Read Hosea
12-14 & Revelation
3
To discover:
As you read consider what
God promises Israel/Ephraim.
To ponder:
Again, God declares Israel
will be returned to what the nation was when just out of Egypt
– living in tents as was celebrated at the feast of tabernacles. Perhaps as a
sign they are without excuse God then tells how he spoke to them through
prophets in various ways, and then condemns the wickedness and idolatry of Gilead
and Gilgal. The sense of 12v12-14 is unclear. The point may be that just as
Israel came into existence because Jacob cared for sheep for 14 years in a
foreign land to get his wife, so Israel were brought from Egypt only when God
sent a prophet (Moses) to care for them like sheep. The care for sheep, then,
is a picture of God’s care for his people. Yet in response, they have gone
astray from Moses commands, provoking God to anger so that he will leave the
guilt of their bloodshed on them. The point for us is to see God’s commands as
a reflection of his care, and so keep them.
13v1-3 now looks to the past of the
actual tribe of Ephraim, rather than the northern kingdom in general which it
came to represent. He was once the greatest in Israel
(see Gen 49), but turned to Baal and died – implying that the tribe became
insignificant. They made idols and it was said even sacrificed humans, so God
declared they would disappear like smoke – just as happened when conquered by Assyria .
Here God reminds the people he is their God who redeemed them from Egypt
and commanded they have no God except him. He cared for and fed them in the
desert. Yet because they forgot him, rather than care, he will now devour them
like a wild animal (13v4-8). He therefore declares Israel
is destroyed asking where are his rulers, that they may save him. Just as God
gave them Saul in anger at them wanting a king for the wrong reason, so in
wrath he also took him away – just as he would Hoshea (2 Kgs 17). The point is
that Israel ’s
kings can’t save the nation as they are part of the problem. Indeed, God’s very
supply of their original king was an act of judgement because the people wanted
to be like the nations just as they did in following their gods.
In response to all this, God
declares that Ephraim is held to account for his sins, experiencing labour
pains without actually being born to life. In context 13v14 is therefore more
likely negative than positive. Its sense would be of asking if God would redeem
Ephraim from death, only for God to call its plagues and destructive power
against him. So God continues, stating that he will not have compassion on
Ephraim, but an east wind (Assyria) will blow so he dries up as he is
plundered, and the people of Samaria fall to the sword in the most terrible way
describable (13v9-16). We should remember the harshness of this judgement is
because of the great advantages Ephraim turned from and the depth of sin the
people were prepared to engage in (as 13v1-2).
In the light of this devastation God
calls Israel to
return to him. They are to call on him to graciously forgive them, promise to
offer him praise, and acknowledge their trust in their alliance with Assyria ,
their military might, and their idols was pointless and futile, and that
instead they should have trusted God who shows compassion to the weak and
needy. It’s a picture of sincere repentance in which we not only seek mercy but
confess our sin in detail. In response, as with us, God promises to heal Israel
from his waywardness. He promises to love them freely because his anger has
turned away, and be like dew, causing Israel
to grow and blossom like a beautiful, fragrant and majestic tree in which men
will find shade. He adds that Israel ’s
(Ephraim’s) fame will spread and he will have nothing more to do with idols as
God will care for him. Indeed, it will be as if God is a fir tree (stressing
the constancy of his life) upon which the people will bear fruit – the
equivalent of Jesus stating his people bear fruit by remaining in him as the
vine (Jn 15). The point is that it is in and through the LORD that the people
will change (14v1-9).
This end to Hosea is somewhat
confusing as God seems to be saying Ephraim will be utterly destroyed, yet
promising life for Israel ,
to which Ephraim refers. The harmony is found in the fact that the northern
kingdom as a kingdom was utterly destroyed. However, some of its people settled
in Judea displaying a desire to be faithful to the LORD.
And those from their descendents who came to faith in Christ, together with
those who were exiled throughout the world, would also receive the life that is
found in him.
Hosea’s final words hint at the need
to ponder these things. He asserts that those who are wise and discerning will
understand what he says. The righteous will walk accordingly, displaying the
repentance God calls them to. But the rebellious will stumble over what he
says, no doubt by denying its truth and charging God with wrongdoing (14v9).
These are much needed words for us as we weigh the same call to repentance in
the light of coming judgement.
Praying
it home:
Praise God for the
life that is found in him. Pray that you would be always ready to confess your
sin and seek forgiveness.
Thinking
further:
None today.
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