Passage Read: Hosea 12 - Joel 1
Meditation Verse: Hosea 14:4
Thought
God called Ephraim to repent and return to Him, and promised to love him freely and heal his waywardness, because His anger had turned away. Those promises are for the repentant, not for everyone. The people of Ephraim who repent and return to the Lord will be healed of waywardness and loved freely because the Lord's anger was already vanquished. But though His anger is gone, His promises are only for those who return to Him in humility and with a commitment to change and learn and live by His ways.
Application
Though God's anger was satisfied in Christ's death, His salvation and transformation is not given to everyone. God loves all, but His love is held back by our rebelliousness. Only in repentance can we begin to experience His love poured out freely upon us. If a man will not repent, he will not enjoy God's love. There is no salvation without repentance.