3 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth. Psalms 108:3-5 (NIV)
Chapter Eleven begins with the declaration of God’s amazing love towards Israel recalling her early history with Him to contrast the past with the present. There is certainly a sense of sadness permeating as Scripture describes God’s unfailing love towards Israel and her response of continuous rebellion towards Him. At the beginning the Lord’s relationship with Israel had been very gracious like that of a father to a son. He had chosen them because He loved them though they were foolish and vulnerable and outcasts. He displayed His love toward them by summoning her from Egypt – rescuing them from the land of slavery because they were His beloved sons and daughters. Those who have grown up – in fact, those who have grown old – should often reflect on the goodness of God towards them from their childhood on. As we have stated before, remembering what God has done for us and how His faithfulness is new towards us every morning is huge! We so often suffer from spiritual amnesia forgetting all the ways God has blessed us in the past. In Israel’s case we are told in Deuteronomy:
6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. 7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. Deuteronomy 7:6-9 (NIV)
These words were also fulfilled in Christ when Scripture states He, too, was called out of Egypt as a young child:
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:14-15 (NIV)
The calling of Christ out of Egypt prefigured the calling of all who are His, through Him, out of spiritual slavery. Like we said last week, the mention of Egypt is symbolic of the land of slavery.
However we see, sadly, the more God called the Israelites to covenant obedience through His prophets, the more the people rejected Him. We see in Jeremiah:
25 From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers. Jeremiah 7:25-26 (NIV)
They turned instead to false gods – gods of their own making - who were no gods at all. 2 Kings tells us:
12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, "You shall not do this." 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets." 14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do. 16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. 2 Kings 17:12-18 (NIV)
It was if the more the prophets called them, the more the people turned away from them.
In Verse Three the Lord’s goodness is further illustrated like a father patiently teaching a young child to walk. The Lord established and sustained Israel teaching them to go the way of His commandments for their good and His glory yet they failed to acknowledge His intervention. We find again in Deuteronomy:
29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (NIV)
The Lord led them with cords of human kindness and love treating them with compassion – drawing them gently and relieving them of the burden of slavery which equates to the bondage of sin in our day. He supplied them with the Bread of Heaven (Manna) and water from the Rock yet amazingly they responded to the Lord’s kindness with ingratitude. They bought into the deception that God did not have their best interest at heart. Indeed, they foolishly trusted in things that their hands had made over the Maker of all things. Sadly, even when He calls them to repentance through His prophets they refused to repent. We should give this some thought as well. Do we have a false concept of our Master? Do we have any inkling of the greatness of His love towards us? When we don’t sense His presence do we make our own idols? Are we quick to turn from Him as well? Remember, His tenderness is inexpressibly sweet and His love is unfailing. Scripture tells us:
13 “In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” Exodus 15:13 (NIV)
17 “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
3 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
Read Morning and Evening May 20 Page 283 (1)
The truth is, God has great things in store for those who love Him and are called by His Name. Remember, God is no kill joy. It is sin which kills joy. We see in Isaiah:
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. 6 And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. 8 “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” 10 I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. Isaiah 61:1-11 (NIV)
Make no mistake about it, God does not hold out on us rather He holds out for us. He is a with us and for us loving God. The proper understanding of this love propels us towards obedience and thankfulness. It builds trust and strengthens relationship. It is life changing and direction changing. Ignorance lies at the root of our ingratitude. I think of Paul’s words:
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. 2 Corinthians 5:14 – 6:1 (NIV)
Maybe we all need to do some heart searching with God to make sure we have not bought into the devil’s schemes. It is important that we are honest with ourselves. We do not want a deluded heart which misleads us from God’s best. Remember integrity with ourselves before God is the “given” in greatness. Like King David did, honestly petition Him to search our own hearts:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23-24 (NIV)
Read Max Lucado’s “Wrestle With God” (2)
Because they did not repent even though they had warning after warning, inescapable judgment would fall in the form of military defeat and exile. They remained deaf and disobedient to His voice, strangely averse to repentance and reformation sinking, into wretched corruption. Once again, Egypt is named as a symbol of slavery and exile (Verse Five). They were ever so fond of idols and comfortable with them as well as worshipped them. Idolatry was the sin that from the beginning and throughout, had entangled them the most. Hebrews tells us we are to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and run the race marked out for us. Sadly, the Israelites chose bondage over freedom refusing to repent. May we not be found wanting as well:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
The Israelites were bent on apostasy. They were strongly inclined to backslide – ever ready and determined in their hearts to sin. The hearts of the people were filled with schemes to do wrong therefore they will be given over to an even harder service than Egypt. The Assyrian king would treat them worse than Pharaoh did. God, who had given them Canaan, would now bring His judgments on them there. Sadly, the sword would come on them, the sword of a foreign enemy triumphing over them. They continued to rebel against God, and so God continued His judgments on them. While they called on Him in their hypocritical feigned religiosity they neither exalted Him nor obeyed Him rejecting all His warnings.
