Hide or Seek

You may remember from your younger days, playing the game of hide and seek. One person or several individuals would hide and the person who was it would seek them out until they were discovered.

It seems that the nation of Israel had its own unique form of hide and seek. The difference being is that they had a choice to make. Were they going to try to hide from God? Or were they going to seek His face? Hide or seek? We know that we cannot hide from God. We also know that we are not normally those who would seek God. However, if I may, I would like to suggest that seeking is far better than hiding.

As 21st century Christians, we must earnestly seek after God.

At this time in history, Israel was still rebelling against God. Unfortunately, Judah was close on the heels of her example, even though pleas from the Lord through Hosea were shared last chapter. Hosea is trying to warn of the horrible consequences that will be involved in God’s judgment. Plus, he is telling the people that the judgments will become progressively worse and more intense the more Israel is in rebellion.

Rather than dealing with every single verse today, I’m going to be looking at this chapter as a whole and breaking down three main elements. So it would probably be helpful to have your Bibles, whether they be traditional or electronic, open to Hosea 5.

God Seeks After Israel

The first judgment is mentioned in Hosea 5:12.

Hosea 5:12 NASB95

Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim And like rottenness to the house of Judah.

It’s using the description of a moth, which we might think of as a fairly insignificant insect. However, it finds its way into the wealth seen in the clothes and destroys it.

The second judgments is found in Hosea 5:14.

Hosea 5:14 NASB95

For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver.

Here, we see a lion, which is uncontrollable, angry, tearing, and breaking. But I would suggest to you that the worst thing which could be heard is found in the very first part of Hosea 5:15.

Hosea 5:15 NASB95

I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

These warnings are indeed very solemn and sobering. There was a terrible feeling knowing that the moth was coming and would eat away at the wealth. Then there is the horror of the lion, coming in and tearing to pieces all that he wills. But the worst disaster and judgment is when God withdraws Himself.

Don’t despair. There is a wonderful, little word which follows this solemn warning; until. We read on in Hosea 5:15.

Hosea 5:15 NASB95

I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

Here is where we discover God’s divine heartbeat. Yes, God has stated that He’s going away. This is not what God wants, but it must be done. He is doing this until the Israelites admit their guilt. Here we find hope expressed in this beautiful word. Not only is there hope revealed, but there is assurance in the next part where God knows that in their misery or affliction they will earnestly seek me.

Thus far, we’ve seen the solemn warnings, plus the reason given for God’s going. But it was going to get worse.

God Seeks No More

Obviously, we might think it strange that God would say to these people that He would leave them, or that He would go, that He would withdraw Himself, that He would go back to His place. What God was saying was simply that He Who had been present with them is going to withdraw from them because of their bent on evil and their choosing to not seek Him.

Yet, we must not take this too far, for we recognize that God is always present because of the very nature of Who God is. Even though God stated that He was withdrawing, He was very real in His presence as God of the universe and of each person.

My friends, very simply, we cannot escape God. We may talk about individuals who have been rebellious against God; who have blasphemed God; who live as if there is no God; but they cannot escape from Him.

God was withdrawing Himself in not providing guidance for the nation of Israel. If they were going to be so intent on following the evil their hearts were bent on, God is going to forsake them to their own will, their own decisions, their own choices. You and I have experienced the painful reality that God often sets up interference so as to prevent us from being hurt or hurting others in our sinfulness.

That type of withdrawal from God is the worst disaster that could overtake any nation or man. When God withdraws His interference which keeps us from rushing headlong into destruction because of our sinfulness, we have lost the principle of holiness, the certainty of absolute wisdom, or sufficient strength to accomplish anything of any value. Ultimately, we have lost love. It is then we experience the feeling of being alone in a desert.

We can attempt to set up our own standards of holiness, but they will break down. The reason is that we don’t have the spirit of holiness that must breathe through our lives. When God withdraws, as it were, humanity begins to claim that there is no such thing as holiness. Therefore, there is not to be any demand for holiness.

