Hosea

Photo of Sophie when she went on the DofE cycle trip recently, captured by Danella

Recently I've been reading through some of the prophetic books in the Old Testament. I've been reading Hosea recently. And loving it.

A lot of people think that the prophetic books are boring and not applicable for us today. But that is completely wrong! God's word is still alive and active and ready to speak to you. There are things to be learnt from any passage of Scripture.

Hosea had the dubious honor of having his life used as a living moral object lesson for Israel—instructed by God to marry an unfaithful wife, he spoke movingly and earnestly about God’s sorrow at Israel’s “adulterous affairs” with false gods and His willingness to forgive.

There are a lot of  moving passages and some beautiful imagery. I wanted to share chapter 11 with you.

Hosea 11
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.
“Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.
“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 Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.
Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful Holy One.

I just love those verses. I love how the wrath and righteous anger of God is so eloquently portrayed against His boundless love and longing for His people to turn from their sin and follow Him after all He has done for them. 

Passages of scripture like this one have not been put into the Bible for no reason. God wants to demonstrate how He cannot abide sin. Sin has consequences. Our sin is so great that God had to send His only son to fix it! 

But that is where God's love is shown, too.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.

And...

My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.

He led his people with love and kindness and fed them and supplied their every want. And that's what he does for us, too! He is full of love and compassion.
Each line in the chapter just reeks of God's love and how he yearns for Israel to come back to him.

But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.

You can hear God's heart in that, can't you? How he longed for them. He called to them, but they blatantly ignored his voice. In fact, they went in the opposite direction.

It's moving and beautiful to read passages like this one. And they teach us, too. It brings me sadness when I think of how my sin grieves my Lord so much. But joy and unexplainable gratitude when I think of his love for me and of how he demonstrated that love.

May you be blessed greatly this week!