Proving sincerity toward God

Read Hosea 6.

God's discipline is not designed merely to make us feel bad but to help us turn back to Him.  There we find healing, wholeness, and blessing.

In verses 1 through 3, we read the words of the repentance.
1. "Let us return to the LORD."
The definition of the word repent is to turn.  This is a humble admission that one has been going in the wrong direction.  Notice what God does when a person comes to Him in such a way:
-He may heal us.
-He will bind us up.
-He will revive us.
-He will raise us up.
Why?  So "that we may live before him."

2. "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD."
The sincerity of true repentance is seen in what happens next.  A heart that desires a relationship with God wants to know Him more.  This is not a class or a church meeting but knowing God and the Scriptures become a way of life.  Such a person experiences the trustworthiness of the LORD ("as sure as the dawn") and seeks His blessings on their lives like the "spring rains."

A part of God's indictment against Israel and Judah was that there love for Him proved to be like the morning dew.  It disappeared during the day.  Oh, they went through the motions of required rituals of worship but as long as they harbored unconfessed sin their sacrifices had no value.  What He desired from them was a consistent, committed, faithful love from them (vv.4-6).  Then, their offerings would demonstrate true worship.

This is not an either or proposition.  The LORD wants both our love and our tithe.  Jesus said, "But woe to you, Pharisees!  For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God.  These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." (Luke 11:42)