Articles
Acknowledging Our Sin
“I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their distress they will search for Me” (Hosea 5:15 NASV). The word “whoredom” is scattered throughout Hosea. Gomer was guilty of adultery; Israel was guilty of spiritual adultery. Early in Israel’s history, she was betrothed to God; a bright future in service to Jehovah was possible. Still, old habits die hard. Even after wandering in the wilderness and arriving in the Promise Land, the pursuit of other lovers continued. The promise and hope of being God’s chosen were not enough to keep God’s own people from going after false gods, with their attendant immorality. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We should quake with fear, too, when we are no longer in the presence of God. “They will go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them” (5:6). Israel’s condition is illustrated by Gomer and her marriage to Hosea.
A refusal to recognize and acknowledge our sin will drive us farther from God. We may pretend to be faithful; we offer our hypocritical sacrifices to placate a righteous God. True repentance means we own our sin; we are guilty and accountable. Sin creates a debt we cannot pay. Our only hope is a genuine return to Jehovah. “When He killed them, then they sought Him, and they returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. But they flattered Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, nor were they faithful with His covenant” (Psalm 78:34-37).
Jehovah returned to “His place.” Enthroned in heaven, He patiently waits for His people to recognize to turn and repent. The truly penitent seeker will acknowledge the guilt in her life and will seek the face of the Lord; He will show Himself clearly and fully and with a readiness to forgive. Sometimes we need to “stew in our own juices.” We need a spiritual kick in the pants. Our sin and folly separate us from the Lord; we are in danger. God knew His people better than they knew themselves. Still, He loved them and begged them to come back. “When you are in distress and all these things happen to you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. For the Lord, your God is a compassionate God; He will not abandon you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them” (Deuteronomy 4:30-31). Judgment came to Israel. God tore His people to pieces.
We must wake up spiritually. Gomer needed to wake up as did Ephraim (referring to the ten northern tribes). Political alliances with foreigners could not save. Idolatry, adultery, and the lure of this world, drive us farther from God. A refusal to repent deepens our sins; hearts grow cold and hard. We cannot see God’s face because our eyes are clouded by sin. As a ferocious lion ravages his prey, God’s people were taken captive; the Assyrians and the Babylonians were God’s agents of judgment. Never mind about Hosea, Gomer, and Israel. Judgment is coming for us.
