Hosea

Hosea 7: The LORD would redeem them

Begin in prayer

Before we hear how the LORD would redeem a people who will not call on Him, please pray together. Ask Him to give us hearts that cry out to Him.

Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.

Joel 2:13

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You see every sin, and that You would redeem a people who wander from You. Show us Jesus, who paid the price. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The LORD says that when He would heal Israel, her sins are uncovered, for thieves and robbers fill the land. They do not think in their hearts that He remembers all their wickedness, and their own deeds have surrounded them. Their leaders plot like a baker's oven that burns all night, and their kings fall, yet no one among them calls to the LORD. Ephraim mixes with the nations like a pancake not turned over, and he does not see that his strength is gone. Like an easily deceived dove, Israel calls to Egypt and goes to Assyria, and the LORD says He will spread His net over them. He would redeem them, yet they speak lies against Him and howl on their beds without crying to Him from the heart.

As you read Hosea 7, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD wants to heal and redeem His people, but they will not turn to Him with their hearts.

In chapter 7 the LORD says that when He would heal Israel, her sins come out into the open. Israel's kings were falling fast, for in a few years several were killed by the men who took their place (2 Kings 15). Every village had a clay oven that held its heat all night, and the LORD uses it as a picture of anger and plotting. Verse 2 names the root of it, for they do not think in their hearts that the LORD remembers all their wickedness. A pancake not turned over is burned on one side and raw on the other, a picture of a people spoiled by the nations. Israel ran between Egypt and Assyria for help, but the LORD says they have wandered from Him. To redeem means to buy back by paying a price, and verse 13 says He would redeem them. Yet they would not cry to Him with their hearts. Jesus paid that price, for He came to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10 verse 45).

How does Hosea 7 show us that the LORD wants to heal and redeem His people, but they will not turn to Him with their hearts?

The LORD sees every sin, and nothing is hidden from Him.

Israel does not think in her heart that the LORD remembers all her wickedness (verse 2). Her own deeds have surrounded her, and she stands before His face. The oven burns all night with plans that no one speaks aloud. The LORD sees what the heart hides.

Israel runs to Egypt and Assyria instead of calling on the LORD.

Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding (verse 11). Each treaty drained Israel's strength, and she did not see it (verse 9). The LORD says no one among them calls to Him (verse 7). Help from the nations could not do what only He could do.

The LORD would redeem them, yet they speak lies against Him.

To redeem is to buy back at a price (verse 13). The LORD was willing, but they did not cry to Him with their hearts. They howled on their beds and gathered for grain and new wine (verse 14). Jesus came to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10 verse 45). He paid the price for all who come to Him.

Memorise

Though I would redeem them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

Hosea 7:13

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, do I cry to the LORD from my heart, or only with my mouth?

The people howled on their beds, and they did not cry to the LORD with their hearts. He said, “Though I would redeem them, yet they have spoken lies against me”. He was willing to buy them back.

Redeeming costs a price, and sinners cannot pay it. Jesus paid it with His life. On the cross He was the ransom for His people, and He did not leave any of the price unpaid. God raised Him from the dead, and His payment is in full.

So come to Him. Turn from your sin and put your trust in Jesus. Call on Him with your heart. All who come are forgiven, and He will not reject them.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD wants to redeem sinners, and that Jesus paid the price to buy them back. Parents, please explain verse 4 in your own words, since it speaks of broken marriage promises. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He would redeem sinners, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore them, and carried them all the days of old.

Isaiah 63:9

Lord God, thank You that You redeem sinners at a great price. Forgive us when we call on You with our lips and not our hearts. Please bring each one of us to cry to You and trust Jesus. Amen.