OVERVIEW:
Israel’s sin rebuked (chapter 7); Israel’s judgment foretold (chapters 8–10); Israel’s restoration promised (chapters 11-14).
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
In yesterday’s reading, just as God had predicted, Hosea’s wife, Gomer, deserted her faithful husband for other “lovers” and, as we discussed, a very painful and graphic illustration of Israel’s unfaithfulness to her husband, God Himself. In chapter 3, Gomer even ends up on the slave block, and God commands Hosea to go “redeem” her (or “buy her back”) and restore her as his wife. To that, all we can say is, “What a guy!” Yet, remember, Hosea is simply a picture of God and His love for Israel, and His plan to restore her as His wife. To that, all we can say is, “What a God!”
The people of Israel all knew who Hosea was, and knew all that his wife had done. They, no doubt, pointed the finger at her and her many sins. Little did they realize, however, that they were pointing the finger at themselves!
In chapter 4, Hosea begins to help them to understand their own sin (4:1–2), and their own unfaithfulness and spiritual adultery against their husband! Hosea likens them to several graphic pictures:
- “A morning cloud” (6:4) — as in, here one minute and gone the next.
- “A cake not turned” (7:8) — what we might call today “half-baked” (i.e. Their spirituality was only superficial, not into the core of their being.)
- “Gray hairs” (7:9) — gradually losing their strength, but unaware of the change.
- “A silly dove” (7:11) — as in, extremely fickle; here, there, and everywhere.
- “A deceitful bow” (7:16) — looking like it has everything it needs to fulfill its purpose, but can’t hit the target.
Before simply moving on past the above illustrations, we may want to look back to see how many of them our Lord might use to describe our relationship with Him! It is amazing how “the more things change; the more things stay the same!”
As we move into chapter 8, Hosea understood that it would not be long before the Assyrians would come to take Israel into captivity. He likens God’s judgment to the circling of an eagle (8:1), the devastation of a whirlwind (8:7), and the burning of a fire (8:16). Numerous times, in our 365 Days of Pursuit, we have mentioned the Galatians 6:7–8 principle, that we “reap” according to what we’ve “sown”. Don’t miss, however, that we always reap MORE than we have sown! A farmer sows a few seeds that multiply into a huge harvest. Israel sowed the wind, yet reaped a whirlwind! (8:7; 10:13) Once again, we may need to stop to consider whether there is anything we’re presently sowing in our lives that we’re not wanting to reap, much less, reap in abundance! Let us learn from Israel’s mistakes, remembering that 1st Corinthians 10:6 and 11 admonish us to do just that!
Chapter 9 walks us back into some key places of sinfulness in Israel’s past. Hosea references the “deep corruption” at Gibeah (9:9), the “shame” and “abominations” at Baalpeor (9:10), and the “wickedness” at Gilgal (9:15). This chapter teaches us that a life of sin leaves a trail. In time, the trail itself tells the story of how we ended up where we did.
But, praise the Lord, the book of Hosea doesn’t end on a negative note! Just as Hosea never lost his love or his heart for his wife, in spite of all of her unfaithfulness, God did not lose His love or His heart for Israel in spite of her unfaithfulness! Just as Hosea bought his wife back out of slavery to be restored in their relationship, God begins to point to the time when He would redeem Israel out of their slavery and be restored in His relationship with them.
God shows His heart for Israel in chapter 11, as He reminds them of how He loved them from the very beginning of their relationship, when He called them out of Egypt. He also reminds them of how from the very beginning of His marriage to them, they were “bent on backsliding”. (11:7) How incredibly sad, that God “drew them with cords…and bands of love” (11:4), but they saw His cords and bands as restrictive, and wanted to be free of Him.
In chapter 14, God cries out to His wife to return to Him. (14:1) He says of Israel, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.” (14:4) He points to a time when the nation will be as a beautiful lily, a fruitful olive tree, and flourish as a vine. (14:5–9) As we have repeatedly seen in the prophets, this is pointing to the time of the Second Coming of Christ when our Lord Jesus Christ establishes His millennial kingdom.
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
In ISRAEL, as the SON WHO WAS CALLED OUT OF EGYPT — Hosea 11:1 (Matthew 2:14–15)