The Prophetic Wisdom Of HoseaНамуна

Beloved Child: Hosea 14:1-9

Hosea’s prophecies of God’s unfolding hope are ultimately fulfilled in the consummation of Christ’s kingdom. Hosea offered Israel and Judah the hope of blessings in the latter days to those who would repent. And the New Testament offers the bride of Christ today hope for the glories of the latter days. Because of God’s love for us, he will one day completely cleanse from sin all those who have saving faith. And he’ll deliver them from all judgment as he brings them into the blessings of the new creation. 

In 1 Corinthians 15 verses 54 and 55], the apostle Paul referred to the consummation of the latter days in this way:

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written … “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Here the apostle extolled the wonder of Christ’s return by referring to Hosea 13:14. There, God mocked the power of death despite the judgment of destruction and exile that had come upon Israel. Hope was not gone. The curse of death would cease to have any effect on Israel because, in the latter days, God would redeem them and reunify them with Judah in submission to the house of David.

As Christians, we know that this hope will one day be fulfilled in Christ, the great son of David. Despite the failures and hardships we still face in our day, we look forward with great expectation to the return of Christ. On that day, all who have put their hopes in the grace of God in Christ, and all who have repented of their sins, will receive the full blessings of the latter days. We will join Hosea in mocking the power of death and the grave, as the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead raises us up into everlasting life. 

The apostle John expressed this same hope in his vision of the consummation of Christ’s kingdom in the book of Revelation. Drawing from a number of themes in the book of Hosea, he described the New Jerusalem, the glorious city of David’s son and the dwelling place of God’s bride.

As we read in Revelation 21:2-3: 

I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband… “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

God’s revelations to Hosea provided wisdom to the people of God hundreds of years before Christ. And they still offer wisdom to us today. As the bride of Christ, we face the challenges of living in a world that still suffers under God’s judgments. But God has never given up on his church. He sent Christ to secure our salvation and begin the latter days. And Christ lives in us now through the Holy Spirit, to lead us into the blessings of the world to come. When we take to heart the wisdom that the book of Hosea offers, we will overcome this world and join with countless others in the glorious wedding feast of the Lamb. As Christ’s beloved bride, we will receive the blessing of sharing with Christ in the immeasurable joys of everlasting glory. 

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