Learning lessons from History

 Read Hosea 12.

The LORD continued to make His legal case against Israel for their disobedience.  Here, He gave an historical review of their heritage from Jacob.  The covenant with Abraham passed to his only son Isaac.  Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob.  The birthright and covenant went to Jacob.  Jacob's name was changed to Israel.  At the time of Hosea's writing, over a thousand years had gone by.  Jacob's story would have been a familiar one to them, but step by step God reminded them of their roots.

Jacob wrestled with his brother in the womb.
Jacob wrestled with God as an adult.
Jacob wrestled with the angel until he received a blessing.  (Genesis 25-35)

By the end of Genesis, Jacob’s entire family lived in honor and treated as royalty by the Egyptian government.  At the opening of Exodus, they had become a nation of millions who were enslaved.  With a series of miracles, God delivered the Jews and led them back to the land He promised to Abraham.

In Israel's prosperity, they forgot the LORD and claimed credit for what they had.  Even worse, they thought they had done no wrong.  "Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin" (v.8).  Self-made?  Righteous?  Hardly!

God's call to them was simple.  Like Jacob, who made some bad decisions and resolved them, the nation needed to finally come to the place where they dealt with the real problem. 
"So you..." (v.6)
1. "...with the help of your God..."
The first step is to recognize one needs help.  The second is to realize that only God can truly help with the forgiveness of sin.  When dealing with sin, self-help is useless.

2. "...return..."
Repentance involves change.  It is an admission that one has been going in the wrong direction, away from God, and turns back to Him.

3. "...hold fast to love and justice..."
True repentance is seen in a changed behavior.  Instead of doing wrong and mistreating people, a person in right relationship with God loves God, loves people, and acts accordingly.

4. "...wait continually for your God."
Another sign of true repentance is the riddance of the wrong sort of independence.  Waiting on God is a lifestyle of dependence upon Him.