"Repent" 11-28-21
Overview
Repent: The First Step on the Advent Road
This side of heaven, the Christian life is a journey, and God has graciously given us His Word as our road map. As Advent begins, the prophet Hosea marks the first step of that journey with a single, urgent word: repent.
In Hosea 14:1, the prophet pleads, "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity." The Hebrew word for "stumbled" is far stronger than a small misstep — it means utter disaster. Sin has not merely thrown Israel off balance; it has brought them to ruin. And what is true of Israel is true of us. It is easy to read the prophets as though they speak only to "them," but God's Word speaks to all people in all times. We have stumbled. We are in need of return.
How do we return? Throughout the Old Testament, no one was to come before the Lord empty-handed (cf. Exodus). Yet the sacrifice God most desires is described in Psalm 51:17: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." So Hosea instructs in Hosea 14:2-3, "Take with you words and return to the LORD." The words name specific sins: trusting Assyria's power, relying on Egypt's horses, and bowing to "the work of our hands." We do the same — leaning on worldly strength and worshiping idols of our own making, whether career, family, schooling, or friendships. Repentance names these things honestly, asks the Lord to take away guilt, and offers in return "the fruit of our lips" — thanks and praise.
Because of Christ, we never truly come empty-handed. The Lamb of God has borne the sin of every age upon the cross, making the only acceptable sacrifice for sin. Repentance, therefore, is not a one-time act but the ongoing rhythm of the Christian life — what Luther placed between Baptism and the Lord's Supper in the catechism. Born anew in the waters of Baptism and fed at the Table, we live in between as saints and sinners, daily returning, daily forgiven.
And consider God's response in Hosea 14:4-7: "I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely... I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon." Like the father running to the prodigal, God lavishes mercy on those who turn to Him. The lily is beautiful but shallow-rooted; God promises both the lily's fragrance and the deep, immovable roots of Lebanon's cedars, with the steady fruitfulness of the olive tree. He waters us, roots us, and bears fruit through us. To the orphan — to all who feel fatherless and alone on the road — He becomes Father, guide, and constant companion all the way home.
For reflection this week: What "Assyrias," "Egypts," or works of your own hands have you been trusting? Bring those words honestly to the Lord, receive His free forgiveness in Christ, and let Him root you anew.
Transcript
If you would please open your Bibles to the Prophet of Hosea, the Prophet Hosea, the 14th chapter. 3s
I love traveling. 13s
I love going on a trip. 14s
And there are always so many preparations and planning that goes into travel and into trips 16s
that we take. 24s
We have to plot out our course. 26s
Because my kids often lament that there is no such thing as teleportation. 28s
And that would be really handy to just think of a place and go there. 33s
But that's not the reality of our life. 37s
We have to take the time to map everything out. 40s
Well, the same is true in our lives of faith. 46s
We are not born one day and then teleported immediately into heaven. 49s
But we are journeying here. 55s
We are sejourners. 57s
This side of heaven, we are on a journey, a journey of faith. 59s
And with that, we are given a road map. 64s
We are given a road map for our time as aliens, as travelers, as those on a trip 68s
this side of heaven. 76s
And because as the Bible says, our citizenship, our home is in heaven. 78s
But God in His grace and mercy has given us His word, which is a road map for us, 85s
this side of heaven, a road map for our journey as his children until we are called into 94s
His presence in the fullness. 102s
So during this time of advent, we are really focusing in on our trip, on our journey, 105s
on the preparations that are made to come to Christ or for Christ's second coming. 114s
And so we are going to begin today with that first step, that first invitation 122s
that God makes to us through His prophet Joseah. 129s
And that first mark on the road map that we are going to look at today is to repent. 135s
Repentance. 143s
It seems simultaneously very difficult and very simple. 145s
So we are going to dig in and find out what Joseah has to tell us about this. 150s
He tells the Israelites exactly how to repent. 156s
Let us turn to verse 1, where He says, return O Israel to the Lord your God for you have stumbled 162s
because of your iniquity. 170s
Now when we think of stumbling, it's a little trip. 173s
We get off balance and it's embarrassing, it's uncomfortable. 176s
We may hurt ourselves slightly, but we get back on course. 180s
We can straighten ourselves out. 183s
But in the Hebrew, the stumble is not just a little off balance moment. 185s
It really is to come to utter disaster. 191s