As in earlier sections of this prophecy, Hosea’s message of judgment concludes with an abrupt shift to a message of salvation. These verses should not be understood as a decision to withhold the judgment threatened uncompromisingly throughout the book. Rather, the words are a divine response to Israel’s suffering and exile which would be the ensuing result of that judgement. The Lord would not totally abandon Israel. Graciously, the effects of His wrath would be tempered by His compassion, and He would ultimately call His people back from exile. Mercy triumphs over judgment in God’s heart and He is unwilling to totally annihilate them as He had Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiiim. The severity of the sin warranted their destruction but divine grace would spare a remnant nevertheless. James tells us:
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! James 2:12-13 (NIV)
Ephraim and Israel deserve to be abandoned and God would do them no wrong if He chose to deal with them like this. Yet as a tender Father He reasons with Himself, “How can I totally reject my perverse son? He is still my son. I cannot do it. They have been a people precious to me; there are still some good people who are precious to me; there are still some good people among them; they may still repent and reform, and so how can I do it?” God speaks as if He were conscious of a strange struggle within Himself, involving His compassion toward Israel – all of His compassion is aroused. This seems very reminiscent to Abraham’s petition to God prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiiim which demonstrated the amazing compassion and mercy of God as well. Genesis tells is:
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. Genesis 18:16-33 (NIV)
The verses in Hosea 11:8-9 presents one of the Bible’s strongest expressions of divine emotion. As God reflected on the effects of the severe judgment that His wrath would bring upon Israel, He suddenly burst out with four rhetorical questions indicating that He would never completely annihilate His people as He did with Admah and Zeboiim which were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah and stood as symbols of complete destruction. Israel would not be completely overturned. Instead of carrying out His fierce burning anger to the fullest, God’s compassion would be aroused – literally grow warm and kindled. The burning flame of God’s anger would be replaced, as it were, by the fire of His compassion. Ephraim would never be totally destroyed. Mercy was victorious over judgment. God would not execute the fierceness of His anger rather they would be corrected but not consumed. The reason for this determination was that He was God not man – the holy One of Israel. He is Lord of His anger, whereas the anger of a human being often dominates them. It is a great encouragement to our hope in God’s mercies to remember that He is God and not man. I am reminded of King David’s words in Psalm 103:
1 Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalms 103:1-14 (NIV)
Hosea 11:10-11 speaks of the day of future national restoration. God’s wonderful eagerness to do good for Israel is clear from His promise that He will qualify them to receive the good He intends for them. They will follow the Lord. It is spoken about the ten tribes and it had its partial fulfillment when some of them returned with a group from the two tribes in Ezra’s time but will have complete fulfillment in God’s spiritual Israel, the Gospel church, brought together by the Gospel of Christ. The Lord would roar like a lion. The voice of the Gospel was heard from far away, like the roaring of a lion, and it was a mighty voice. Joel states:
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 16 The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. Joel 3:14-16 (NIV)
This roaring of a lion causes the children to tremble as the lion’s roar in the forest causes the animals to tremble. I am reminded of the description of Jesus in Revelation:
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:1-5 (NIV)
In Acts we see this demonstrated by those whose hearts the Gospel reached trembled and cried out:
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 2:36-37 (NIV)
And again in Philippians where Paul tells us:
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
They were told to "work out," to put into practice in their daily living, what God had worked in them by His Spirit. They were not told to work for_ their salvation but to work out _the salvation which God had already given them. The same applies to us as well.
Those who come trembling from the west seems to refer to the calling of the Gentiles who lay west of Canaan for the Gospel thankfully spread especially that way. Paul speaks of mighty signs and wonders that were brought by the preaching of the Gospel in Romans:
17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done-- 19 by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. Romans 15:17-19 (NIV)
It was such a time as this that the children trembled from the west. Miracles, signs and wonders point to God Who alone can do the “pala” things - things too hard – impossible - for man to do. Things beyond the bounds of human powers or expectations. Our holy trembling at the Word of Christ will draw us to Him, not drive us away from Him. When He roars like a lion, the slaves tremble and flee from Him, but the children tremble and flee to Him. These things cause fear and trembling. In Revelation during the tribulation period we read of this fear:
15 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Revelation 6:15-17 (NIV)
Whereas the people of Israel were dispersed in Egypt and Assyria and it is promised in Verse 11 that they would be effectively summoned from there. They shall tremble yet come with all speed as a bird on a wing out of Egypt out of the land of bondage and God would settle them in homes. All those who come at the Gospel call will have a place and a name in the Gospel church. They will live in God and be at home in Him as a person is in their own home. John tells us:
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3 (NIV)
Sadly, once more Israel’s guilt is established and her punishment predicted. They had broken covenant with the Lord. Lies and deceit refer to hypocrisy and unfaithfulness. Ironically the nation was unfaithful to the faithful Holy One, who had always demonstrated fidelity to His covenant promises. Judah is said to be unruly meaning to stray or roam restlessly, an apt picture of Israel’s wandering off from God to Baal and to foreign nations for help.
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.