Hosea 3:4-5

Hosea 3:4-5 (ESV): “4 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.”

Sin will strip you of every blessing God has given you. It might be fun for a season, but in the end it will lead to misery and death. Be quick to deal with your sin, lest sin be quick to deal with you.

Hosea was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel just before Assyria conquered them. He was a contemporary of Isaiah. The Lord instructed him to take a prostitute as a wife (Gomer) and to have children with her. Their lives would illustrate God’s displeasure with the sinfulness of the Northern Kingdom. Yet even though God promised them judgment, He also assured them that He would restore them. When He regathers them after being disbanded from the land and they again begin to believe, He will restore her. The “latter days” is ultimately a reference to the Millennial Kingdom, where David will sit on a throne in Jerusalem just as Jesus will.

What is your sin costing you? Your sin might be going unnoticed by everyone else, but God sees—and He will not let it go on forever. Turn from your wickedness now and turn to God. He will forgive you. Don’t make Him bring chastisement upon you. Repent today, and the Lord will restore what you’ve been missing due to your rebellion. Don’t let another day go by—get right with God now!

Father, thank You for confronting our sinfulness. Cleanse us of our sin and restore the goodness of Your blessings that we’ve been missing due to disobedience, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.