Hosea 8 – I shall live before Him

The Word of God: Hosea 6:1-3

“Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has struck us down, but 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 in His presence. Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His coming is as sure as the dawn; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Amen.

 

The Sin and Pride of Israel in its Golden Age

When the prophet Hosea ministered, God gave him many truly heavy and difficult messages. At that time, although Israel was morally corrupt, it was going through its golden age, so the Northern Kingdom of Israel was wealthy. As people became materially abundant, the fear of God disappeared, as is often the case. It was a time when worshipping idols or even deceiving others for the sake of one's wealth and possessions was not difficult to do.

 

Friends, if you don't understand this passage by considering that this message was proclaimed at that time, the content of this passage can be very difficult. Therefore, the text of Hosea that we will cover today is a passage we love and many are familiar with, but it is not a very easy passage.

 

The Essence of Sin: Forgetting the Purpose of Salvation

Through Hosea chapter 5, God clearly addresses the fundamental part of the Northern Kingdom of Israel's sin. They were enjoying blessings. They had been victorious, they were a powerful nation, and they even received tribute from surrounding countries. But the Bible, and especially God, asks them why they have fallen into sin and what the essence of that sin is. Their blessings and victories were not the sin. They were God's grace. Rather, forgetting why God had saved them was the most important reason that led them to fall into sin.

 

'Why was I saved? Why does God bless me? Why does God allow me even this much health? Why does God give me these times? For what purpose, why does God want to prepare something in my life, or in my eternal life?' When we lack this awareness, we lose the reason to pursue a holy life. Our eyes naturally turn to what we possess, what we are currently given, or what we consider to be success. And we cannot help but desire it more. If a person has one, they want two, and if they have two, they want three, and since life becomes increasingly comfortable, that desire appears in our lives as success.

 

Impoverished Christianity Trapped in Self-Centered Faith

Therefore, we sometimes fall into sin without even realizing it. This is because we are interested only in what we are enjoying, rather than exalting God. Thus, faith is also constantly used to 'milk' out of our own existing faith. My faith inevitably becomes my own strength. My past service in the church becomes my own strength. The responses God gave me in the past become the end of the testimonies I constantly share about my life.

 

Because God is not interested in how I bear God's fruit in my life through these things, we have little else to boast about other than what we possess, rather than the character that resembles Jesus Christ. How impoverished has Christianity become? How many buildings we have, how many places we are doing missions, and how much money and budget we have are even talked about in general newspapers. This is truly something to be ashamed of. If Christianity, or the faith we believe in, can be explained by such things, we should consider that we are believing in a distorted Christianity that the Bible is not speaking of at all. Because explaining the Gospel of God with those things is the poorest thing to do. How could that be Christianity?

 

However, Israel was not much different from us. So, what does Hosea say? “You yourself have become a snare and a trap to your own faith.” It means that what hinders our faith is ourselves. But there is another aspect. It is good for us to enjoy blessings and victories, and it is good to be thankful for them, but we often forget God while doing so. In other words, our interest is always in what is held in God’s hand rather than seeking God Himself. Therefore, as long as we are not interested in God and do not seek Him, our hearts will ultimately not be filled with God. And there can be no satisfaction of heart that is not filled with God.

 

The Only One Who Fills Our Satisfaction, Yahweh

There must be times in your life, since you were born and have lived until now, when you thought, 'Ah, I spent this time with true satisfaction.' There might be times when you wish you could go back to. But how did it feel when you were going through that time? You probably weren't very satisfied then. If you try to seek satisfaction in your life, there is one gap that you cannot fill, so you crave and seek it your whole life, and unless that is fulfilled, you cannot taste that satisfaction while you live. So, what should we do to find that satisfaction? The Bible expresses it in a single phrase: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

 

The Reality of Powerless Faith in the World

If you truly do not seek God and do not long for this relationship with Him, this faith that you believe in is truly powerless in this world. It doesn't bring you money, nor does everyone who has good faith become healthy. Having good faith doesn't mean that everything in your home, and all that you want to do, always happens. In this world, the faith you possess might not help you much. Rather, the Bible tells us, as we will examine later, that in this world you will suffer with Jesus Christ, that the world might hate you, and that the world will often not be on your side.

 

Friends, if we believe in Jesus without considering these things, and without confessing that the Lord is truly precious in my life despite these realities, what true joy and happiness can we possibly have as people who live with this faith in this world?

