Verses like Hosea 14:4 are so encouraging. This verse in particular reminds us of God’s ability and willingness to provide hope and restoration to His people.
The prophet Hosea shows how Israel had wandered from the truths of God. He depicts Israel as a nation that has turned away from God, that has taken up idolatry and pagan worship and who now trust in foreign alliances. Hosea warns his people of impending judgment and calls upon them to repent. Despite Israel’s rejection of God, Hosea tells them, that God offers healing, forgiveness and love. Having abandoned God’s word, Israel had fallen a long way from God. Yet God continues to offer them hope and restoration. Hosea reminds us of God’s steadfast love for his people despite their persistent unfaithfulness.
God is still making this same offer today. We too live in a broken world, where many have forgotten God, are unaware of His promises, and persist in unfaithfulness. Regardless of how far we have fallen, God offers to restore us and give us hope. Let’s examine God’s healing, His unconditional love, His mercy, and the bright future that we have in Him.
God promises to turn back His people’s backsliding. According to Strong’s, the Hebrew word translated – backsliding is meshubah. It describes a moral and spiritual return. It portrays a sinful heart that has substituted idolatry or one that is complacent to true worship. Sinful behaviour results in separation from God, along with brokenness and guilt. But God promises to heal us of our backsliding.
Scripture portrays God as the great physician who is able to heal us of our spiritual ailments. 1 Peter 2:24 describes Jesus as the one “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” And Isaiah 53:5 states “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”
There is no limit to God’s healing power, and no sin too great for God to forgive.
God says that he will love us freely. His love is unconditional and not based on our worthiness. Love is part of the very nature of God, for as 1 John 4:8 puts it: “God is love”. Unlike our own love, which is often inconsistent and changeable, God’s love is steady and unwavering. He loves all, regardless of who they are or what they have done. Consider the following passages:
- Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Jeremiah 31:3 – “The Lord has appeared old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”
- James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
We can have confidence that God’s love is constant and everlasting. It can be easy to forget that God’s love is not like human love. Our willingness and capacity to demonstrate love varies from moment to moment or situation to situation. But God’s love is not like this. His love is everlasting, unconditional and constant. Nothing is going to change His love for us.
Hosea goes on to say in verse 4 that his anger is turned away. The sin of men rightly provokes God’s anger, Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
God’s anger is not vindictive. It flows from His holiness and is tempered by His desire to bring us back into a right relationship. His anger is always accompanied by grace and mercy which preserve our opportunity for repentance. We have an open invitation to return to a loving relationship with Him. As the prophet Micah puts it (7:18-19) “Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever. Because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Aroused by our sin, the wrath of God has been satisfied by the blood of Jesus who has made it possible for God to restore us and to live at peace with Him. Romans 8:1-2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” It is not necessary for us to live under the guilt and burden of sin. We can instead be obedient to God and enjoy a life blessed by God’s grace, mercy and freedom.
Through God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness we can have a restored relationship with Him and live a fruitful life for Him. Our God has the capacity to restore what was lost and strengthen us for the future.
- 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
- 1 Peter 5:10 “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”
God hopes to heal and restore us. To enjoy healthy relationships, and lives filled with divine purpose. When we hope in the Lord, we remove uncertainty, for God is constant in love and always keeps his promises.
What the world offers is temporary, because one day, the world itself will pass from existence. But when we trust in God, the object of our hope abides forever. He restores us to a permanent relationship. Renewal in Christ is eternal, as is life with him in heaven.
We live in a broken world, which can seem discouraging and hopeless. God promises us a hopeful tomorrow, knowing that God always keeps his promises.
- Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
- Jeremiah tells us that God’s mercies are new every morning, despite what happened yesterday we have new hope each day,
- Lamentations 3:22-23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
- Paul tells in Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
If you are like me, you have a number of unfinished projects around your home, We can have confidence though that God will finish the work that he began with us. With His help and guidance we know that we can successfully finish the race and receive the prize of eternal life in heaven. God will not leave us unfinished.
Hosea 14:4 reminds us that God is a God of hope and restoration. No matter how far we’ve drifted, He offers healing, forgiveness and everlasting love. This is good news worth sharing. Let us hold fast to this hope and share it with others..
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