Hosea 1-3 | Divine Judgement And Coming Hope

God will not overlook sin. When His people wander from Him, He comes to them and calls them back to Himself. One of the tools He uses is men of God in whom He instills His Word to deliver to the people.

Hosea was such a man. The kings of Judah were wandering away from God. Hosea was called by God to deliver a message, both verbally and with a remarkable, real-life visual that no one could deny nor forget. He was asked by God to marry a harlot. Their children would be given names that signified exactly how God felt about Judah's spiritual harlotry.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2)

But in the end, as it always is with God, there is a message of hope. That God would redeem, His people would return, and there would be blessing again.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

Bring her into the wilderness

And speak kindly to her.

Then I will give her her vineyards from there,

And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.

And she will sing there as in the days of her youth. (Hosea 1:14-15)

This reminds us that God's judgments are given for a reason: He longs to bring us back to Himself.

Every serious pastor and theologian I know would say that America is right now under the judgment of God. The signs are everywhere. The question is, will we repent and return? Will the church in America cry out to God and come back to Him?

Father, You are perfect in Your judgments. Thank You that You love us enough to call to us when we wander. Lord, be merciful to us and to our nation. Send the revival and spiritual awakening that we so desperately need.