Finding Jesus

I just love finding Jesus in the Old Testament. He's there from the beginning (Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...") and interspersed throughout the rest of the Old Testament.
Today, I found Him in Hosea 6. Hosea 6:2 says
After two days he will revive us;
       on the third day he will restore us,
       that we may live in his presence.

When the Lord gave these words to Hosea, I doubt that he had any idea what he was saying. He was only doing as he was told, repeating the words that the Lord told him to say. But as we read it, we can see Jesus. "On the third day" is when Jesus was raised and offered us forgiveness and salvation. That's when we were revived. That is when we were restored. That is when we were offered the opportunity to live in his presence.
I have a study Bible that says that Hosea became a prophet in 753 BC. He was a prophet to the very rebellious and evil northern kingdom, known as Israel. By the Lord having Hosea give this message to those people, we know that the promise is for all sinners, even the worst of us. The Lord was very upset at Israel. All of the prophecy of Hosea is dedicated to calling them to be accountable for their sin and calling them to repentance, offering them the opportunity to come home.
This passage was a way of bringing Jesus into my reading of the Old Testament. Oftentimes the readings in the Old Testament can be tedious or uninspiring today. After all they were originally for the Hebrew people. So today, when I get to read something that I can look and see Jesus, with my limited knowledge of the Bible times and issues, I am just thrilled. God had this planned out for a long time. This was at least 753 years before Jesus was born and 2000 years since His resurrection before I read it today. That is a lot of planning. This revelation of Jesus in Hosea shows just how long God's plans can take. Makes me more patient now, hopefully.
Thank you God, for glimpses of Jesus throughout the Old Testament. Thank you when You make sure I see them. This passage was pretty clearly about Jesus. Your plans are amazing in their detail. Help me be patient and wait for Your perfect plans and forgive me when I don't listen. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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