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2026 Hosea Lesson 5

COME, LET US RETURN TO THE LORD

Hosea 5:8-6:11

Key Verse: 6:1

1. Why do you think the prophet uses alarm language (trumpets, horns, warning shouts) (5:8-9)? What does the image of moving boundary stones suggest about the sin of Judah’s leaders (10)? Why is Ephraim experiencing judgment according to this verse (11)?
2. What do the images of moth and rot communicate about the way of God’s judgment (12)? Why is turning to Assyria described as foolish (13)? What does the lion teach about the seriousness of judgment (14)? What does it suggest that people seek God more earnestly in their misery (15)?
3. What invitation do the people make to one another (6:1a)? Why do the people seem confident that healing and restoration will happen quickly (1b–2)? What does it mean to “acknowledge the LORD” and “press on to acknowledge him” (3)?
4. What does the image of the morning mist and early dew communicate about Israel’s love (4)? Why does God say He desires mercy and knowledge of God rather than sacrifices (5-6)? How is God’s grief revealed over His people’s sin (7–11)?

2026 New Year Message Juan Seo (Feb 22, 2026)

COME, LET US RETURN TO THE LORD

Hosea 5:8-6:11

Key Verse 6:1

“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.”

Yesterday, while I was preparing this message, I was listening to the weather forecast. There is a blizzard warning starting this afternoon. The reporter emphasized that we should not take this blizzard warning lightly. I think most of us probably received that warning with concern. When we hear about a blizzard, we don’t ignore it. We pay attention. Today’s message is also a warning. It is God’s warning to Israel about their sin. They should have taken it seriously. They should have listened carefully and returned to Him. But they ignored God’s warning. And eventually, their nation was destroyed by Assyria. So as we listen to today’s message, I pray that we will not take God’s warning lightly. May we honestly examine where we stand before God and what our relationship with God looks like. And may we respond by returning to the Lord.

Please look at verse 8. “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah. Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven; lead on, Benjamin.” This is a dramatic scene. Imagine a watchman standing on the city wall. From a distance, he sees the enemy advancing. Dust rising. Troops moving. He suddenly realizes that the invasion has begun. So he sounds the alarm. The trumpet blasts in Gibeah. The horn echoes in Ramah. The battle cry rises from Beth Aven. Benjamin is being told, “Get ready. The danger is coming.”

This passage is rooted in a very specific political crisis—the Syro-Ephraimite War, which took place around 734 BC. At that time, a new superpower was rising. Assyria was expanding under King Tiglath-Pileser III. Small nations in the region felt threatened. They knew that Assyria could invade at any moment. So Aram—also called Syria and Israel—also called Ephraim, decided to form an alliance. The two kingdoms joined forces and tried to pressure Judah to join their anti-Assyrian coalition. But Ahaz, the king of Judah, refused. Because of that, Aram and Israel turned against Judah. They invaded. Judah suffered greatly—many people were killed, and many were taken captive. Ahaz was terrified. At that critical moment, God sent the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz with the promise of Immanuel—“God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). God’s message was clear: Trust the Lord. But instead of trusting God, Ahaz turned to Assyria for help. He sent silver and gold to the king of Assyria and said, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me” (2 Kings 16:7). Assyria responded. Tiglath-Pileser III attacked Aram and Israel. Rezin, king of Aram, was killed. Many people from the northern kingdom of Israel were deported to Assyria. Pekah, king of Israel, was later assassinated, and Hoshea became king. Hoshea sought Assyria’s support and became a vassal. But eventually, in 722 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel fell completely to Assyria.

Verse 13 shows us clearly what Ephraim’s sin was: “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores.” Ephraim and Judah recognized that they were sick and wounded. They knew they were in trouble. Then, they had to repent and return to God. But instead, they turned to Assyria for help. Therefore, God says very plainly: “He is not able to cure you. He is not able to heal your sores.”

