“Hear this”, “take heed” & “give ear” !
Hosea 6:1 ‘Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will [a]bind us up.’
Our Lord has always been a zealous God. He is jealous for His glory, for He alone deserves all glory. He alone is the alpha and the omega, our creator, our master, our saviour and our redeemer. He alone is the Lord and God of all flesh. This is the truth, whether all believe it or not. Is.42:8, ‘I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.’ Here in the book of Hosea, the Lord convicted Israel of it’s adultery. Hosea 4:12, ‘My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their [a]staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God.’
Israel, which represents the body of Christ in the New Testament is being convicted today of the same through this pandemic. The judgement of the Lord is though upon this earth, it’s first to be recognized and responded by the body of Christ. Hosea 5:1, ‘Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For [a]yours is the judgment, Because you have been a snare to Mizpah And a net spread on Tabor.’ It’s the church i.e the house of Israel to whom the Lord speaks. Those out of the body of Christ are still spiritually blind to discern sin. They are yet to be found and to be saved. Note the phrases, “hear this”, “take heed” & “give ear”. These phrases, one after the other clearly denotes the ‘urgency’ of the heaven. Our Lord does not delight in the death of any one. The current scenario pains Him much more than it’s paining us. But the pain of letting the body of Christ go astray into whoredom is too great for the divine heart to bear. For He has paid a price for the redeeming the same. The spirit of harlotry has caused the church to stray away from the holiness of the Lord, without which we cannot see the Lord. The church today has many idols of fame, prosperity, lukewarmness and self centeredness. All these idols are hidden under the mask of the name of our Lord. The idolatory of the so called body of Christ has broken the wall of sanctification around the church. Hence, it’s loosing the beauty of holiness which is supposed to adorn the bride of Christ.
We being the royal priests of today’s body of Christ need to respond fast and in completeness. We need to confess and acknowledge our sins with a sincere heart, which is responsible for what has come upon this earth. When Nehemiah prayed for the people of Israel, he used the phrases “we have sinned against thee”, and not ‘they’. Even though Nehemiah was considered righteous by the Lord, he took up the guilt of sinfulness of the house of Israel upon himself. Do we personally feel responsible for this great pandemic which is swallowing up lives in a great pace? Have we been personally convicted of our sins which might have caused this ?
Hosea 5:15, ‘I will return again to My place, Till they [a]acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’ Indeed our Lord is merciful but He cannot settle for compromises. For He is a God of justice. The pain, the tears, the fear and panic which has gripped this globe awaits our turning back to the Lord. Till then, the Lord might not express His mercy towards this earth. Let’s not delay our return anymore. Our delay might cost many more lives. He is the God of justice and righteousness. The deliverance of this world is indeed in the hands of the Lord, but before that, it’s in our hands. For each of our repentance alone will cause the divine hands to stretch out to heal and to restore. Indeed He has torn us. Indeed He has stricken us. But He is waiting for us to repent and to return back to Him to heal and bind us.
Hos.6:2-3, ‘ After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight. 3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.’ After the crucifixion of Christ, He remained in the tomb for two days. The God of life remained in ‘dead’ posture for two days. These two days of lockdown time is the time for us to recognize our sins and to repent, so that we become dead to sin. On the 3rd day, Christ rose up from the dead. Third day is the day of resurrection, the time of revival. Indeed the Lord has great purpose to bring forth a great revival across the world. He will shower the former rain and the latter rain i.e He will pour out His Spirit , the Spirit of resurrection on all nations. We will see His glory in a deeper way and we will be empowered by His Spirit in a more powerful way. But it first needs to begin with a revival in our own lives, which in turn begins with a return unto the Lord. Let’s hear Him, let’s take heed & let’s give ear to Him.
God bless us all
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