The Book Of Hosea. Day 18, Nothing Is Hidden

The first half of Chapter 6 dealt with the Lord calling upon the people, through Hosea, to repent. The second half of the chapter had to do with the Lord's observance that very few actually repented but were instead going about the motions of religion on the outside while on the inside their hearts were far from Him. He has been speaking about the coming fall of the northern kingdom and has been hinting about an eventual fall of the southern kingdom as well, but as we close Chapter 6 we find Him foretelling a return of many exiles to the land. This will primarily be a return to and a resettling of the region of the southern kingdom. 

"Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed. Whenever I would restore the fortunes of My people, whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed." (Hosea 6:11-Hosea 7:1a) A number of times in the Old Testament we will find the northern kingdom of Israel referred to as Ephraim; we also find it referred to by the name of its capital city, Samaria. The majority of the people from both kingdoms who return to the promised land will return to the region of Judah. This is why the Lord says that to Judah a harvest is appointed. 

The Lord appears to be saying in verse 1a that every time one wound (sin) is healed, another wound lies underneath it. There is layer upon layer of idolatry, waywardness, lawlessness, and inhumanity in the land. No one can hide their sins from God, no matter how deeply the sins are buried, which is why the Lord Jesus said, "There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." (Luke 8:17)

The best way to deal with sin is to bring it out into the open ourselves and confess it to Him, repent of it, and ask Him to forgive us. It's far better that we willingly disclose our sin than that the Lord would have to confront us with it. Just as a human physician can't treat a wound if we keep our hand over it to cover it, the Great Physician can't heal our sin if we keep trying to conceal it from ourselves and from Him. The Lord doesn't want us to be sin sick but to be healed. 

The people of the northern kingdom are trying to conceal their sins. They think they can fool the Lord but He reminds them that He knows all things. He has seen every lawless and immoral act. "They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before Me." (Hosea 7:1b-2)

There have been times when I freely acknowledged my sin to the Lord and got it out into the open before He had to bring it up to me. There have been times when I ignored my sin or even deliberately reveled in it for a time until He, like a good Father, took me to task for it. It was a much more pleasant experience when I took the initiative, compared to when He had to take the initiative. When it comes to the sin of the people of Hosea's day, the Lord is having to take the initiative. He would far rather they had repented at the preaching of His prophets. It hurts Him to have to discipline mankind but it would hurt Him and us far more if He kept letting us go down the path of destruction.