 

When God Becomes Our Eternal Satisfaction

Ah, of course, God will meet your needs. The Lord, who knows our weaknesses, will sometimes meet your needs with wealth, sometimes with health, and sometimes by fulfilling the many joys and desires you have, little by little. However, the reason God meets those needs is not for you to fulfill them and be satisfied with them, but to help you realize that God is your satisfaction, which can never be filled by those things. 'Ah, these worldly things give temporary satisfaction but then disappear. These things give me temporary joy, but ultimately they are nothing. My eternal satisfaction is truly in God.' This is what He wants us to realize.

 

It is truly foolish to say this only after we have grown older and experienced many bitter and sweet tastes in life. When God becomes your satisfaction, you realize through your faith, 'Ah, no matter what I go through, no matter what difficulty I am in, faith is truly a magnificent thing. It is truly tremendous grace and so precious to us.'

 

The Mistaken Solution Sought in Discipline

Friends, we now move on to the next content spoken by the Bible. As we continuously fill our hearts with idols and seek only what is in God's hand rather than seeking God Himself, our hearts remain empty, and that emptiness is again filled with idols. Consequently, we naturally seek worldly blessings rather than heavenly blessings, success rather than suffering or tears, and pride and selfishness rather than humility and love. Hosea says of this, 'Israel, you have become arrogant.' Arrogance is not being satisfied with God or seeking God, but desiring only what is in God's hand.

 

The Pain of Discipline, and the Inclination Toward Assyria

Therefore, God naturally disciplines them. No parent can watch their child go down the wrong path. Only after we suffer, struggle, and face difficulties because of this discipline, do we finally see our own sickness and wounds. We recognize the pain. We see our wounds. 'Ah, it's hard. I thought my faith was strong, but when I face this problem, this is the reality of my faith.' Some might self-pityingly say, 'Ah, I'm only this much,' and others might resolve, 'No, I must get up.' Thus, we finally understand everything when we are struggling.

 

However, in many cases, we tend to move in the same direction as Israel. This is because we are only interested in the solution of the problem itself, rather than the cause of the problem. Because that is our greatest concern, we don't have much interest in the problem's cause. We are not interested in 'What is sin, what are our weaknesses, and what caused this problem to appear for us,' but what becomes important is, 'How can I cure this sickness? How can I cover this wound?'

 

So, the Bible reveals a startling conclusion. We would expect a conclusion like, 'When Ephraim realized his sickness and Judah realized his wound, Ephraim went to God and prayed, and Judah repented with tears before the Lord.' However, the word in Hosea 5:13 is recorded as follows:

 

"When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb; but he could not cure you, nor heal your wound."

 

Why go to Assyria when they should have gone to God? Because they thought Assyria was the one who could solve this problem right now. An enemy army invaded. But their own army is weak. So, asking a stronger army for help seems very natural, and it doesn't seem like a big logical problem.

 

In the Bible, God actually tells the prophet Jeremiah not to ask Egypt for help. The problem wasn't asking Egypt or Assyria for help itself. In fact, the problem was what their heart was relying on. What did they rely on? 'They were actually not relying on God. They were not kneeling before God.' Not one of them confessed, 'God, what is my sin? God, what pleases you? God, what should I do?' and ran to God. Instead, they all ran toward Assyria as if it were the obvious thing to do. That is the part that the Bible is severely pointing out to us. It is because our sickness and the wounds we are experiencing are greater. Our emotional pain, our frustration, and our problems are too great. Therefore, they went to Assyria, believing it could solve this problem. Of course, they could not be cured.

 

God Awaiting Repentance: Aslan the Lion

To help them realize, the Lord now becomes a Lion. So, He seizes their necks. They should come to their senses, right? Ah, but they still don't. Does God then give up? This final verse, 5:15, is truly the gospel for us; it expresses it this way:

 

"I will return again to My place until they seek My face; in their distress, they will earnestly seek Me." That is, 'I will meet you when you repent.'

 

Hosea 6:1: Insincere Repentance

Friends, and then we encounter today's text, Hosea 6:1. It is probably one of the most earnest pleas you can read in the Bible.

 

"Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has struck us down, but He will bind us up." Amen.

 

It is so full of grace, right? However, this passage is not as simple as we think. It is quite unclear who spoke these three verses. Was it Hosea speaking to the Israelites? Or were the Israelites speaking of their plight before God? Or was God telling the Israelites, 'This is what you should say'? We commonly see this verse as an earnest plea to repent before God and return to the Lord, but that is not actually the case.

