Hosea 11:1-9 Grace in Messy Families

Hosea 11:1-9 Grace in Messy Families Michelle Drewitz September 13, 2015 Riverdale Baptist Church Whitehorse, Yukon

Grace, she takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain It could be her name Grace, it's the name for a girl It's also a thought that changed the world And when she walks on the street You can hear the strings Grace finds goodness in everything [...] What once was hurt What once was friction What left a mark No longer stings Because Grace makes beauty Out of ugly things (Grace, by U2) This song, written by the Irish band U2, attempts to capture and humanize a divine attribute. It describes something for which humanity longs. It tries to convey grace. Philip Yancey defines grace this way: Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love. (What s so Amazing about Grace?) There is no better place to learn about grace than the Bible. This morning we ll explore Hosea 11:1-9. Background: history and context In 1 Kings 12 and in 2 Chronicles 10 we read about the split of Israel into two kingdoms after the reign of King Solomon. The southern kingdom, whose capital was Jerusalem, was called Judah. One of David s descendants reigned in the south, and their kings were sometimes good and sometimes bad. The northern kingdom, whose capital was Samaria, was made up of ten tribes

and was called Israel. Kings that reigned in the north were consistently evil and behaved wrongly. Hosea was a prophet who lived in the northern kingdom nearly 200 years after the nation of Israel was divided. For 200 years, Israel s kings were corrupt, evil, rebellious, sinful, and unrighteous. Hosea, specifically, prophesied during the reign of seven kings, more than any other Old Testament prophet. Five of these kings are said to have continued in the sin of Jeroboam. Jeroboam s sin was that he led an entire nation away from God. Hosea prophesied just before the final and full destruction of Israel in 722 BC when the Assyrians forced them into captivity and exile. So Hosea lived in an environment in which Israel worshipped other gods, Israel abandoned Yahweh, Israel sought self-power, and had its own agenda. It is a climate where God is not known, not remembered, not understood, not received. The book of Hosea is a short book, only 14 chapters and marks the first of the 12 minor prophetic books. It contains both curses and blessings prophecies of destruction and prophecies of restoration. The book begins with Yahweh calling Hosea to marry Gomer, a prostitute. (Hosea 1:2) This marriage is symbolic of the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Hosea, the faithful prophet, is symbolic of Yahweh who is perfect and faithful. Gomer, the unfaithful wife, is a symbol of Israel rebellious, unfaithful, idolatrous, covenant-breakers. So it is in this context a climate of idolatry, rebellion, power struggles that we hear a powerful message of grace. And this message of grace enters into the mess of the family of Israel. Hosea 11:1-4 The first section, verses 1-4, describes the relationship between Israel and Yahweh. It describes both the who and the what. But to understand the who part of this relationship, it s important to first understand the ancient near east worldview of humans and the divine. The worldview of the pagan nations in the Old Testament understood that everything centered around the gods. Humanity was created to do the work of the gods, they existed to serve the gods. Humans fed the gods and did the work necessary to keep the gods alive and functioning. In effect, humans were slave labour for the gods. In contrast, the Biblical worldview identifies the relationship between Israel and Yahweh using language of family and adoption. Yahweh is the Father and Israel is the child. Israel is God s son. Israel is not slave labour, Israel is part of the family of God. Yahweh is not some demanding god that seeks to manipulate, control, and abuse humanity. Yahweh is the loving Father, whose son is Israel. So the who in this passage is Yahweh the Father and Israel the child, the son.

