Humbly Seeking God

 


The application and the foreshadowing in Hosea 5:15-6:2 is amazing!
God said:
"I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.
Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant" (Hosea 5:15 ESV)
And the people replied:
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him." (Hosea 6:1-2 ESV)
God wants us to turn to him with urgency and do so consistently; not just a one time crying out. The two days mentioned by the people before God raises them up is profound. Jonah was in the belly of the whale 3 days and it must have seemed like an eternity to him - but it was only 2 full days as Jonah was repenting and on the third day Jonah was released.
This passage from Hosea, written 500 years or so before Jesus suffered on the cross and died for us, foreshadows those events. For two days His disciples experienced the agony of His torture and death. How long the second day, the Sabbath, must have been for them with Jesus buried in the tomb! But on the third day Jesus resurrected Himself to always live before us.
God has a wonderful plan for us (Jeremiah 29:11) but we must constantly and with urgency seek Him in order to find it (Jeremiah 29:13 - the companion verse that is so often overlooked).
God is also, always, consistent. Here in Hosea He tells us the the same thing as in Jeremiah. We must come to Him with urgency and consistency. He will reveal His plan for us when we do. When we try to shortcut the process, we will not receive His promise.
That likely means we will have to endure some period of hardship. Will it be more than a literal two days? Maybe. But when you look back at it you will be surprised at how God had been blessing you all along but you were too caught up in your dire situation to see it.
Remember, all good things come from God for it is His nature to do nothing else. That includes tough love. But take heart! For He has overcome this world and wants us with Him!

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