 

The subtitle for Hosea chapter 6 is 'The Insincere Repentance of the People.' This passage that we like so much actually has the opposite meaning in the Bible. Verse 1 says, 'He has torn us, but He will heal us,' but the Israelites had not been torn yet. As I mentioned before, they were still eating well and living well. God is actually making a final declaration now. He is declaring, 'You are continually rotting and corrupting, and the justice that will eventually fall upon you is that you will be torn.' 'The Lion will tear you as it tears its prey.' The Lion in Hosea is not just for decoration. It is a dangerous and fearsome beast. Encountering it means certain death.

 

Aslan, the King of Justice and Goodness

Friends, you may know the Narnia Chronicles movie or novel. C. S. Lewis wrote the novel for young adults to introduce his nephew to Jesus Christ. The name of the great Lion in the novel is Aslan. Prominent Old Testament scholars like Golden Gay believe that C. S. Lewis may have gotten the idea for Aslan from Hosea, because the Lion in Hosea is a fearsome Lion.

 

In the novel, there is a scene where someone asks about Aslan the Lion. 'Is the Lion truly safe?' The answer is, "Safe? Who said anything about safe? He's not safe. But He is good. He is the King. He executes justice." The Lion performed justice benevolently. And He was a fearsome being. Because He is the one who can seize our neck like a lion, kill us instantly, judge us, and consign us to eternal punishment. This means we are also aware that we are unqualified to say, 'God, you cannot do this to us,' when we examine what we have done before God and our lives. When He executes justice, there is no one among us who can stand before Him.

 

God is a Lion. He is the one who can seize our necks and cut off our lives and breath immediately, and we can say nothing. 'Yet He is good, merciful, and full of lovingkindness,' the Bible says. What will this God do? When we are disciplined, we look elsewhere. Because we came to God's embrace thinking it was safe, but now we think God's embrace is not safe.

 

True Comfort Learned Through Discipline

Many of you were disciplined by your parents when you were young. When we believe in Jesus and come to God, God does not praise you every day, but sometimes disciplines you, saying, 'You must learn this.' At that time, we often think, 'Is God not real?' or, 'How can God do this to us, even though He is love?' That's why you think God is not safe. But God is the truly good Father who embraces you. When we are disciplined, we are all similar. 'Where is my ally?', 'Where did my joy go?' Consequently, we are easily tempted if someone offers us something sweet and delicious. However, God's discipline is certainly painful, but to cause you pain is not the entirety of its purpose. You all know that the purpose is to make you better, upright, and able to rise up.

 

If you think, 'Ah, this sermon is ultimately aimed at me,' you are listening to this sermon very well. Yes, it is aimed directly at you. It is aimed at me too, but it is aimed directly at you. But not just you, it is also aimed at the members of your congregation around you.

 

The Unity of the Body in the Community

Please remember. Both Judah and Israel are disciplined. The entire community is in pain. When Paul rebuked the Corinthian church in the New Testament, how many of them must have felt wronged? 'I'm not one of them! What do you mean I'm of Paul? What do you mean I'm of Apollos? I don't even know Apollos' face. How can Paul lump us all together and talk to us like this? I am not guilty. When did I ever commit the sins that even Gentiles don't commit?' How many must have felt wronged? Paul was so anxious when he sent that letter that he thought, 'I wish I never had to write a letter like this again.' He felt an enormous burden because he was so worried and anxious that many people might stumble when reading his letter, seeing that they would be deeply hurt by the words. However, he sent that letter to the Corinthian church for only one reason.

 

Paul knew that although we may not all commit the same sins, and we are all in different situations—some are in difficult situations, some are in tears, and some are in joy—we are one body. When something happened, Paul was rebuking those who said, 'No, I'm not. I'm doing well.' 'Aren't you one body? When a finger hurts, does the rest of your body remain untouched and fine?' If an arm is broken, the neck and legs all suffer. Every part is bound to feel pain. If your leg hurts, your whole body will suffer because you can't walk. So, how can we not share the burden and not share the pain? That is truly what is so necessary for all of us right now.

 

We have begun singing hymns again. It is truly a thankful and joyful thing, and I am very happy. However, friends, we confess that we have not solved this precious task given by God well in the process of starting the singing again. It was difficult to solve, and we are still in the process of solving it. Those who will be leading the hymns will not feel completely at ease, and those of us sitting and listening will not feel completely satisfied either. But this is still the process by which God trains us, and we must deeply consider how we can grow in God and draw closer to Christ through this work, and how our character will change. While it is precious that the worship team is standing up again, if we do not consider how we have been worshipping, where our hearts should be directed, how we can embrace those who have been hurt and struggling over this issue by standing shoulder to shoulder and shedding tears with them, and how God will work in us in this task we are now attempting together, then how are we any different from Israel who was rebuked and disciplined like this?

