Old Testament Grace

Ok, so its been awhile. We will quickly recap (can you recap something you haven't done?) chapters 8-10 and jump on in to 11 because 4 chapters is too many to tackle after such a long break of non-blogging.
Chapter 8 deals with the independent spirit of the nation of Israel and how they attempted to live without God's guidance. Verse 4 tells of their choice in leadership without the authority given by God and their idol worship. Verse 8 describes Israel as a useless vessel. Verse 14 says that Israel has forgotten their Maker and because of it they will reap destruction.
Chapter 9 tells of their captivity to Assyria and Egypt. Verse 7 says that "The days of punishment have come". Verse 11 and 12 tells of the barrenness of the people. It says God will prevent the reproduction of His people and even if they do bear children they will die in verse 16.
Chapter 10 shows Israel in a continuous state of rebellion despite of their captivity. Apparently they never heard the story of God bringing them out of Egypt once before. Verse 12 is great. "Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you."
Well that was more like a highlight of the last 3 chapters than a recap. I'll just pretend like that is what I meant....
Ok, chapter 11. I love this chapter because it is a picture of the greatest moment of my life. It is hard to say it is better than the moment I met Christ, but it means a great deal to me. To be safe I'll just say it is the second greatest moment of my life. I'll explain as we get into the chapter. Israel is compared to a child that does the opposite of whatever they are told. Verse 2 says, "The more they were called, the more they went away." Because of Israel's disobedience they have become captive by Assyria and they are destroyed not by God, but by their own wicked devices. Verse 7 is where my life begins to fit into the chapter. "My people are bent on turning away from me". A year ago September, I was living for whatever I desired to do. I was aware of God, but had no desire to die to myself and live for Him. It was like I was living as far away from God as I could, yet still be in sight of Him. It gave me a sense that I was doing the right thing, but the only person I was fooling was myself. God was in the back of my mind somewhere, but I was not obedient to what I knew was right. I feel that I pushed God's grace to the limit and when I did I could have lost my future. I'm being vague on purpose, so if your not following my train of thought than don't think too much on it. Verse 8 is like my second saving grace. God says, "How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender." At the height of my depravity God had compassion on me. I deserved the fruit of my labor, but I was spared of my consequences. I thought that because God was somewhere in the back of my mind that I was secure, but it was because I was at the front of God's mind that I am where I am today. I owe my life to God because Jesus died for me and took my sins and made them his own.

No More Heroics

Hosea chapter 6 left off with a piece of chapter 7 on it. In verse 11 Hosea writes, "For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people." There is a glimpse of hope in this verse, but not without consequence will it come. God is just to forgive, but first a harvest. Fitting in with the analogy that you reap what you sow, Israel will reap the fruit of their labor. Again, God is just to forgive, but restoration will not happen until the sin is brought to light. After all, God does not forgive so that we can sin more and more. "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Romans 2:4 Israel needs to acknowledge their sin and seek God as we read back in 5:15, but they are at the point where their deeds are right there in front of God and they don't even consider that as a problem. Verses 3 and 4 say, "By their evil they make their king glad, and the princes by their treachery. They are all adulterers; they are like a heated oven whose baker ceases to stir the fire." They delight in their sin and it is even a thing to be desired. Their sexual immorality is described as a fire that is overwhelming and out of control. Verse 7 says, "All their kings have fallen, and none of them calls upon me." Even in times of turmoil and desperation they do not come to God for help. Verse 10 attributes their actions to their pride. It is their desire to act independently of God that causes them to live the way they do. They go back and forth looking this way and that for help, but not towards God. Verse 11 says, "Ephraim is like a dove, silly and without sense, calling to Egypt, going to Assyria." They even turn to the nation that once held them captive before they turn to the God that once brought them out of captivity. Verse 13 says, "Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me." They continue to seek other avenues of redemption other than God. Verse 14 says, "They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me." They cut themselves to show sincerity to false gods as if they have ever heard their cries. They want to find their own solution to their problem. God is the one that made the nation of Israel what it was, but they became confident in themselves.
This looks more and more like the life I live as I read. I desire to do what I know is wrong. My passions become a fire that I cannot control. I fall and don't immediately turn to God. I go to my music before I go to the Bible. I am full of pride. I find myself too busy to repent immediately. I quench the Holy Spirit and later don't feel convicted like I once was. My sin builds upon sin and now I cannot bear it myself. I cannot look at the example of Israel and continue my life this way. I need to lose my pride and selfish ambition and let go of the weight that easily weighs me down. No more heroics. I need my Savior.