Some would suggest that man hasn’t gotten that far. But I submit to you that humanity has sunk that low, once again. We see this when there are so many who would suggest that there is no such thing as sin, or they state that believing and behaving as a Christian is evil and hateful, and practicing sin is loving. When individuals claim that any kind of sin is acceptable and justified because of circumstances, but other particular sins are offensive, depending on whether or not one participates in it, we find that the distinction between right and wrong is destroyed. Morality becomes comic material and memes. Morality becomes the object of media ridicule.

Wisdom is also lost. This might seem impossible with our advanced technology. Yet, we need to understand that there is a humanistic form of wisdom which takes no account of God, thus it is not wisdom from above, but from below.

In the end, love will perish, given an uninterrupted course on which the world is traveling. John wrote that Love is of God. This is not the self-centered sort of love that we see and hear of throughout the world today. It is a self-sacrificing love; wanting the best for the other person sort of love.

I find it interesting to note that in all of the Scriptures, God never leaves man until man has left Him. Or, we might state, based upon Hosea and numerous other passages, that God never leaves man until He has exhausted every method of discipline.

Remember there was the moth first, then the lion. As the pain continues to get increasingly worse, we find that God finally withdraws Himself. The moth is subtle. He’s not really terrifying, but he is incredibly annoying and destructive., weakening all that he attacks. This is God’s attempt to get humanity to see how weak we have become so that there might be a return to the true source of strength.

Sadly, according to Hosea 5:13,

Hosea 5:13 NASB95

When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you of your wound.

Israel did see their weakness. However, they turned to Assyria, which was the wrong source of strength.

Then God uses another judgment, that of the lion. This was swift, sudden and terrifying. The purpose was not to completely destroy, but to cause Israel to turn back to God.

Remember, God never turns His back on man until man turns his back completely on God. God never gives man up, until something has taken place in the individual soul, or in the condition of the nation seen here, where there is a total rejection. God now returns to His place; leaving Israel to their own destruction.

Thank goodness, this isn’t the end of the message. Even here, we will see hope.

We Must Seek After God

Ezekiel shared the same message in his prophecies. God withdrew Himself from the temple and the people. Still, there was a looking to returning and restoration taking place. Here, I once again bring you the word from verse 15, until.

I am going—even though God didn’t want to, He had to do so. The nation didn’t seem to want to have anything to do with God. But the Lord was still going to leave the door open. Listen to the compassion and love in that wonderful word, until.

Because of God’s absolute holiness and love, He was compelled to leave them. But what are the conditions of His return?

They must acknowledge or admit their guilt. They needed to admit their wrongdoing and sin. They must turn away from the evil idolatry and whatever else they were doing. Admitting guilt, or repenting, is more than just saying I’m sorry. As the Bible says, you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God. There will be a change in life.

That happens with the next phrase, seek my face. They must return to God. This is the second part of genuine repentance. Not only must the wrong be acknowledged, not only must one turn away from it, but there must be a turning back to God, as we seek Him.

Summary

There is a story that illustrates the truth of this chapter in a wonderful way. It took place in Scotland.

There was a young girl who broke with her mother, choosing a lifestyle of shame. Her mother didn’t know where she was and hadn’t heard from her for ten long years.

One night, broken and ruined and wrecked, the daughter went home, arriving there in the dead of night. She went up the little lane that led to the cottage, and when she got near, she saw a light burning in the window, and was frightened, wondering whether her mother had left, or was ill.

She wondered the meaning of the light in the dead of night. Softly she crept up till she got to the cottage itself, and put her hand on the latch. She found the latch was open, the door was not locked. As she opened it, a voice said, Is that you, Janet?

The girl responded, What is the light burning for, Mother? I was afraid you were ill.

The mother replied, It has never been put out a night since you left, lassie, and the door has never been locked.

Friend, when we acknowledge our sin and seek God’s face, God says the door is open. His judgments are indeed horrible. They have to be. You see, the moth and the lion are meant to save us.

Don’t allow yourself to get so far that God has to say, I’m going to my place now. We cannot survive left to our own ways. The door is open, my friend—confess your sins, put away your idols, and come back seeking the face of our Lord.

God leaves the door unlocked and the light is on in the window.

As 21st century Christians, we must earnestly seek after God.