Let Us Return

Jesus told two parables about a man who had two sons. I bet the one that comes to your mind is the parable we call the Prodigal Son. I’m thinking of the other one. In this parable, one son said the right thing, but did not do the right thing. The other son said the wrong things, but did the right things in the end. Have you ever run into that kind of a situation? Have you ever met someone who said exactly what you wanted to hear, but in the end, their deeds and their words did not line up?

Our reading from Hosea has an element of that about it. If we were to go back a bit before our reading began, to the start of chapter 5, we would find God calling Israel to repentance. That’s nothing unique. What is unique to this chapter is that God confronts Israel with their faithlessness – he says that they’re saying the right things, but their behavior, well, let me quote what God says, “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.” He even gets a little personal, saying that they have cheated on Him, spiritually speaking, and they actually love cheating on Him. But when they are confronted with their sin and unfaithfulness, they say all the right things.

And God knows. He knows that it's when everything is going wrong, when Israel is hurting so badly that they’ve got nowhere else to go, when they’re finally at the rock bottom, that is when they will turn back to Him. “In their distress,” they will “earnestly seek me.”

This is when Israel comes saying the right things, “Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, that He may heal us; he has struck us down, and He will bind us up.” They see God just like all the other gods: You just gotta say the right things and offer the right sacrifices, and then He’ll do what you want.

Except, is that really how God works? No. Remember, He knows. He knows the words, but He also knows the heart. He asks, “What shall I do with you …?” It’s the tone of an exasperated parent, “What am I going to do with you?” He says of Israel, “Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that dries up in the early sun.” (That’s not exactly what you want to hear from your husband or wife, “Your love is like the dew. By the middle of the morning, it’s all dried up!”)

“Therefore,” God says, because of their faithlessness, “I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.” It’s violent language! “I have hewn them.” (Have any of you hewn anything today?) God’s saying he’s cutting them to pieces! How? By the prophets. He is sending preachers to condemn them, to make their sin known, to make them face their sin, and feel the full weight of their sin so it cuts them to the heart. He says, “I have slain them!” How? By the words of His mouth! He has pronounced judgment on them: “You are dead in your trespasses and sins, and you have no life apart from my salvation!” He says, “My judgment goes forth as the light.” The light shines in the darkness, it reveals what was hidden, and it makes known things they’d rather not have known about their attitudes, their desires, bluntly, their sin.

This is why he says, “I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burn offerings.” He’s saying, “Stop going through the motions! Stop saying the right things! Stop doing what you think I want you to do!” He’s telling them, and us, that He is, first and foremost, concerned about what’s happening in your hearts. Do you love Him? Do you trust Him? Do you believe His promises? Do you have faith to follow the call of the one who calls sinners into fellowship with Himself?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that God doesn’t care about your behavior. Jesus is clear that he came to call sinners like you and me to repentance. But repentance is more than just saying the right things. Repentance is more than doing the right things. Repentance starts in the heart. It begins with having God’s love and mercy, His mercy and forgiveness for our sins by faith in our hearts, so that it overflows to our hands in righteous actions, to our mouths with good and godly words, to our attitudes in love and compassion toward our neighbors. Those actions are all important, but they begin with a radical stance that looks to God and says, “You are my God, my creator and savior. You are my God, the one who makes me righteous and holy by your Word.”

God’s Word still does all the things God told Israel it does. Sometimes God’s Word hews His people – it cuts us to the heart when we are confronted with our sin – and maybe especially when it shows us that our actions and attitudes do not match up with the things we believe. God’s Word still strikes us down, too, proclaiming death to our sinful nature.

But here is an important difference between us and Israel at Hosea’s time. God’s Word struck us down by connecting us to Jesus’ death. He has given us His death in baptism. What is more, His Word does more than cut and kill. Even in Hosea’s time, they said the right thing, even if they did not believe it. They said that God also heals us, binds us, revives us, raises us up, that we may live before Him. And having been connected to Jesus’ death, you are tied to His resurrection and new life, too.

Hosea displays Israel’s sin as a warning to us. It is as if he is saying to us, “It’s not what we see on the outside that matters most; it is what is on the inside: faith, love for God, and trust in Him as your savior. Everything else flows out from there.”

The way we teach our children the Ten Commandments reflects this. God’s First Commandment is that we should have no other gods. This means that we should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. He is our God. Our hearts are set on Him in awe and love and trust. We depend on Him for everything.

So, He says, “You shall not misuse my name.” Why not? Because God is my God! How could I misuse this name that is holy and beloved, which I use in faith to call upon the one who made, saved, and keeps me?

“Remember the Sabbath day.” Why? Because God is my God! His Words are precious and deliver His love and grace to me! “Honor your father and mother.” Why? Because God is my God! These are the people He chose to give me life! “You shall not murder.” Why? Because God is my God! That person is beloved of the Lord, created in His image, and redeemed by Jesus blood! “You shall not commit adultery.” Why? Because God is my God! His desire is for me to lead a chaste and decent life. How could I not live in a way that reflects His will and design? “You shall not steal.” Why? Because God is my God! How could I take for myself what God has provided to someone else for their needs? “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Why? Because God is my God! I will speak the truth in love about my neighbor! “You shall not covet anything at all.” Why? Because God is my God! He loves me, and He knows the needs and desires of my heart, and I trust Him with all that I am, all that I have, and all that I need.

Hear Hosea’s warning. Don’t just go through the motions. But when you find that you are going through the motions, remember what kind of God you have. Jesus said in our Gospel lesson, “I did not come for the righteous, but for sinners.” And when you know you are a sinner, you can know Jesus came for you. He died and rose for you. He lives and reigns for you. So, you can return to Him in faith to be changed by His love and forgiveness … including the forgiveness you are about to receive in the Lord’s Supper, another gift that Jesus makes clear is for you, for the forgiveness of your sins, given for you to return to the Lord your God. Amen.