Hosea 11

What a wonder insight into God nature we find on Hosea 11. If you have time read this chapter several times. Read it aloud. That helped me to read it aloud. God has prophesied through Hosea of his people's horrible behavior. They lie, steal, cheat, and oppress the poor. They deserve to die. He has already predicted their destruction. Yet ...

Hosea 11:8-9 ESV 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. (9) I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.

The God of mercy and forbearance that Jesus taught about is the same God we find in the Old Testament. There are some people that would say the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New. Some would say Jesus' coming changed how God treats us. Yet it is not so.

Read the whole of Hosea 11.

What does the second part of verse 9 mean? "I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath."

Verse 8 seems to begin with God debating himself. Will he do the right thing, the righteous thing and destroy Israel? No he won't because he is God. I think no one can truly say what that means but that doesn't mean we don't try to understand. It is like another verse what says, "as the heavens are as high above the earth so far apart are my ways from your ways".

No we cannot really know or understand. But (trying) it seems to say that God is first and foremost a God of love and compassion. He loves his people. He chose them. Her rescued them and healed them at times when they were not even aware of it.

I think of that and my health. How many times has my body, directed by God, healed itself and I did not even know. I think that likely true for all of us. God knows and he seems to be affirming that in Hosea 11:3: "Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them."

How wonderful to imagine.

Back to it. God is speaking as a doting parent. He loves his children. Despite all the disappointment God feels he has never stopped loving them. Hosea and the prostitute demonstrate that in a sort of living parable. So God in his mercy will deliver them even though they are not repentant at all. Why? Because he is God. That doesn't seem to our mind to be an answer. But it is enough for God.