Not long ago, some friends and I hiked Stool Mountain, the newest trail at Table Rock State Park. The end of the trail provided us with as clear and full a view of Table Rock as I’ve seen, but the sight was one we could never have encountered without paint splotches dotting the trees along the way, showing us where to go.
Hosea’s final three chapters are like paint splotches showing two paths to those living in the final days of the northern kingdom of Israel (or “Ephraim”). The first trail is the path away from God. This trail is the one the people were on. The second path is the way back to God.
The path away from God, according to Hosea, begins with a sense of self-sufficiency. Those on this path saw and felt no need for God. Although the Lord had saved, guided, and provided for them (Hosea 13:4–6), they saw no more need for God in their lives. Moses accurately predicted this situation in Deuteronomy 8:11–20: When God’s people were full, they became spiritually lazy and arrogant. Like the church of Laodicea, they believed they were rich and without need (Hosea 12:7–9, Rev. 3:17). This path led them, as we’ve seen many times in Hosea so far, to idolatry (Hosea 12:2–6, 13:1–3) along with the state of being spiritually blind, deaf, and foolish (12:10–14, 13:12–13). The end of the path is God’s definitive and final judgment (13:15–16).
The other path is one of repentance. In the final chapter of the book, Hosea calls the people yet again to return to the Lord (Hosea 14:1). He instructs them how to confess their sins (14:2–3). God promises in this chapter, as He would many years later through Jeremiah’s preaching, not simply to change their situation but to heal their rebellious hearts (Hosea 14:4, Jer. 3:22). The Lord had already stated that His path was one of faithfulness, justice, and hope (Hosea 12:6), and He would provide the help they needed to stay on that path. Those who take this path experience the Lord’s love, care, and fruitfulness (14:4–7).
The book ends with a call to reject idolatry and pursue God’s ways of wisdom (14:8–9), and we encounter the same two options today. The path of pride lies before us as a wide, easy trail. We create gods in our own image rather than submitting ourselves to the One who made us in His image. We make wealth, pleasure, and ease our highest priorities, and this path leads to destruction. The path toward God is a return, a changing of direction from running away to running toward. He doesn’t accept our righteousness; He heals our waywardness (Hosea 14:4). As we pursue faithfulness, justice, and hope, God will provide the help we need to stay on that path (Hosea 12:6).
In one of the most important chapters of any of his letters, Paul transforms Hosea’s words from terrifying judgment into unfathomable hope: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? … thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55–56, ESV).
Hosea’s words show what trail to take. The path of life leads us from repentance through the cross and resurrection to God Himself. The view is beyond our imagination.