God is good no matter how circumstances appear. We must acknowledge Him in all our ways." (Proverbs 3:5-6) "As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, (or snows), like the spring rains that water the ground." (Hos. 6:3B) God is as faithful as the sun rise no matter how it appears.

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23) Just as the rainbow serves to remind us of God's faithfulness to His promise to Noah that He would never flood the earth again, let the sun rise remind you of God's faithfulness to us of His new creation and eternal presence. After all, sunrise was coming to a new and glorious day for those who had followed Jesus. There is a sun rise for us as well. It may be hidden by clouds for now, but the sun will rise, of that you can be sure. God is faithful to His own, of that, you can be even more sure.

Right now, you may be in a situation where you feel as though you are alone and that God is not with you. This is a horrible place to be. Satan loves nothing better than to convince us that we have been abandoned by God. Remember, Jesus hanging alone on the cross. He knows what you are feeling. Talk to Him and cry with Him if you must. Then, remember, the sun will rise, God is faithful and you will be restored in Him.


Hymn: "Restore Us O God"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

October 27 Save the Glaze for the Bunny

Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips of an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips. But in his heart, he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him. ~Proverbs 26:23-28 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. T...
Post a Comment
Read more

July 16 Thick Skinned Love

Whoever covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. ~Proverbs 17:9 If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ~Matthew 18:15  The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ~1 Peter 4:7-8  Being offended seems to be the battle cry of the day. Instead of freedom of speech, everyone has the right not to be offended. If one is offended, then one has the right to exact vengeance on the offender because, of course, the offender KNEW that he or she was being offensive and just didn’t care. Is that how you see much of society behaving today?  There seems to be all of this offending and finger pointing that just keeps growing and growing. Nothing is being resolved, just more blame that grows louder a...
Post a Comment
Read more