I just finished reading the section in 1 Kings 8 where Solomon dedicates his newly built temple to the Lord. Given what we have read so far in Hosea, his words take on a kind of prophetic tone, given what we know comes after this time in Israel's history. Hosea's words have an echo of what Solomon said the day he dedicated the temple.
Let me quickly summarize what Solomon said. The starting point is always the exodus from Egypt, because that is the birthday of the children of Israel as a nation. God used Abraham as a founding father of the people; Moses as a deliverer of the people; Joshua as a conqueror for the people and David as a king over the people.
A beginning. A deliverance. A victory. A promise. A legacy.But the promise is predicated on obedience on the part of the people and the kings to follow:
“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace" (46-51).
“Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done’ (1 Kings 8:25).
We know how David's legacy was fulfilled in Messiah Jesus, irrespective of how the children of Israel adhered to the covenant. We know that because in this huge sweep of history, where the people's and the kings' disobedience was the norm, God never waxed or waned in His commitment to the covenant. His covenant reflects what He promised David and his descendants: It is everlasting. The Son of David, who reigns forever and ever, has fulfilled the promise.
God was faithful to the point of sending His own Son to die for the disobedience of His people and everyone on earth.
Solomon then keys into the true foundation of the temple: Kings and people must be obedient to the covenant. Period. The future kings and their flagrant disobedience will be as abhorrent to God as what the people will do, perhaps even more so. Hosea will angrily assert that what the kings do, the people mimic. The kings know better and thus should do better. But, they will not.
Solomon precedes to remind the people that this temple, raised to glorify God's name, is a visible reminder of how a people under Yahweh should behave. If someone is accused for wronging another, then the accuser and the accused will be judged in front of the altar, and God will mete out the sentence (1 Kings 8:31-2).
In other words, justice will prevail because it matters deeply to God.
If Israel is defeated in war because of their sin, and they pray to God, who inhabits the temple, God will forgive them and return to them their land (33-34).
No rain? Plague? Famine? Why? Disobedience! Then turn toward the Temple, repent and pray. Because God is about forgiveness and restoration (35-37).
Sound familiar? Hosea constantly calls the people to repentance so that they may be forgiven and restored.
Prayer is an humbling of a sinner before a loving and just God. Solomon says:
"...and when a prayer or plea is made by anyone among your people Israel—being aware of the afflictions of their own hearts, and spreading out their hands toward this temple—then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our ancestors" (38-40).
Lovely. Prayer is a way to acknowledge culpability and also the need to be forgiven.
“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace" (46-51).
Hosea is preaching to a people who will go into that very scenario. But that raises an interesting question. Do they pick Plan A: God will hear their contrite prayers, directed towards the Temple, and He causes their enemies to be more merciful. Will they find their experience similar to the time their ancestors had in Egypt, where the captivity not only refined their wicked hearts but equally showed them the mighty God that they will serve?
Or do they pick Plan B: Will the time in Assyria, once the people are carried off, cause their prayers and hearts to not change but still be beholden to the ways and gods of the pagans?
In other words, will the experience of exile refine them of define them? Did they look towards the Temple (that will be destroyed sadly by another enemy a few hundred years later) and being reminded of who God is, are convicted about their wicked ways and seek repentance?
In other words, does the experience refine them?
Or does the experience define them as they adapt into the culture?
The Samaritans are a result of the foreigners moving into the area--a policy of the Assyrians with their conquered peoples--and the Israelites. The Jews viewed them as half-breeds and had nothing but contempt for them. They built a temple on Mt. Gerizim and they would not go to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews would have scorned them if they did.
They had only the first five books of the Torah. That's why the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well is so instructive. He talks of not being so concerned about where you worship, but how you worship: in Spirit and in truth. The woman is restored by Jesus because He treated her with love and respect, and He showed that the kingdom of God included everyone.
How many Samaritans clung to the old ways in their exile and how many were completely commandeered by the culture? How many did the best they could with their limited understanding?
Interesting and convicting: Will our experiences refine us or define us?
Our life in Christ hinges on this: Do we repent, pray, seek Him and live (albeit an imperfect) life or do we become indistinguishable from the culture we inhabit? Or do we do the best we can until we encounter Jesus and see the world through a new and liberating lens?
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