In the book of Hosea, Hosea said, “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescuehim”, and in chapter five and verse fifteen of Hosea, Hosea shared how Jehovah God said, “I will go and return to my place” where we read,
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face:
in their affliction they will seek me early.
The verse begins, “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face:” Hosea began with the words, “I will go” or “I, Jehovah God, shall proceed, depart, move and leave” “and return” which means “and turn away and go back” “to my place” or “to my, Jehovah God's, station, post and location”, “till they acknowledge their offense” which means “until and even up to the time they, the people of Ephraim and Judah, bear and admit their trespass, wrong and injury”, “and seek my face” or “and look out for, require, exact, request and search for my, Jehovah God's, front, countenance and presence”. Hosea shared how Jehovah God said He would depart from the people of Ephraim and Judah and go back to His location until they admitted their trespass and search for His presence.
The verse goes on to say, “in their affliction they will seek me early.” Hosea continued with the words, “in their affliction” or “within their, Ephraim and Judah's, straits, distress, adversity and trouble” “they will seek me early” which means “they, Ephraim and Judah, shall look out for, require, exact, request and search for me, Jehovah God, betimes, at dawn or with diligence”. Hosea shared how Jehovah God said the people of “Ephraim and Judah” would search for Him diligently when they experienced trouble and adversity.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Hosea how Jehovah God was going to abandon the people of “Ephraim and Judah” because they refuse to recognize their trespasses against Him. However, they will come looking for Him when they suffer adversity because they have forsaken Him. God loves everyone, and He offers salvation from sins through His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us a desire to humble ourselves and continually“seek” Him well in advance of being abandoned by Him and allowing us to suffer “affliction”.
Next time we begin a new chapter and see Hosea say, “Come, and let us return unto the LORD”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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