And He is telling the Israelites that they have come to utter disaster because of their 196s
sin. 215s
Bring us to complete darkness to complete disaster, both for individuals and for nations. 216s
And so He's saying, return to the Lord. 224s
You are in utter despair. 227s
You are in complete disaster. 229s
You are a disaster because of your sin. 231s
So you need to turn to the Lord. 235s
How do we turn to the Lord? 241s
Throughout the Old Testament, they were to bring sacrifices to Yahweh. 242s
To Jehovah, they were to bring sacrifices. 250s
In Exodus, it says in a couple of places that none shall appear before me empty. 253s
Every time the Israelites were to go to Yahweh, they were to bring a sacrifice. 259s
And nothing is different today. 267s
But what sacrifice are we to bring? 271s
What sacrifice is to be brought before the Lord? 275s
Well, in Psalm 51, verse 17, the Psalm that we spoke responsibly this morning, 281s
it says the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit, a broken and can try it heart. 287s
Oh God, you will not despise. 294s
God did not seek after a burnt offering. 299s
God did not need the ceremonial offering, the sacrifice, the work. 303s
God demands a broken heart, a contrite heart. 311s
And so Hosea here is saying, return to the Lord. 318s
You need to take your sacrifice because of your sin. 322s
But he says in verse 2, take words with you and return to the Lord. 326s
We so often like to talk about the Israelites, like to think about the Israelites, 338s
those who are in utter disaster because of their sin. 345s
And it is so easy for us to look at them, to look at those sinners, those Israelites, 350s
and to separate ourselves from them. 363s
Because they're in the past, Hosea is talking to them. 367s
He's giving them his word, his prophecy, 371s
because they are in utter destruction due to their sin. 375s
But God's word is for us. 384s
It's for all people of all time. 388s
And so instead of they, them, it's us. 392s
It's we return to the Lord for we are in utter disaster because of our sin. 399s
And we don't have any sacrifice we can bring to the Lord. 414s
We don't have anything we can offer to the Lord that he needs, that he wants. 419s
But it can try it heart, a repentant, heart. 429s
And Hosea says, take words with you and return to the Lord. 436s
Say to him, take away all guilt, accept, accept that which is good. 440s
And we will offer the fruit of our lips, offering the fruit of our lips. 449s
That means giving thanks and praise. 454s
Lord forgive our sins. 458s
We will praise you. 459s
Lord forgive us of our utter disaster. 461s
And we will sing praise to you. 466s
We will offer you thanks because there is no other response 468s
that we have for the Lord when he forgives our sin. 473s
But to say, thank you. 479s
We will offer the fruit of our lips. 482s
Assyria shall not save us. 485s
We will not ride upon horses. 487s
We will say no more. 488s
Our God to the work of our hands in you, the orphan finds mercy. 490s
What Hosea is doing here in verse 3, he is speaking out. 498s
The three sins or three of the sins which Israel committed. 504s
Assyria shall not save us. 510s
Constantly Israel was turning to Assyria, 512s
turning to them as a powerful entity to help them. 515s
They turned to Egypt. 521s
We will not ride upon horses. 523s
They didn't have a cavalry. 525s
They didn't have a cavalry. 529s
But Egypt did. 533s
Egypt was known for their horses for their chariots. 534s
And so Israel would turn to them for that power and that support. 537s
We will say no more our God to the work of our hands. 544s
Israel would make sacrifices. 550s
They would pray to and praise these little idols that they would make. 552s
They had household idols and they would pray to them. 557s
But they were made by their hands. 561s
We're told not to worship creation. 564s
And not only were the Israelites worshiping creation, 569s
they were worshiping their own creation. 571s
And so Hosea is saying repent, repent for trusting in Assyria. 577s
Repent for trusting in Egypt for these earthly powers. 584s
Repent for trusting in the idols of your own hands. 590s
And this is where we get that they, them, us we. 598s
We trust in powers of this world. 605s
We turn to those who we think can help us 611s
here now. 618s
We trust in the various idols which we make with our own hands. 622s
Whether that is an amazing career, an amazing family, 631s
schooling, friendships. 639s
We make our own idols and we turn to our idols. 645s
And we trust our idols. 651s
Not Israel alone. 656s
But we do that as well. 659s
And Hosea tells us, repent, repent, turn to the Lord, 664s
return to the Lord. 671s
Repent of your sin. 675s
The Lamb of God has taken away, all sin. 685s
The Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world. 691s
Jesus takes the sin of the Israelite people and he bore it on the cross. 696s
Jesus took the sin of the 21st century Americans and he bore it on the cross. 703s
Jesus took the sin of all time and all places and he bore it on the cross. 716s
So that divine justice could be executed. 724s
