Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me." I will return to My placeThis phrase signifies God's withdrawal from His people due to their persistent sin and rebellion. The Hebrew root for "return" is "שׁוּב" (shuv), which often implies a turning back or retreat. In the context of Hosea, it reflects God's decision to remove His protective presence, allowing Israel to experience the consequences of their actions. Historically, this can be seen as a period when Israel faced external threats and internal decay, highlighting the seriousness of divine judgment. until they have borne their guilt
The phrase underscores the necessity of Israel acknowledging their wrongdoing. The Hebrew word for "guilt" is "אָשָׁם" (asham), which conveys a sense of culpability and the need for atonement. This reflects the biblical principle that repentance and recognition of sin are prerequisites for restoration. The historical context of Hosea's ministry during a time of moral and spiritual decline in Israel emphasizes the importance of this acknowledgment for the nation's survival. and seek My face
To "seek My face" is a call for genuine repentance and a desire for a restored relationship with God. The Hebrew word "בָּקַשׁ" (baqash) means to search or strive after, indicating an earnest pursuit. In biblical terms, seeking God's face implies a return to His ways and commandments. This phrase is a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and Israel, where seeking God leads to blessings and life. in their affliction
Affliction here refers to the suffering and hardship that Israel would endure as a result of their disobedience. The Hebrew word "צָרָה" (tsarah) denotes distress or trouble. Historically, this can be linked to the invasions and political turmoil that plagued Israel during Hosea's time. Theologically, it suggests that God uses trials as a means to draw His people back to Himself, emphasizing His desire for their ultimate redemption. they will earnestly seek Me
This phrase highlights the transformation that affliction can bring about. The Hebrew word "שָׁחַר" (shachar) implies a diligent and early seeking, suggesting a sincere and urgent return to God. It reflects the hope that through their trials, Israel would come to a place of true repentance and restoration. This is a powerful reminder of God's grace and mercy, always ready to receive His people when they turn back to Him with genuine hearts. Persons / Places / Events 1. GodThe speaker in this verse, expressing His intention to withdraw His presence until Israel acknowledges their guilt and seeks Him. 2. IsraelThe nation being addressed, which has turned away from God and is experiencing His judgment. 3. HoseaThe prophet through whom God delivers this message, calling Israel to repentance. 4. JudgmentThe context of this passage, where God is pronouncing judgment on Israel for their unfaithfulness. 5. RepentanceThe desired response from Israel, involving acknowledgment of guilt and a sincere seeking of God. Teaching Points God's Patience and WithdrawalGod’s decision to "return again to My place" signifies His patience and the seriousness of sin. It teaches us that God sometimes allows us to experience the consequences of our actions to bring us to repentance. The Necessity of Acknowledging GuiltTrue repentance begins with acknowledging our guilt. This verse reminds us that we must confront our sins honestly before seeking reconciliation with God. Seeking God in AfflictionAffliction can be a tool used by God to draw us back to Him. In times of trouble, we should earnestly seek God, understanding that He desires to restore us. The Promise of RestorationGod’s willingness to return when His people seek Him assures us of His readiness to forgive and restore. This encourages us to approach Him with confidence in His mercy. The Role of Affliction in Spiritual GrowthAffliction often leads to spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with God. We should view challenges as opportunities to seek God more earnestly. Bible Study Questions 1. How does God’s decision to "return again to My place" reflect His character and His relationship with Israel? 2. In what ways can acknowledging our guilt before God lead to personal and spiritual transformation? 3. How can we apply the principle of seeking God in times of affliction to our own lives today? 4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure we are earnestly seeking God in our daily lives? 5. How do the themes of repentance and restoration in Hosea 5:15 connect with the message of the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15? Connections to Other Scriptures 2 Chronicles 7:14This verse emphasizes the importance of humility, prayer, and seeking God's face for healing and forgiveness, similar to the call in Hosea 5:15. Isaiah 55:6-7Encourages seeking the Lord while He may be found and turning from wicked ways, paralleling the call to repentance in Hosea. Luke 15:11-32The Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates the concept of returning to the Father after realizing one's guilt, akin to Israel's need to seek God. James 4:8-10Urges believers to draw near to God, cleanse their hands, and purify their hearts, echoing the call for repentance and seeking God. Psalm 32:5Highlights the blessing of confessing sins and receiving forgiveness, aligning with the theme of acknowledging guilt in Hosea. People Benjamin, Hosea, Israelites, JarebPlaces Assyria, Beth-aven, Gibeah, Mizpah, Ramah, TaborTopics Acknowledge, Affliction, Desolate, Distress, Early, Earnestly, Face, Guilt, Misery, Offence, Offense, Return, Saying, Search, Seek, Sought, Speedily, Till, Trespass, Trouble, Turn, WasteDictionary of Bible Themes Hosea 5:15 1255 face of God
5150 face
8149 revival, nature of
8239 earnestness Hosea 5:13-15 7233 Israel, northern kingdom Library 'Physicians of no Value'
'When Ephralm saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither shall he cure you of your wound.'--HOSEA v. 13 (R.V.). The long tragedy which ended in the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyrian invasion was already beginning to develop in Hosea's time. The mistaken politics of the kings of Israel led them to seek an ally where they should have dreaded an enemy. As Hosea puts it in figurative fashion, Ephraim's …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureAn Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot The Call and Feast of Levi
"And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the place of toll, and He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him. And it came to pass, that He was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and His disciples: for there were many, and they followed Him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that He was eating with the …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark That None Should Enter on a Place of Government who Practise not in Life what they have Learnt by Study.
