THE FINAL APPEAL

HOSEA 14:1

A. "O ISRAEL, RETURN UNTO THE LORD THY GOD; FOR THOU HAST FALLEN BY THINE INIQUITY"
  1. The book of Hosea is singular in many ways:
    1. It seeks to reason with an apostate people
    2. It appeals to the knowledge of a fallen nation
  2. It is an almost pathetic appeal on the part of the Lord:
    1. A Lover seek to change the attitude of an unfaithful nation
    2. The fourteenth chapter of the book of Hosea seems to express God's love for Israel in a very special way B. THE FINAL APPEAL
  3. We hear the pathetic voice of that inextinguishable love:
    1. That suffers long and is kind
    2. But that is a part of His nature - Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Ps. 86:15
    3. Writes Peter, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" - 2 Pet. 3:9
    4. Israel had fallen by their iniquity, but God held out hoping for their recovery
    5. Writes the Psalmist, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust" Ps. 103:13-14
  4. The urgent call - we may regard this call as being fourfold:
    1. To return - "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God" (v.1)
    2. He is still thy God, although thou hast been most unfaithful to Him
    3. He has engraven thee upon the palms of His hands - Is. 49:16
    4. "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" - Matt. 11:28
  5. A call to prayer:
    1. "Take with thee words...and say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously" (v.2)
    2. The separating cause is "iniquity" - Is. 59:1-6 C. THE DIVINE PROMISE
  6. "I will heal their backsliding"
    1. To heal a wound is something better than merely binding it up
    2. To Israel, backsliding was a festering sore, which the Lord promised to heal - Deut. 32:39
    3. Prayed the Psalmist, "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee" - Ps. 41:4
    4. And says the prophet Isaiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." - Is. 53:5
  7. "I will love them freely" (v.3):
    1. This is the love that is not restrained by our unfaithfulness or unworthiness
    2. To the pardoned person God's love flows as freely as if he had never sinned
    3. This is the great encouragement to the minister to appeal to the heart of the backslider, writes Paul, "Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed" Rom. 10:13-17
  8. "I will be as the dew unto Israel":
    1. The dew falls gently, silently and effectively in the night
    2. Note the Divine wisdom; a bruised plant needs the life-saving moisture gently without the force of a splashing rain; how infinite is God's love to His erring children
    3. Work for the backsliders has taught me that they need a gentle loving approach because they are most sensitive to bruises and wounds
  9. "From Me is thy fruit found" (v.6-8):
    1. Fruit is always the result of favorable conditions and a manifestation of the character of the tree
    2. This reminds us of that great chapter - John 15
    3. "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself. No more can ye"
    4. The vine might say to the branch; "From Me is thy fruit found, for without Me, ye can do nothing:"
  10. What a lesson for God's people living in the last days:
    1. Backsliding robs the church of fruit for the Lord


Design © John Bryant 2011