Hosea Part XI

 I want Scripture to drive this blog.  I could take a few verses here and there, and have them be the theme of what I write.  But Scripture is more nuanced than that.  Yes, there are driving themes, but there is also commentary, asides and quick observations to the theme before the writer returns to it.  That is why I like to look at whole passages. 

Let's continue with chapter 6 of Hosea.  We hear the Lord speaking in this book, as it should be--prophecy is when the Lord speaks--but sometimes the prophet's voice is heard.  He pleads with the people to listen to what the Lord is saying. Hosea feels the full weight and import of what the Lord is saying.  He is blowing the trumpet, if you will, and is exerting all of his strength to have it be loud and clear. 

But remember, heavy is the weight of the message the messenger must bear.  He not only gets the message first, he can sense, way before the the people hear it, that God will bring either restoration or judgement and He means what He says. The people can ignore the prophet if they choose, but the prophet cannot ignore the people. 

But he also knows that he will be swept along with the events he is foretelling. The prophet is not just speaking to the people; he is part of the people. The prophet is innocent, but not so the people he speaks to.  And so he warns.     

Perhaps a good analogy to this is there are many people in America who are deeply disturbed by what is going on in this country.  They pray for America, and want to see the moral decline slow down or better yet, recede altogether.  But if God's judgement falls (and I believe it will) then those who are faithful to God will be swept right along with it. God's church is at its strongest when evil is at its worst.  People such as Corrie Ten Boom, whose family hid Jewish people during World War II, is a good example.  When the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Corrie's family started hiding Jewish people who came to their house. Eventually, they were betrayed and the family was arrested.  Corrie and her sister were sent to Ravensbruck, a notorious concentration camp for women in Germany.  

The sisters suffered terribly but were able to share their faith and love with the inmates. Corrie survived; her sister did not. 

These women suffered along with everyone else. The world needed their light.   

Jesus compares us to light.  What is the purpose of light except to drive away darkness?  If we hide our light--as Jesus taught us not to do--then the darkness wins.  The light is an argument against the darkness and whenever people act as light, they are reminding the world that the darkness need not take over--it can be driven out.  

The words of Hosea, too, were light, driving out the darkness of lies by God's truth.  

The darkness doesn't want the light and avoids it whenever possible. Jesus testifies to His own ministry as being one that challenges the darkness: 

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:19-21)

Prophets were the candle-bearers of God's light. They were not just leaders in the fight for light but were participants as well. Hosea's marriage is a good example of this: He was told to marry a prostitute to exemplify the infidelity of the Israel.  He had children with her.  His domestic catastrophe spoke to the national catastrophe that was all around him. He suffered so the people would not have to.  But they did not listen.

Here we hear the prophet's own voice:

“Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces;
now he will heal us.
He has injured us;
now he will bandage our wounds.
In just a short time he will restore us,
so that we may live in his presence.
Oh, that we might know the Lord!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
or the coming of rains in early spring.” (6:1-3) 

Notice how Hosea says, "us."  He is not just standing by while all this judgement like mighty waters rolls down--he is part of it.  This is where his humility shines through.  He could have said,

Come on, Lord, bring it on!  I am not going to these temples, cavorting with prostitutes or bowing my knee to Baal.  No.  I am standing strong in my faith.  I was even obedient to You when You asked me to marry Gomer--much to my dismay.  But I did it.  I am not like those people! I love and serve You and they get what they deserve. But I know you will spare me."

No.  Hosea knew that while his sin might not be anywhere near as egregious as his fellow Jews, he was not free from sin.  

None of us are.  That is why humility is so essential as we walk in Christ. No, I may not be doing what you're doing.  No, my sin may not so obvious as yours, so I can get away with it better than you.  But at the end of the day, we are all sinners. We all deserve to be swept away under the judgment of a loving and just God.  Yet He stays His hand.

Why?   

He wants us to repent. 

He gives us time to repent.

He tells how we must repent.

He warns what will happen if we do not repent.

He waits for us to repent.

Isaiah said it best: 

"Wash yourselves and be clean!
Get your sins out of my sight.
Give up your evil ways.
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

'Come now, let’s settle this,'
says the Lord.
'Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.
If you will only obey me,
you will have plenty to eat.
But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
I, the Lord, have spoken!'” (1:16-20) 

Hosea looks at us and says, "Can I get an amen?"