BORN AGAIN OF WATER AND SPIRIT

BORN AGAIN OF WATER AND SPIRIT 

"Your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goes early away" Hosea 6:4

With this 4th verse of the chapter, the second section of the prophetic messages commences. It runs on to the 15th, verse of chapter 10, and is principally concerned with the PUNISHMENT which must fall upon the POLLUTED NATION. In the first movement (verses 4 to 11 of this chapter), the whole case was stated briefly. The Divine desire was that of finding a way to bring the people to a deep repentance, and to the activity of mercy, and the knowledge of God and that will happen after great tribulation. The human response was that of transgression, treachery, and the consequent ways of wickedness. Both Ephraim and Judah had their moments and moods of goodness, but they were fleeting, they did not last, they produced no permanent results. These manifestations of goodness were like a cloud in the morning, mist coming up from the sea, too feeble to produce a harvest, being quickly dissipated by the blazing heat of the sun. What an arresting figure of such this is, and how conscious we are at it accurately describes our goodness. In times of our wandering and disloyalty, we also have moments and moods of goodness. We realize the better way, we return to it, but we fail again and yet again. We need something far more than, OUR OWN GOODNESS to produce a life FRUITFUL in HOLINESS. Such FRUIT only comes from "a tree planted by the streams of water." That tree "brings forth its fruit in its season," and its "leaf also doth not wither." (Psa. 1:3) Human admiration of goodness and aspiration after it, do not result in realization. It is only as our human life is SUPPLIED by the DIVINE STREAMS preached by John the Baptist that its goodness is abiding and that comes by way of REPENTANCE (John 3:5).