The next few articles are looking at a couple of chapters from the book of Hosea. Here’s some quick background on the book of Hosea, named after the prophet who is described in this book. Among other things, Hosea 1 describes how God told Hosea to “marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her” (Hosea 1:2), as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness as a people. Then, Hosea 2 appears to be mostly a prophecy from God, and Hosea 3 describes how Hosea purchased his wife back from another man, after she had been unfaithful to him, as an example of Israel’s eventual return to God.
Then, chapters 4 through 13 of Hosea appear to be formatted as a long prophecy or a series of prophecies (as contrasted with the narrative in chapters 1 and 3). Within that latter section, our text for today is from chapter 11.
Per a commentator (cited below), this chapter appears to be a statement from God, with a change from the metaphor of an unfaithful people to a metaphor of a loving father.
“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.Hosea 11:1-4 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/hos.11.1-4.NIV
Here, “Israel” is apparently referring to the descendants of Jacob (and not Jacob himself, who was older when he moved to Egypt, and had died before the Hebrew people were freed from Egypt centuries later). Remember that, after Jacob had wrestled with God (the night before reuniting with his brother Esau), he was given the name Israel. (See Genesis 32:22-32; ref. also Genesis 35:9-10) According to the footnote on Genesis 32:28, the name “Israel” appears to mean “he struggles with God” [NIV] or “he who contends with God; or God contends” [NASB].
As we can see later in this chapter (and elsewhere in the Bible), though, it seems like the nation of Israel – i.e., the descendants of Jacob – continued to fight against God in different ways and at different times over their history.
In the text above from Hosea 11, we have examples of God’s love for the Israelite people, despite their resistance. God did a lot of things for the Israelites: He loved them. He taught them. He helped them. He healed them. He fed them. Still, the people sacrificed to false gods and idols, rather than remaining faithful to God.
From this perspective, Israel’s behavior at that time might sound illogical, but for any of us who has ever been under the age of 25 or so (which is probably all of us!), we probably remember making bad choices despite having been told better by others, and turning away – even if only temporarily – from those who loved us.
So, how about you and me? Do we fully appreciate how much God loves us? Have we taken a recent inventory of the blessings that He has provided for each of us? Is God’s love for us forefront in our minds?
If we take the time to dwell on His love, I think that it just might inspire us to stop fighting with Him, and allow Him to decide what is best for us.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 5, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, March 5, 2023, © 2022 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Minor Prophets Volume 1 – Hosea-Micah, by Harold Shank. © 2001 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 