Read
God's Love for His People
1 When Israel was a child,
I loved him, and I called
my son out of Egypt.
2But as the saying goes,
“The more they were called,
the more they rebelled.”
They never stopped offering
incense and sacrifices
to the idols of Baal.
3I took Israel by the arm
and taught them to walk.
But they would not admit
that I was the one
who had healed them.
4I led them with kindness
and with love,
not with ropes.
I held them close to me;
I bent down to feed them.
5But they rejected me,
and so must return to Egypt;
now Assyria will rule them.
6War will visit their cities,
and their plans will fail.
7My people are determined
to reject me for a god
they think is stronger,
but he can't help.
8 Israel, I can't let you go.
I can't give you up.
How could I possibly destroy you
as I did the towns of Admah
and Zeboiim?
I just can't do it.
My feelings for you
are much too strong.
9Israel, I won't lose my temper
and destroy you again.
I am the Holy God—
not merely some human,
and I won't stay angry.
10I, the Lord, will roar like a lion,
and my children will return,
trembling from the west.
11They will come back,
fluttering like birds from Egypt
or like doves from Assyria.
Then I will bring them
back to their homes.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Reflect
Images of tenderness that reveal the merciful and compassionate nature of God saturate this passage, which also laments the habitual waywardness of God’s chosen people.
Hosea’s God is like a parent leading a child out of oppressive circumstances (v 1), coddling and healing them as they grow (v 3). God leads with “cords of human kindness,” and is like a sweet person who lifts “infants to their cheeks,” nurtures, and provides for them (v 4). Even when the people forsake God, “my compassion grows warm and tender” (v 8).
God, it turns out, can’t bear to write people off. Even though “my people are bent on turning away from me” (v 7), he is reluctant to abandon or consign them to a cruel fate. “How can I give you up?” he asks. “How can I hand you over?” (v 8). He refuses, in this instance, to exercise his rightful wrath.
Meanwhile, however, the chosen people seem willing to chase and embrace any god but the One who showers them with such affection. Like rebelling adolescents, the people of Israel in the time of Hosea turned away from the God of their fathers and were enamored with idols and many other forms of misguided worship.
In this passage, God is like a caring parent who detests the conduct of the rebelling child, yet cannot bring himself to confront the issue with the full force of the law; who yearns to allow the badly behaved to escape the consequences of their folly. He withholds his wrath. In due course, he promises they will be returned to their homes (v 11).
This level of compassion, of willingness to forgive and restore the repentant, is a key element of the nature of God. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). Depend on it.
Respond
O God, how often I chase shiny objects of fleeting pleasures and ignore wise words of divine counsel in the conduct of my life. Forgive me, I pray. Help me to shun evil companions and subdue dark passions, and receive me, as I know you will, in your loving embrace. Amen.
Doug Koop
Doug Koop is a writer currently serving as a Spiritual Health Practitioner at Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. From 1987 to 2012 he worked as an editor with ChristianWeek newspaper, covering Christian faith and life in Canada. He and his wife, Margaret, are the parents of two adult sons and two daughters-in-law. http://www.christianweek.org http://www.promisekeepers.ca/seven/ http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20121112#pg1