A Call to Repentance

In chapter 6 Hosea calls the children of Israel to repentance. Remember in 5:14 God is likened to a lion going after a meal. It says, "I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off and no one shall rescue." vs. 15 goes on to say that, "I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me." This is what Hosea is telling the Israelites to do. In vs. 1 it says, "Come let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up."
Israel is far from God at this point. Their love has been compared to morning dew. In vs. 4 it says, "Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away." They have quickly forgotten how good God has been. Their love for God was once there, but it has dissipated and dried up. This is the root of Israel's trouble. We see that in vs. 6 that God says, "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." They had no love for God. They had no knowledge of God either. I don't want to downplay repentance at all, but God does not desire sacrifice like he desires steadfast love and knowledge of him. If we come to God in true repentance it is because we acknowledge our guilt and seek God's face earnestly. It should make us aware of God. We should not fall into sin as easily again and again. We should feel the guilt of our transgression and it should compel us to please God. This ties in with the way Paul spoke of grace in the book of Romans. Romans 6:1 says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" The grace of God does not warrant sin. Romans 2:4 says, "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" Be mindful of God.
vs.7, " But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me." 9 and 10, "As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on their way to Shechem; they commit villainy. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's whoredom is there; Israel is defiled." I don't know what it will take to get Israel to repent, but I know that it is nothing I have done that has brought me to the place where I am at. It must be God's kindness, forbearance, and patience. I can think of no other explanation.

Seeking God's Face

Hosea chapter 5 describes the punishment that Israel has coming to them. Looking from the perspective of a father, it is difficult to bear. No father desires to do what God is about to do to Israel. Regardless of the pain involved, it is for the good of the nation. God desperately wants a relationship with his chosen people, but they are so far from him that they don't even know of him. In vs. 2 it says, "And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them." When a father properly disciplines his child, it is done in love and out of a heart of restoration. If God did not love Israel and if God did not want to restore fellowship with Israel, He would have just left them to their own wicked devices. They would have destroyed themselves eventually. Vs. 4 tells of the depth of their fall. It says, "Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord." When I was growing up, I would often find myself under judgement. The consequences would be coming and an apology was not sufficient. According to vs. 6, Israel has arrived in a similar situation. "With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them." There was no sacrifice that could atone for their sins. It was too late; judgement was on its way. Vs. 10 says, "upon them I will pour out my wrath like water." Never doubt for a second the depth and magnitude of God's love. Micah 7:18, "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love." It is becasue of his steadfast love that he pours out his wrath like water. It is not to be confused for hate. Vs. 14 describes the judgement. "For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue." Like a lion going after a meal God will devastate the nation and leave them to waste. Vs. 15, "And I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me." When I recieved judgment from my father, it did not make everything better. The punishment in itself did not restore the relationship. If I don't make things right with my dad, their will never be any relationship. I need to make things right with my dad. I have been sitting here wondering how long it will take for Israel to repent, and I need to do the same. It has been much too long since I have had a right relationship with my dad. All these years I blamed him, thinking that he wasn't good to me. I doubted how much he loves me. Of course my dad isn't God, but he faithfully did his part in discipline. Now it's my turn.

God's Chosen

Hosea 4 through the rest of the book is like a roller coaster of doom and hope. Doom, because of Israel's unfaithfulness. Hope, because of God's faithfulness. In the beginning of the chapter in vs. 1 we see 3 things about Israel that the Lord has a controversy with. First, there is no faithfulness in the land. This reminds me of the times of Noah. In Genesis 6:5 it says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Although a few verses later in vs. 8 it says, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Apparently there was not even a Noah among God's chosen people. At least there is no mention of one. Secondly, there is no steadfast love. Another word for steadfast is unwavering. Love that is wavering is not really love. The last thing mentioned about the children of Israel is that they had no knowledge of God. It's sad to see when people forget what God has done, but for the people to not even know about God's great love is just not right. There is no excuse after all that God has done for Israel to have no knowledge of Him. So Israel was not faithful to God because they did not love Him, but further more they did not even know Him. Vs. 3 says that, "the land mourns and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away." This is a picture of complete devastation. Again, it reminds me of Noah's day. Genesis 6:7 says, So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But God is faithful to His people and He does not blot them out. From vs. 4 through 15 it mentions the wickedness that Israel has become involved in. I wont go into all of it, but just imagine what a group of people would do if they had no love or knowledge of God. In vs. 16 Israel is compared to a stubborn heifer. The verse says, "Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; can the Lord now feed them like a lamb in a broad pasture." "Like a lamb" makes me think of Psalm 23, how the Lord is my shepherd. The Psalm is a picture of fellowship with God the way He intended it. It speaks of safety and security in the Lord; how he leads us to safe waters and His provision for us. Not only are we secure in safety, but also in places of danger. The psalmist says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Israel was outside of God's safety and security. This is why God punishes them. God has great things planned for this nation and has chosen them for a reason.
Just as Israel has been chosen by God, we have also been chosen by God. Ephesians 1:4 says, "even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him." Just as Israel was chosen to bring Jesus into the world, we are chosen by God to proclaim Jesus to the world. But as Israel was like a stubborn heifer, we too are often unusable. We fight God's will in exchange for our own desires. We get lost in "ministry" when God has something else for us. If we would be faithful, ever loving, unwavering, and aware of God's still small voice; just imagine the wonders He has in store for us.