Now God says that He will discipline Israel. “I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.” God describes himself as a lion, a great lion. A lion tears its prey. A lion carries it away. And then the lion returns to its den—its lair. When God says, “I will return to my lair,” it means He will withdraw. He will not immediately rescue. He will allow them to suffer from the consequences of their choices. But why does God discipline His own people? Why would He allow them to suffer?

Verse 15 says, “Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face—in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” From this verse, we can see that God is waiting for His people to recognize their guilt and seek His face. “In their misery they will earnestly seek me.” God doesn’t want to destroy His people. He is waiting for them to earnestly seek Him. Here we learn about the purpose of God’s discipline. When God disciplines His people, His goal is not to destroy them. His goal is to restore them. Discipline is not rejection. It is a sign of covenant love. God allows His people to experience consequences so that they will wake up, repent, and return to Him.

We love our children deeply. But when they start walking down a dangerous path, we do not just stand by and watch. If your child begins spending time with violent friends or experimenting with drugs, what would you do? If your child stays up all night playing video games, what would you do? Some parents would forbid their children from seeing certain friends. Some would take away their smartphones. Some would shut down their computers. And most children do not appreciate that at the moment. They complain. They argue. “You’re controlling me. You don’t understand me.” Why do parents do that? It is not because they hate their children. It is not because they want to ruin their children’s lives. The parents discipline their children because they love them. The same is true with God. Hebrews 12:10–11 explains it: “God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Discipline is painful. At the moment, it does not feel good. But God disciplines us so that we may share in His holiness. He is shaping our character. He is forming us into His people. Through God’s training, we draw closer to Him. Through hardship, our faith can mature. God’s discipline is an evidence of His love. Therefore, if you are going through any kind of discipline right now, I encourage you to receive it with gratitude. Let that training move you to seek God more deeply and draw closer to Him. As you do, you will gradually grow to reflect His character, and you will bear the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Hosea understood that God was waiting for His people to seek Him earnestly. He knew that even in discipline, God was longing for restoration. So, Hosea turned to his people and pleaded with them. Let’s read together 6:1-3. “¹ Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. ² After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. ³ Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” “Return to the Lord” is one of the central messages of all the prophets. The prophet Isaiah cried out, “Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). Jeremiah also proclaimed, “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22). The prophet Joel delivered God’s message, saying, “Return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning” (Joel 2:12). And Zechariah declared God’s promise: “Return to me, and I will return to you” (Zechariah 1:3). Again and again, God’s prophets brought the same message to Israel: “Return to the Lord.”

Return is not just a physical movement. It is a spiritual turning. The word “return” carries the idea of going back to where you originally belonged. Going back home. Israel originally belonged to God. They were His covenant people. But instead of worshiping God, they chased idols. Instead of trusting God, they trusted foreign powers. Instead of loving God, they gave their hearts elsewhere. So “return” means turning away from idols. It means breaking with sin. It means renewing covenant love. It means restoring a broken relationship with God. Return means restoration.

We need to notice that Hosea says, “Let us return.” “Let us” means he includes himself. Hosea invites them as one who also feels the weight of sin and brokenness. When you think about Hosea’s life, this becomes even more powerful. God commanded him to marry a promiscuous woman. He obeyed. He married Gomer. And through that marriage, he experienced deep personal pain. His wife betrayed him. She left him for other men. Imagine the shame. Imagine the humiliation. Imagine the criticism and ridicule of the neighbors. His children suffered too. They experienced the instability of a broken home. Hosea could have complained to God, “Why did you put me in this situation? Why should I suffer like this?” But Hosea understood God’s heart. Just as his wife ran after her lovers, Israel had run after idols. Just as Hosea felt the pain of betrayal, God felt the pain of His people’s spiritual adultery. And just as Hosea longed for his wife to come home, God longed for Israel to return. “Come, let us return to the Lord.” This is the cry of a man who has suffered. This is the cry of a man who understands God’s pain. This is the cry of a man who still believes restoration is possible in God.

