God’s Love for Israel
1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more I called Israel,
the further they went from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love;
I lifted the yoke from their neck
and bent down to feed them.
5 “Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 Swords will flash in their cities,
will destroy the bars of their gates
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even if they call to the Most High,
he will by no means exalt them.
8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboiim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.
For I am God, and not man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come in wrath.
10 They will follow the LORD;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling
like birds from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the LORD…
My Understanding: The people of God had broken covenant with God, i.e. they had gone after other lovers (false gods; idols of men). They had rebelled against God’s laws. They cried out, “O God, we acknowledge you!” but they rejected what was good, so an enemy would pursue them. Their worship of God was a mixture of worldly plans, goals and practices, and Jewish forms of worship. So, their worship was corrupted by the world.
They set up kings without God’s consent. They chose princes without God’s approval. This part really jumped out at me in light of the upcoming presidential election here in the U.S. It also brings to mind the story in 1 Samuel where Israel asked Samuel for a king. The people said to Samuel, “Now appoint us a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” They wanted to be like the other nations. This displeased Samuel, so he prayed to God. The Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” So, Samuel told the people what God said and what their king they so desired would do. He would enslave them, take advantage of them, and steal from them. And, when that day came, they would cry out to God for relief from the king they had chosen. But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They wanted a king over them so that they could be like all the other nations. So, the Lord gave them a king.
When we look to men to be our salvation, that will be our downfall. When we think men can heal what ails our nation, that will be to our shame. We are not supposed to put our hope in men. “Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?” (Is. 2:22). “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD” (Is. 31:1). “This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD” (Jer. 17:5). “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him” (Jer. 17:7). We need to make sure, in this election, that we are seeking God, that we are looking to him for our help in time of trouble, and that we are not placing our trust in man, who cannot save, and who, most likely, will fail us. If our eyes are truly on Jesus and not on man, then we won’t be disappointed.
Reap What you Sow
Since Israel turned to other nations for their help, instead of turning to God, they would reap what they had sown, just like God’s people did when they refused to listen to Samuel (God, actually), and they chose to have a human king rule them. They got just what they asked for. Israel chose to look to Assyria for protection, instead of trusting in God, and so Assyria was over the house of the Lord. I can’t help but see a parallel here to the church of today in the USA who chose to bring itself under the rule of the USA government via becoming incorporated (501c3). Thus, an “eagle” is truly over the house of the Lord here in America. And, the US government has and continues to stipulate what the church (as a legal entity under the government of the USA) can and cannot do; and can say and not say. And, this realm of authority of the government over the church is beginning to expand. I believe we are going to see some of what God told his people would happen when they chose to have a king rule over them so they could be like other nations, only we are going to see it happen to the church in the USA, and at the hands of our “kings.” Revelation tells us a time like this is coming, and I believe scripture.
Hosea was to let the people of Israel know that the days of punishment for her sins were coming. This, nonetheless, did not sit well with the people. They didn’t like negative messages that made them feel bad or that threatened judgment if they did not repent. So, they were hostile towards God’s messengers (his watchmen), whom God had sent to the people to warn them of the dangers of putting their trust in men and of following after other gods to serve them. And, we will face the same kind of ridicule and hostility, even from fellow Christians and church leaders, too, when we share the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, when we let people know that coming to Christ means turning from sin and turning to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ, in the power and working of the Holy Spirit of God within them, and when we tell them that those who do not repent, and do not have faith in Christ, will face the judgment of eternity in hell without God forever. When we come to faith in Christ Jesus, we are saved from that judgment of eternity without God. Yet, that does not mean we will be spared from God’s acts of divine discipline while we still live on the face of this earth. Jesus said he rebukes and disciplines those he loves, so we are to be earnest and repent.
God would judge Israel for her sins of spiritual adultery and idolatry, and then they would realize and would acknowledge that they did not revere the Lord, and that is why these things happened to them. They would also come to their senses and would understand that, even if they still had a king, what could he do for them? This is the beginning of wisdom when we realize that men are not our saviors, and that our trust needs to be solely in Almighty God. When they came to their senses, and they realized that a human king could do nothing for them, they would also acknowledge that human kings make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements that result in lawsuits springing up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field, Hosea wrote. Times have not changed all that much. Politicians are the same today. Hosea said Israel would thus be disgraced and ashamed of its idols.
Divine Counsel
Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
and showers righteousness on you (Hosea 10:12).
