07/05/2022
Our Father doesn’t like to lose a single soul, not even those that turn their backs on Him to worship other gods. If we have turned away, and our god has become money He will take it from us. If our god has become our beauty He will strip us of our youthful looks and fine clothes, and if our possessions have become our gods, He will cause them to break, wither, and vanish. He doesn’t do these things because He hates us, no, He does them to bring us back to Him… because He loves us. Have we become like these who once loved Him, but who have now turned our backs on Him as a people, country, or a person? Have we made the gifts of the world our idols and gods? Are we pursuing earthly loves, and left our One True God behind, alone? Well He still desires to have us return to Him, and will lead us into a desert place where there is nothing left to worship, or love, but Him. There, in that desolate place, He will woo us, bless us, and love us, as if we had never spurned Him, or turned away.
““Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.”
Hosea 2:14 ESV
In Hosea we read this story of a beautiful woman (Israel) who had turned away from God, her husband, and righteousness. She had prospered for a while, but now her life had diminished to the point that she lived in the Valley of Achor… or in other words… the Valley of Trouble. Here, in this awful place, it was God’s desire to give her another chance to return to her husband, regain righteousness, and turn back to Him.
“And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.”
Hosea 2:15 ESV
If we have turned away from God, or His Son Jesus Christ, then this is our fate… to be led into a place where we are left with nothing to worship, or love, but Them. This is the first attempt at telling us what happens when we turn away from our Father… this is the Old Testament version of the Prodigal Son story told by Jesus, and how we will be stripped of all we have, and in our desperation return home. Both are the greater story about a Father’s love, and how He waits for us.
Here is what occurred in the Old Testament story in Hosea… when the woman finally returns…
““And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’””
Hosea 2:21-23 ESV
And in the New Testament account of the Prodigal Son…
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15:20-24 ESV
So have we strayed away from righteousness, our faith, God, or Jesus? Do we think that the world and its pleasure is worthy of our worship? Are we still feasting on all that it has to offer with reckless abandon? Or, are we in the process of being stripped of the earthly gods we have made for ourselves, or perhaps already starving and hopelessly lost in the desert as God woos us? Well these stories tell us that there is hope, and if we are ready to change who we have become, and return to who we once were… the children of God… then our Father awaits us lovingly with open arms. We can heal ourselves, our people, and our nation if we will only return to the God of Abraham, and His Son Jesus Christ.
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us despite our transgressions. Thank you for taking away the pleasures of the world, and leading us into the desolation of the desert. Thank you for opening our eyes to your loving kindness, mercy, and grace, as you wait patiently for us to grow hungry for you, and to turn back towards our heavenly home, and your waiting arms. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who never abandons us, or stops loving us. Praised be your name for every graven image, idol, and god, you take away from us, and for the insuring hunger we feel for you as our retuning love blossoms for you once again. Merciful are you who does not leave us lost in the world. Sufficient is your grace to save us, our country, people, and the world. Redeem us in Jesus, and wash away every sin within us through the application of his precious blood. He is your lamb, and the world starves in the desert for His return. Open our hearts that we might receive Him, and our souls to you Father as you woo us, your mercy abounds, and your grace washes over us. In this way, judge us worthy on the day of judgement, call us your children, and seat us at your Holy Table. Feed us and give us divine drink as you quench our thirst and feed our famished spirits with your Word as we praise and worship you forevermore.
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”
2 Chronicles 7:13-16 ESV
Rich Forbes