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In chapter 8, God warned Israel about sowing the wind and
reaping the whirlwind, and that the people had forgotten
God, and built altars of sin. Through chapters 9 to 10, God
continues with His rebuke and warnings of judgment (9:1-2,
16-17; 10:1).
Hosea Chapter 11, on the other hand, is a reminder of God’s
covenantal love to His people.
God as a Loving Father (11:1-4)
Israel was being adopted as God’s son.
A. God Called Them
The word “called” (11:1) means “to be called into a
relationship.” God called Israelites out of Egypt with the
promise was that they would inhabit a land flowing with milk
and honey. The call was motivated by God’s love for Israel
(Deut 7:7-8).
God note only delivered the children of Israel out
of slavery but also showered them with His love. The evil of
Israel’s sin is heightened in the light of what God had done
for them.
+ Are you grateful that God has called you?
B. God Nurtured Them
When God adopted Israel as His son, He also took upon
Himself the responsibility of a father – to love, to
provide, to protect. God is portrayed as loving father
teaching his child how to walk. God is also pictured as
faithfully and quietly providing for Israel.
The irony is that in every good thing that God has done for
the children of Israel, they took what was good and rebelled
against God. They knew God, but “they glorified him
not as God, neither were thankful” (Rom. 1:21).
+ “Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father
of lights” (Jas. 1:17). Do you God’s blessings for granted?
C. God Loved Them
The phrases “cords of man” and “bands of love” (11:4) are
parallel ideas meaning that God deals with Israel in love.
There are two ways to get people to do what you want them to
do. By force
(1 Pet. 5:2-3). By love (Jer. 31:3; 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 4:2).
God was a loving father who provided for the needs
of the children of Israel. Thus when the children of Israel
rebelled against God, they were rebelling against God and
His covenantal love.
+
God draws sinners to Himself by love through the gift of His
Son (John
6:44; 12:32; Rom. 5:6, 8). Have you responded to God’s
love?
God as a Righteous Judge (11:5-7)
Instead of returning to God, they went to Egypt. Israel
would not repent of their sins. It is a stubbornness that
was born out of pride and confidence in their own flesh. The
people were “bent to backsliding” (11:6-7). The danger of
backsliding is that God leaves you to do what you want with
your life. And it is by His mercy and grace that God draws
backsliders to Himself.
+ Are you bent on backsliding? The farther you run
away from God, the bigger your problem becomes.
God as a Gracious Redeemer (11:8-11)
Israel was ripe for judgment. God could have destroyed the
people of Israel. But God did not. The questions in verse 8
do not mean that God was in some sort of moral dilemma,
having to choose the exercise of justice and the extension
of His mercy. The questions are expressions of God’s
compassion, but God chose to extend His love and mercy
through His chastening (Prov. 3:12; Heb. 12:6-8). God’s
discipline is not to destroy but to draw the people back to
Himself (Jer. 30:11; 46:28; Lam. 3:21-23).
The reason that Israel was not consumed is that God
deals with them with His perfect justice and perfect mercy.
Israel would be dispersed by the Assyrians. Judah would be
taken into exile by the Babylonians. But God would restore
them back to Jerusalem (11:10-11).
+ “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that
I might learn thy statutes” (Ps. 119:71).
Conclusion
God could have bound us by fear. But He dealt with us in
grace. In Christ we are “the children of God…heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17). In Christ, we
have a different relationship with God. The rule for that
relationship is not conformity to an external law, but
consecration from a heart that has been renewed by the love
of God.
+ Sinner: repent of your sins and confess our Lord
Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
+ Christian: Serve God out of love. Live for Him “by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved [you], and gave
himself for [you]” (Gal. 2:20) |