Israel had planted wickedness, and they had reaped evil, and had eaten the fruit of deception. Because they depended upon man, their own strength, and on their military might for their protection, they would be defeated in battle, and all their fortresses would be devastated. So, God was counseling them to sow (plant) for themselves righteousness (morality, justice, decency, honesty, and holiness), and if they did that, they would reap (gain; harvest) the fruit (produce; reward) of unfailing love.
Israel today consists of true followers of Jesus Christ. Israel, as a Jewish nation, is no longer considered the people of God, but are counted among the Gentiles (unbelievers). They are from the child of Hagar, and the physical city of Jerusalem is synonymous with Hagar (see Gal. 4:21-31). Only true followers of Jesus Christ are of the children of promise (Isaac), and only true believers in Jesus are true Israel. And the Jerusalem they are of is the one from above, and is of the free woman, not the slave woman. So, if we think of Israel today in these terms, this is speaking to true believers in Christ Jesus who have strayed away from their pure devotion to Christ, who have gotten distracted by and caught up in the things of the world (and the church has helped facilitate this), and who have followed after the gods of men, and have looked to men to solve their problems instead of looking to God.
And, God is calling out to his church today, I believe, and is giving her a very similar message as what he gave his children in this time of Hosea and in the time of Samuel, the prophet, when the people asked for a king to rule them. He is calling his church to turn from her sins of spiritual adultery and idolatry (following the gods of men), and is calling her to return to her God in all faithfulness and purity and devotion. Then, he will bless her, and she will no longer be unproductive spiritually, but God will restore her to a right relationship with him, he will renew her faith, and he will give to her a brand new start, to where she will now bear fruit in keeping with repentance for his eternal kingdom, and for his glory and praise. Yet, if she does not repent, judgment (divine discipline and correction, not eternal damnation) will most certainly come.
God will not judge us with divine discipline because he is mean and hates us. He will do this because he loves us. For those of us who are parents, we understand that, if we don’t correct and discipline our children, they will become unruly, disobedient, selfish children who get their own way to their own destruction. Now, some of them may go this way even if we offer loving correction. There are no guarantees. And, not everyone will repent at God’s loving rebuke, either. But, what we need to understand is that God loves us so very much so that he will, after much patience with us, come to a point where he will act on our behalf and on behalf of his holy name, knowing that only through some kind of divine correction will we humble ourselves, pray and turn from our wicked ways so he can heal us, restore us and make us into the people he created us to be.
This 11th chapter gives us a clear picture of how much God loves us, and how much it pains him whenever he has to inflict punishment upon us. Just like he loved Israel as a parent loves a child and cares for and nurtures the child to maturity, he loves us. I know this love and this anguish of heart of this parental kind of love that encourages your children to walk in righteousness only to see them rebel time and time again. God was not a harsh parent with Israel, and he is not harsh with us. He is gentle, loving and compassionate, and full of mercy. Yet true love tells people the truth, and true loves tries to pull them out of the mud instead of just allowing them to wallow in it. God’s goal is not our destruction, but his goal is our restoration to a right relationship with him and renewed fellowship. So, if you have wandered from your pure devotion to God, and you know you are living to please your sinful passions and desires, I pray today that you will return to your Lord and that you will choose this day to turn away from your sins and to turn to walk humbly in obedience to Christ. This is your only hope and salvation, and it is the only thing that will heal what ails you. Let Christ Jesus do his work or restoration in your heart today. He is our only Savior and hope!
I’m Not Ashamed / An Original Work / February 15, 2012
Based off Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 1:16-17
Go into all the world,
And tell them the Good News,
Making disciples of all the nations,
Baptizing them in the name of the Father
And of the Holy Spirit,
And of the Son,
Teaching them to obey
Ev’rything I have commanded you,
And surely I am with you,
E’en to the end of the age.
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit
Comes on you;
My witnesses you will be
In Samaria, Judea, and Jerusalem,
And to the ends of the earth, amen!
You will receive power
When the Holy Spirit comes on you,
My witnesses you will be
Unto the ends of the earth.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s the power of God.
For in the gospel a righteousness
From God is made known,
A righteousness that is by faith.
I’m not ashamed of the
Gospel of my Jesus.
For salvation, it’s the power of God.
The righteous will live by faith.
http://youtu.be/HwLRP5rCJ5s
My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J. Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
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