There are some also who investigate spiritual precepts with cunning care, but what they penetrate with their understanding they trample on in their lives: all at once they teach the things which not by practice but by study they have learnt; and what in words they preach by their manners they impugn. Whence it comes to pass that when the shepherd walks through steep places, the flock follows to the precipice. Hence it is that the Lord through the prophet complains of the contemptible knowledge …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Ramah. Ramathaim Zophim. Gibeah.
There was a certain Ramah, in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25, and that within sight of Jerusalem, as it seems, Judges 19:13; where it is named with Gibeah:--and elsewhere, Hosea 5:8; which towns were not much distant. See 1 Samuel 22:6; "Saul sat in Gibeah, under a grove in Ramah." Here the Gemarists trifle: "Whence is it (say they) that Ramah is placed near Gibea? To hint to you, that the speech of Samuel of Ramah was the cause, why Saul remained two years and a half in Gibeah." They blindly …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Ripe for Gathering
'Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit. 2. And He said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon My people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. 3. And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence. 4. Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Meditations for the Sick.
Whilst thy sickness remains, use often, for thy comfort, these few meditations, taken from the ends wherefore God sendeth afflictions to his children. Those are ten. 1. That by afflictions God may not only correct our sins past, but also work in us a deeper loathing of our natural corruptions, and so prevent us from falling into many other sins, which otherwise we would commit; like a good father, who suffers his tender babe to scorch his finger in a candle, that he may the rather learn to beware …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Of Civil Government.
OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT. This chapter consists of two principal heads,--I. General discourse on the necessity, dignity, and use of Civil Government, in opposition to the frantic proceedings of the Anabaptists, sec. 1-3. II. A special exposition of the three leading parts of which Civil Government consists, sec. 4-32. The first part treats of the function of Magistrates, whose authority and calling is proved, sec. 4-7. Next, the three Forms of civil government are added, sec. 8. Thirdly, Consideration …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion That the Employing Of, and Associating with the Malignant Party, According as is Contained in the Public Resolutions, is Sinful and Unlawful.
That The Employing Of, And Associating With The Malignant Party, According As Is Contained In The Public Resolutions, Is Sinful And Unlawful. If there be in the land a malignant party of power and policy, and the exceptions contained in the Act of Levy do comprehend but few of that party, then there need be no more difficulty to prove, that the present public resolutions and proceedings do import an association and conjunction with a malignant party, than to gather a conclusion from clear premises. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning The Arguments Usually Alleged in Support of Free Will Refuted.
1. Absurd fictions of opponents first refuted, and then certain passages of Scripture explained. Answer by a negative. Confirmation of the answer. 2. Another absurdity of Aristotle and Pelagius. Answer by a distinction. Answer fortified by passages from Augustine, and supported by the authority of an Apostle. 3. Third absurdity borrowed from the words of Chrysostom. Answer by a negative. 4. Fourth absurdity urged of old by the Pelagians. Answer from the works of Augustine. Illustrated by the testimony …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion Hosea
The book of Hosea divides naturally into two parts: i.-iii. and iv.-xiv., the former relatively clear and connected, the latter unusually disjointed and obscure. The difference is so unmistakable that i.-iii. have usually been assigned to the period before the death of Jeroboam II, and iv.-xiv. to the anarchic period which succeeded. Certainly Hosea's prophetic career began before the end of Jeroboam's reign, as he predicts the fall of the reigning dynasty, i. 4, which practically ended with Jeroboam's …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Hosea 5:15 NIVHosea 5:15 NLTHosea 5:15 ESVHosea 5:15 NASBHosea 5:15 KJV
Hosea 5:15 Commentaries
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