We are not to come to the Lord empty. 733s
having Christ giving His life for us, we never come to the Lord empty. 741s
Because we come to the Lord through Jesus. 749s
We come to the Lord with His blood, which is the only acceptable sacrifice for sin. 752s
He has made satisfaction for all our sin. 761s
And when we repent by God's grace, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the grace of God. 766s
The Holy Spirit draws us in closer and closer. 773s
And we see that beautiful gift, that free gift of life, grace, mercy, and forgiveness given to us by Christ. 778s
And repentance is not a one-time thing only. 791s
Remember, we're on a journey. We are born and we have this time here on earth 797s
until we are called home to be with Christ in heaven eternally forever. 805s
And so we are given the opportunity over and over and over again to return to the Lord 814s
to repent, to ask for forgiveness for our sins. 822s
It's part of the Christian life. 829s
In the small catacysm in the book of Concord, Martin Luther laid out the sacraments 833s
with confession, with repentance, right in between. 843s
So we are called into faith. We are born in the spirit through the waters of baptism. 848s
We are washed clean by the blood of Christ. Our robes are made white. 854s
And then there's this time in between in which we have confession and absolution, 861s
where we return to the Lord time and time again. We have already been saved. We have already been made clean. 869s
But with that struggle, between flesh and spirit, that saint and sinner 878s
constantly at war within us, we fall into sin and we repent and we turn to the Lord. 882s
And we return to the Lord. And we receive His grace over and over again. 893s
We receive His grace through His body and blood, the bread and the wine. 903s
And it's this ongoing journey, ongoing cycle of Christianity, of the Christian life of faith. 908s
We are saved and then it is a daily repentance and we receive the daily grace and mercy. 917s
And it continues until we are called home. Repentance is part of the Christian life. 925s
In the final words that Jose it tells the Israelite people to offer to the Lord, 936s
he says, in you the orphan finds mercy. 942s
Well, an orphan is fatherless. An orphan is alone, 947s
journeying by him or herself. 953s
But in Christ, in God, the orphan is no longer fatherless. 958s
When we are without God, we are destitute. We are alone. We are on this journey by ourselves. 963s
But God in His grace has called us into faith. 973s
Here's us when we come to Him with our words of repentance and offers us forgiveness over and over and over again. 979s
So in these first three verses of Jose, a 14, we are told, return to the Lord, repent, 990s
use these words, repent of your sin. And what is God's response? 996s
Well, in verse 4, He says, I will heal their disloyalty. I will love them freely. 1003s
For my anger has turned from them. I will be like the due to Israel. He shall blossom like the 1008s
roots. She'll spread out His beauty. She'll be like the olive tree and His fragrance like that of Lebanon. 1018s
Who is doing the action here? It is God. It is God. His response is to call us to Himself, 1028s
to forgive us, holy and completely. And He doesn't hesitate just like the father who sees the 1040s
prodigal son returning to Him and runs to lavish Him with gifts and love and mercy. 1048s
When we turn to the Lord, when we return to the Lord with our words of repentance, 1060s
His response is to lavish us with His love, His mercy and His forgiveness. 1067s
It is God who calls us to repentance. It is God who redeems us. It is God who washes us new 1074s
every day in His mercy in His goodness. When He says that He will be like the due to Israel, 1086s
He is saying, I will water Israel. I will be the one to make this happen. The lily is known 1097s
for its fragrance. The lily is known for its beauty, but it has no root. So beauty, purity, that is not 1107s
enough alone. And God says, I will make your roots like those of the trees of Lebanon. 1119s
Those roots were so, so entrenched that they would stretch out underground as far as the limbs 1128s
stretched out above ground. Nothing could shake them loose. 1136s
And He says that He will make them fragrant as the olive tree and the olive tree is nothing to look at. 1145s
It is rooted, but it is green and it produces fruit when the other trees don't. 1155s
That is what God promises in our repentance. We turn to Him, not empty handed, but we turn to Him 1167s
with the broken, the contrite heart seeking forgiveness and He promises that He will root us 1180s
in Himself. He will nourish us as the due nourishes the plants in Israel, 1190s
and He will produce fruit in us as His people, as His children. 1200s
This side of heaven, we are on a journey. And we don't know what twists and turns will come up, 1211s
what hills there will be, but we've been given a road map. We've been given a way, a guide, 1222s
to work our way through this side of heaven. God has promised to not only be our guide, but to 1232s
mega, never ending and always with us. 1261s