Hosea now tells the people what will happen if they return to the Lord. “He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” Hosea is saying, “Yes, we are wounded. Yes, we are suffering. But the One who tore us is also the only One who can heal us.” That is very important. If our wounds are the result of our sin, the only one who can heal us is the Lord. If He has torn us, He will heal us. If He has injured us, He will bandage us. Then verse 2 says, “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” Some scholars connect “on the third day” with the resurrection of Jesus, and that is very meaningful and insightful. But in its immediate context, “After two days… on the third day” is a way of expressing a short period of time. It is a poetic way of saying, “very soon.” In other words, Hosea is emphasizing how quickly God is ready to restore. The point is this: If we return to Him, His restoration is not far away. The promise is that revival and restoration are near at hand.

That word “revive” literally means “to bring back to life.” When Israel trusted God and walked in obedience, there was life. There was joy in God’s presence. But when they disobeyed God and chose to worship idols, they became spiritually dead. Spiritual death means separation from God. It means the relationship is broken. It means God feels distant. To be spiritually dead is to be cut off from the source of life. So when Hosea says, “He will revive us,” he is saying that God can breathe life back into what is lifeless. Revival means the relationship with God comes alive again. It means love for God is rekindled. It means His presence becomes real again. We long for revival. We long to see each one of us restored in our relationship with God. We long to see families healed and spiritually renewed. We long to see churches come alive with faith and passion. We long to see our nation revived. But how does revival happen? The answer is very simple: RETURN. When we return to God, He revives. When we return to God, He restores the broken relationship. When we return to God, He can make us rejoice in Him again.

Now Hosea invites his people to know God. “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him” (3a). That word “acknowledge” means “to know.” But this is not just intellectual knowledge. It means knowing God personally and experientially in a relationship with God. One of the main reasons Israel fell into idolatry was that they had no knowledge of God. So Hosea is going to the root of the problem. The solution is to know the Lord. “Let us press on to know Him.” “Press on” means effort. Knowing God is not passive. It is something we pursue wholeheartedly. It is a great invitation to know God more deeply, personally, and faithfully.

Hosea continues: “As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” This is such a beautiful promise. If we press on to know the Lord—if we truly seek Him—He will appear; He will come to us. It is as sure as the sunrise. Every morning the sun rises. You don’t doubt it. When we seek God with all our hearts, He will reveal Himself to us. He will meet us. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” God is not hiding from sincere seekers. He will meet wholehearted seekers. “He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” In Israel’s agricultural world, those rains were essential. Without the winter rains and the spring rains, the crops would fail. The ground would stay dry. There would be no harvest. Hosea is saying that God comes like life-giving rain to dry soil. He comes to refresh what is barren. He comes to soften what is hardened. Many hearts feel dry. Many souls feel exhausted. Many lives feel spiritually barren. But when God comes, He pours out His grace like rain. He fills our dry hearts with the refreshing work of His Holy Spirit. He saturates us with His love. And when that happens, our hearts will revive again.

God says, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” (4) Do you hear the emotion in that question? “What can I do with you?” This is the voice of a wounded lover. This is the cry of a Father whose children keep running away. Israel had no real desire to return. Their hearts were far from God. God says, “Your love is like the morning mist.” In the early morning, you can see the mist. You can see the dew on the grass. It looks beautiful. It looks refreshing. But as soon as the sun rises, it disappears. That is how God describes the love of His people. It appears for a moment. It feels emotional. But it does not last. Imagine how painful that is. God longs for them. God calls them. God disciplines them. God promises healing. God promises revival. And yet their love fades so quickly. God is grieving. “What can I do with you?”

Then what is it that God truly desires? Please see verse 6. “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” Israel was still bringing sacrifices. They were still going through religious rituals. But their hearts were not there. That word “mercy” is the Hebrew word hesed. It means covenant love, steadfast love, and faithful love that does not disappear like morning mist. It is loving God wholeheartedly. So what is God’s call for us? He desires our faithful love. He desires our knowledge of God. So today the invitation is this: Return to the Lord. Press on to know Him. And love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Amen.