God's Unfailing Love (ch. 11)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In our current series from the book of Hosea, we saw in our messages from the last two weeks that Israel’s guilt, heaped up by their constant, unrepentant rebellion against their husband Yahweh, subsequently brought his punishment. This punishment was just and good, even though he would expel them from his land, and remove his grace from their lives.
Yet we will see once again this morning that God does not abandon his covenants just because his people abandon him. He is always at work, using even his people’s sin, and his righteous response to that sin to bring about his covenant promises, and in doing so, shows his amazing glorious attributes of Godness! So with that in mind, let’s read together Hosea 11, and see the magnificence of God’s Unfailing Love for his covenant people.
Text: Hosea 11
Text: Hosea 11
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. 4 I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them. 5 They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. 6 The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels. 7 My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all. 8 How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. 9 I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. 10 They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west; 11 they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord. 12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.
Main Idea: Since God is merciful, gracious, and loving as part of His eternal attributes, His people can rest assured that He will keep his covenant promises even when they sin against Him.
Main Idea: Since God is merciful, gracious, and loving as part of His eternal attributes, His people can rest assured that He will keep his covenant promises even when they sin against Him.
In this chapter, we read language even more tender than the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), God, the loving parent, proclaims His compassion for Israel. In spite of rebellion, God’s election cannot be defeated. Beyond judgment there is hope.
I. God’s Love Calls (1-2)
I. God’s Love Calls (1-2)
(1) When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
When Israel was a child, I loved him, - Here is one of the most endearing passages in Hosea. The prophet uses another family metaphor, portraying the Lord not only as a husband but also as a father (cf. Luke 15:11–32). This metaphor was not original to Hosea (cf. Ex. 4:22–23).
22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’ ”
out of Egypt I called my son - Here and in v. 4 reference is made to God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex. 4:22). Jesus, as the true Israel, was also brought out of Egypt in accordance with this prophecy as we read in Matt 2:13-15,
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
This shows that Jesus is the “Son of God,” i.e., the heir of David who embodies Israel’s relationship to God (cf. 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:26–27).
Israel, labeled God’s “son” in Ex. 4:22 (see Deut. 8:5), came out of Egypt in the exodus (Exodus 14). The movement of Israel prefigures the movement of Christ (Matt. 2:15), who is the faithful Son (Matt. 3:17), whereas Israel as son repeatedly failed (Hos. 11:2).
So, in the midst of the holy judgment of God, there is a reference to the hope of Israel, and the fulfillment of God’s covenant of redemption, the Messiah, Jesus!
(2) The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.
they were called … they went away - This calling of God was mostly done through the prophets, whose messages were ignored as Israel went after other gods.
II. God’s Love Provides (3-4)
II. God’s Love Provides (3-4)
(3) Yet (though they went away, v. 2) it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.
I … taught Ephraim to walk - Probably a reference to God’s tender leading of Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land.
I healed them - God spared Israel from harm during the formative wilderness period (Ex. 15:26).
26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
(4) I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
There are two possible meanings here in the context, the first would be that the light bands or cords represent how a parent supports and guides a toddler who is learning to walk. The second is that of a kind farmer with his animals, who removes the yoke and leads the animal, not with harsh ropes and a yoke (as in 10:11), but with light cords and bands to guide the animals to their food. Then the Lord, like a gentle farmer, even bent down and fed them (11:4).
It was God’s love that provided and still provides the solid foundation for an ultimate relationship of care, guidance, and obedience.
III. God’s Love Directs (5-7)
III. God’s Love Directs (5-7)
We see that even in God’s judgment against his rebellious people, he carefully directs that punishment so as to accomplish his purposes.
(5) They shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
They shall not … Egypt - in the context of divine mercy in this passage (vv. 4, 8), this more then likely means that Israel shall not return to her status before God called her as His covenant people (i.e, in Egypt), Deut. 4:34, but she will be punished for her sins by Assyria. In other words, there is no regression in God’s plan of redemption.
Egypt … Assyria - Though deserved, the effect of this judgment is tempered in v. 11.
(6) The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them because of their own counsels.
their cities - With fortified cities they were self-reliant (8:14).
gates - Because the gates of the city were not only used for protection, but were also where the elders and wisemen of the city came to give counsel, some suggest that the context of this Hebrew phrase, bars of their gates, may refer to these people, specifically to false prophets who supplied the military counsels mentioned in the verse.
(7) My people are bent (to hang on to) on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all. - Tragically, however, more than anything else, it was the Lord’s love that was spurned.
IV. God’s Love Restores (8-12)
IV. God’s Love Restores (8-12)
(8) How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
How can I give you up - God now speaks directly to Israel. The contrast with vv. 5–7 heightens the impact of this deeply personal declaration of relentless compassion. Very similar to the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah:
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
20 Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord.
Jesus expressed the same compassion for rebellious Jerusalem:
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? - These two cities on the plain near the southern end of the Dead Sea (Gen. 10:19; 14:2, 8) were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:23–25), thus becoming examples of God’s wrath (Deut. 29:23; Jer. 49:18).
The judgment of God on sin is just and must be enacted, and yet God’s compassion for the sinner brings about what we now read in verse 9:
(9) I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
Holy One - Holiness and righteous justice denotes God’s difference from humans. Men seek revenge, but God works salvation. The fulness of God’s wrath, though deserved will not be displayed.
11:10–11 - describe the return of a remnant of God’s people from exile.
(10) They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;
They shall go after the Lord - Restoration, not destruction, is the goal of God’s judgment of His covenant people.
when he roars, his children shall come - like the calling of a lion for her cubs
(11) they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.
God compassionately tempers the effect of the judgment pronounced in v. 5.
from Egypt … Assyria - Again Egypt and Assyria are paired to symbolize the judgment of God’s people through exile (8:13 note; 9:3; 11:5).
(12) Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit, but Judah still walks with God and is faithful to the Holy One.
surrounded - Symbolically showing that wherever God looks he sees lies.
Judah still walks with God - Judah is viewed positively and contrasted with Ephraim (i.e., Israel).
Judah and the northern tribes (Ephraim) both suffered lapses in fidelity to the Lord, but Judah, unlike Ephraim, had some good kings (in particular, Hezekiah). One of the highest points in Judah’s history was the victory over the Assyrians when Hezekiah was king (see 2 Kings 18–19, which was 20 years after Samaria fell).
So to sum it up, God’s unfailing love, calls his people to himself, and provides for their growth, and directs them through punishment in times of rebellion, in order to restore them to himself, thus fulfilling his timeless, changeless covenant of redemption.
So What?
So What?
Do we realize that though we are sinners and cannot merit God love, he still loves us and calls us to himself?
Do we see everyday God’s provision for us, not just so we will be happy, but in order that we might know him and be directed to his compassionate arms?
Do we understand that though God punishes us for our sin, his purpose is to restore us to fellowship with him?