God sent prophets to  warn Israel to turn from their disobedience for about 180 years before Hosea finally announced their impending punishment. Some people find the idea of punishment distasteful. They prefer the idea of a reform process that allows the person who did wrong a chance to turn his life around.

That’s called grace and forgiveness – and God originated the concept. He was the original re-former. He gave clear instructions, sent frequent reminders, rewarded good behavior, sent a series of warnings when people went astray, and explained very clearly what the consequences would be if people continued to break the law.

Even as the punishment began, God offered a way to escape for anyone who was willing to repent and return to him.

What is repentance?

Some people say repentance is changing one’s mind, or turning in a new direction. Those things do accompany repentance, but a person who merely changes her mind or turns in a new direction is acting in her own strength and that’s not sustainable. True repentance begins with the realization that a person is powerless to change by herself. She recognizes how utterly sinful she is and cries out to God to save her because she is genuinely sorry for her sins. She wants to be in a humble, forgiven, loving relationship with God.

People who have been willing to confess their sins publicly and ask God for forgiveness have sparked every great, mass revival throughout time. And personal revival happens the same way. Individuals realize their sinful condition, confess their sins, and ask for forgiveness and God gives them peace with him.

The Watchmen

God set his prophets as watchmen over Israel. Hosea was like a lookout on the city wall who saw danger coming and warned people. Some of them didn’t want to hear about it so they mocked Hosea and called him a fool.

“The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac. The prophet, along with my God, is the watchman over Ephraim, yet snares await him on all his paths, and hostility in the house of his God. They have sunk deep into corruption, as in the days of Gibeah. God will remember their wickedness and punish them for their sins” Hosea 9:7-9

It wasn’t easy to be a prophet.

But a severe punishment lay ahead for Israel. God wasn’t going to entrust them with new generations of children.

“Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird – no birth, no pregnancy, no conception. Even if they rear children, I will bereave them of every one . . . Ephraim is blighted, their root is withered, they yield no fruit. Even if they bear children, I will slay their cherished offspring.” Hosea 9:11-12, 16

The ten tribes in Israel were lost after the invasion by Assyria. To this day no one knows exactly what became of their descendants.

The Babylonians, who later invaded Judah, called the people of Judah “Jews”, but the members of the ten lost tribes had no name after they were captured. They were scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire and no records were kept of their children. Ephraim’s glory flew away like a bird.

God Mourns for Israel

God had many fond memories of Israel and he treasured them, but the relationship soured when his people turned away from him.

“When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal-Peor, they consecrated themselves to a shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.” Hosea 9:10

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them . . . How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?. . . My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused” Hosea 11:1-4, 8

God didn’t want to destroy this nation he created. He wanted them to return to him so he could bless them.

Healing in Repentance

Hosea proclaimed the path to repentance for Israel.

“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 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. 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.” Hosea 14:1-3

The path to becoming right with God included confessing their sins, trusting God for forgiveness, and committing never to go back to those sins. The Apostle Paul echoed Hosea’s instructions later in Romans 10:10-11.

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’”

God’s Incredible Grace

God was ready to heal and restore his people as soon as they turned to him. In an instant his anger could go away and he would give his love to them again.

“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

The Lord offered amazing grace. He even offered to restore their ability to have children and make their nation grow like a beautiful, fruitful tree or a thriving grape vine. It was up to them. At the end of this book of prophecies Israel still had time to repent. Hosea’s final words reminded them of that.

“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.” Hosea 14:9

Tomorrow we will see how well Israel responded to Hosea, their watchman and prophet.