 

You know very well that we are not satisfied merely with being able to worship in a 'good place and in a good environment,' don't you? Why are we thankful for this? It is not because 'we are comfortable because of what God has given us,' but because 'we are thankful that God loves us and extends His interest and love even to this kind of work.' As we consider what your children and the fellow believers beside you are suffering because of, what we should be thankful for, and how we should go before the Lord, we rejoice together. And without the heart to share the burden and shed tears together, we cannot rejoice together.

 

The Nature of a Healthy Church and the Goodness of God

Friends, many aspects of all these processes remain as tasks for us, and we will continue to seek what is God's good way for us in God. The one thing we believe in is this: God is good. Because of His goodness, whatever we are going through—whether it is a small thing, a very difficult thing, or something so challenging that it determines our faith—we are all under the hand of the good God. So, within that, we will exert all our strength and effort to bear the fruit that the Lord wants us to bear, and we all try to walk that path together, sharing the burden. The answer is not merely 'I am a little more comfortable, or I am doing a little better, or what I want is happening.' The question is, in all these things, what meaning will Jesus Christ have for us? What kind of Lord will I learn about again? Will I truly become one with that Lord? That is the healthy church we must strive for.

 

The Nature of a Truly Healthy Church

A healthy church is not a church that does everything well. 'Wow, this church does missions well, relief work well, and the preaching is great.' No. The Corinthian church was exactly like that. How many spiritual gifts they had, how well they taught the Bible; they had factions of Apollos, Paul, even Peter, and Jesus. Such a place was not healthy. A healthy church is one where the brothers know why gifts were given to them, why this good word was granted to them, and what they are commanded to do according to that word. So, what is the most important thing in 1 Corinthians? 'Though I have all these many gifts, I will show you the most excellent way.' 'If we cannot use these very gifts by love, by the cross of Jesus Christ—if we still cannot act in these matters by the love, grace, and mercy of the cross of Jesus Christ—we are still weak.' Therefore, it is right for us to come to the Lord, cling to the Lord, confess our weakness to the Lord, and seek His grace and mercy.

 

The Prophecy of Resurrection in Hosea 6:2

A healthy church is not a church that does everything well. 'Wow, this church does missions well, relief work well, and the preaching is good.' No. The Corinthian church was exactly like that. They had so many spiritual gifts, and they taught the Bible so well; they had factions of Apollos, Paul, and even Peter and Jesus. This church was not healthy. A healthy church knows why spiritual gifts were given to us, why this good word was granted to us, and what God is telling me to do according to that word. So, what is the most important thing in 1 Corinthians? 'Though I have all these many gifts, I will show you the most excellent way.' 'If we cannot use these very gifts out of love, through the cross of Jesus Christ, if we cannot continue to act in accordance with the love, grace, and mercy of the cross of Jesus Christ, we are still weak.' Therefore, it is right for us to come to the Lord, cling to the Lord, confess our weakness to the Lord, and seek His grace and mercy.

 

You and I must focus on how the churches Paul rebuked—Corinth, Ephesus, and Thessalonica—and the many churches Peter worried about were not only weak but could also be healthy at the same time. It is because they knew what they were heading toward. They did not just look at the problems before them, nor did they just look at themselves, or their own wounds. Instead, they knew how to look at Christ, who bore their wounds.

 

That is precisely the message of Hosea 6:2 today.

 

"After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence."

 

What an amazing verse! Jesus often told His disciples: I will rise again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. If you start searching the Bible based on that fact, you will find very few mentions in the Old Testament of someone being resurrected in three days. The two most famous incidents are: one is Jonah, who was in the belly of the fish for three days, and Jesus Himself quoted that story. The other is this very text from Hosea. God, who revives us after two days, said He would raise us up on the third day.

 

This message sounds like God is speaking directly to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but it is not actually about the situation Israel is currently facing. This is because it is a very eschatological declaration. It is a message that looks toward Christ. It says that resurrection is the answer. The fact that you and I die with Christ and live with Christ is the answer to this problem. This passage, which prophesies the resurrection of the Messiah, simultaneously prophesies the death of Christ. He died for our death and rose again for our life. This verse speaks of death, and the punishment we must receive is the righteous judgment for our sins. We cannot endure it with our strength or ability, and we will eventually complain against God and, furthermore, will return to the same cycle of seeking idols and Assyria, even after repeated warnings.

 

The Righteous Death and Resurrection of Christ

Then the Bible asks, "Who will cure this? Who will heal this?" Even the most pure and sublime faith of the revered figures who resolved to live for the Lord had fallen into many trials, temptations, and weaknesses. Who, then, will save them? What is God's way to bind them up and heal them? "After two days I will revive you, and on the third day I will raise you up." With whom? Yes, He wants to grant us the hope of the Messiah, Christ, with us.

 

The Lord's message here is not merely, 'I will rescue you. Come out from there, children, let's go.' Rather, He says, 'Because it is impossible for you to come out on your own strength, I have entered into you. I have entered into your sin. I have entered into your midst, where you were already sinking and dead.' So, He entered there and died as well. But death could not hold Him. Our death was the result of the sin we committed against God. It is the death where sin swallows us. It was the path we walked because of our sin, having betrayed God, chosen death, and agreed to go into death, separated from God. Because it was the path of death due to our sin, all died. The Lord, who embraced that sin, also died.

 

However, Jesus Christ kept all of God's laws completely from His birth. He did not waver at all. He fulfilled all of God's will. He conquered all of God's promises. When the Father said, "I loved and created them, but they are leaving me and living their own way. What should I do? They are heading toward death," Jesus Christ, the Son, said, "I will die for them. I will live for them." He kept that promise and perfectly fulfilled God's will, and He died. This is called the death of the righteous. The Lord was righteous. Death cannot hold the righteous one. Why? Because there is no reason for Him to die. Because He was righteous and achieved complete righteousness, death cannot hold Christ. It has to vomit Him out. The grave cannot hold Jesus Christ. And it has to vomit Him out. Therefore, Christ is resurrected.

 

Looking at Christ Instead of My Wounds

The resurrected Christ embraces you and me within Him, and He seeks the many names He remembered and spoke when He died. He engraves those names upon His heart and is resurrected, calling your names. We call that being recorded in the Book of Life. You, who are resurrected with that Christ.

 

Even though they heard the wonderful proclamation of God's hope, Israel lived as they pleased, as if they were not interested in that hope, and they did not turn back even after experiencing the final discipline. Israel was not much different from us. This is because our greatest interest was also only in ourselves, the blessings we possessed, and our own wounds.

 

The Purpose of Wounds: Realizing the Body of Christ

But today's message tells us this: Do not look at your own wounds first, but look at Jesus Christ, who engraved your wounds upon His own body. Look at Jesus, who imprinted my wounds on His body. If you only look at your own wounds, even if they heal over time, you will never come to know Jesus Christ. You will not learn about God. It may simply be that a thick scab forms over time and the wound passes. However, if you look not at your wounds, but at Jesus Christ, who is engraving your wounds upon His body, you will begin to know who He is and what kind of heart He had when He died for you.

 

And when you understand that heart, seeing Christ, who bears not only your wound but all of our wounds, you realize that you are the church. That's right. This is the church. Why does my heart ache so much? Why does my heart hurt when one of our members is struggling? Because we are one. The Lord proves to us that we are the church in that way. We confess that there is true comfort in this. This is the purpose of the wounds we experience. I went to Christ with all my wounds, my illness, my stubbornness, my weakness, and even my death, and Christ engraved all of it upon His own body.

 

Confession: My Greatest Comfort

So we say this: "I belong to Jesus." And you have confessed this many times when you profess your faith. What is the true comfort in my life? It is that my entire life belongs to the Lord. I possess nothing, so all of this belongs to the Lord. Since we have confessed this, I earnestly pray that you will live according to that confession. Your greatest comfort is that even the suffering you are currently experiencing, even our pain, is being engraved on Christ's cross and on Christ's body, and because even that has become the Lord's, we find comfort there, we talk about victory there, we draw strength there, and we try to rise up there. I trust and believe that the cross of Christ will enable you to be abundantly victorious and hold onto you. Amen.

 

Let us pray.

 

Dear Lord, this is truly a joyful thing for all of us, a thing of overflowing gratitude for God's grace and God's mercy. Moreover, Lord, with this joyful heart, this comforted heart, and this heart that causes us to think again in the Lord, we are about to unite with the body and blood of Christ. Lord, grant us to receive the cup and the bread, and as we receive the bread and the cup, help us realize the fact that we are one body, and by faith, may all of us share in this amazing grace and the heavenly glory we enjoy in Christ. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.