Now, the what part of their relationship what does their Father-son relationship look like? Their relationship is based on a covenant. Hosea 11:1-2 says When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The Hebrew word for called likely refers to being gathered and divine guidance and protection. Hosea is here referring to the old covenant, the exodus from Egypt that is described in Exodus 4:22-23: Then say to Pharoah, this is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, Let my son go, so he may worship me. Yahweh gathered Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery, out of oppression, out of insignificance, out of hostility, out of suffering. There is a covenant established between Yahweh and Israel: Israel is a holy nation and set apart from other nations. Hosea reminds us how Yahweh loved Israel. Yahweh taught, healed, fed, and led Israel. But Israel did not understand and did not know that Yahweh was the One who loved her. In this section we read how Israel rebelled, turned away, worshiped other gods, and rejected their Father. Israel could not receive the compassion, kindness, and mercy from Yahweh. Over and over again Yahweh proclaims his love for the unlovely son. We read how Israel breaks the covenant. Hosea was speaking about Israel, Yahweh s son, being called out of Egypt. Matthew picks up on this and writes in his gospel, in chapter 2:15 And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Out of Egypt I called my son. God the Father called his Son Jesus out of Egypt. This first section establishes Yahweh as the loving and faithful Father and Israel as the unfaithful son. Hosea 11:5-7 The next section of Hosea 11, verses 5-7, tell us what Israel s rebellion and breaking of covenant means for them. Israel broke covenant with Yahweh by not doing what they were supposed to do Israel refused to obey Yahweh s call to be the holy nation. And Israel broke covenant with Yahweh by doing what they were not supposed to do they worshipped other idols and gods, which was evidence of their refusal to follow Yahweh s call. So Israel committed what we call sins of omission (not doing something we re supposed to) and sins of commission (doing something wrong). Israel rebelled. Israel became the unfaithful son, the faithless child. Yet Yahweh remains the faithful Father. We are here reminded of the beginning of Hosea where there is the faithful prophet who is called to marry the unfaithful wife. A faithful Father and an unfaithful son. A faithful God and an unfaithful people.

So what happens to an unfaithful son? In the old covenant, the punishment for the people that break covenant is death. Under this covenant, Yahweh has every right and prerogative to eliminate Israel. So in verses 5-7, we read about how that will happen. Israel was brought out of Egypt and now they will return to Egypt. Yahweh brought them out of slavery and Yahweh will bring them back into slavery. Israel will no longer have a king, Assyria will rule them. All this will happen through a violent and bloody war. When the sword enters the cities, it means that the Assyrians would break through the fortified city walls and enter the safest place. False prophets, people who prophesied wrongly and who did not tell Israel to abandon idolatry, will be killed. This is the wrath of Yahweh, the deserved punishment for breaking the covenant and worshiping other gods. Israel will get what they deserve. Hosea 11:8-9 There is a dramatic and noticeable shift in verses 8-9. There is a movement away from complete and total destruction to a place of grace. Yahweh says How can I give you up, 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. I will not execute fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; For I am God and no mortal, The Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in wrath. Yahweh asks how He could leave, then names a place/group. Four times this structure is repeated. We hear God debating with Himself. God is speaking to us in a way that we can understand. We debate with ourselves; have little conversations inside our head, or sometimes aloud when we hope no one is listening. It addresses the tension we all have within us of wanting to do something yet wanting to do something altogether different at the same time. Yahweh is just. Yahweh must punish sin but Yahweh is also full of compassion. This section highlights that tension the tension of justice and compassion - very well. So Yahweh asks How can I give you up, Ephraim? Long ago, Ephraim was the son of Joseph. Ephraim was not the firstborn son to Joseph but Ephraim received the blessing of the firstborn from Jacob who foresaw that Ephraim would be great (Genesis 48). From the house of Ephraim came Jeroboam, the first king in the northern kingdom of Israel. And in Hosea s time, Ephraim was the largest tribe in Israel. Because of these, sometimes all of Israel was referred to as Ephraim.

Yahweh goes on to ask How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? Admah and Zeboiim were small towns near Sodom and Gomorrah. They would be considered suburbs. Sodom and Gomorrah experienced the full wrath of God and were destroyed (Genesis 19). Admah and Zeboiim were destroyed in consequence of God s wrath falling upon Sodom and Gomorrah. It is one thing to receive God s wrath and be known, it is another to be on the fringe of that wrath and be forgotten, not remembered, unknown. So although Sodom and Gomorrah were wiped away, those cities continue to exist in our understanding of history. We read about them in the Bible. We don t read about Admah and Zeboiim. Yahweh is inquiring how he could make Israel, his son, of such unimportance and insignificance that they would be on the outskirts of a city that receives God s wrath. Yahweh, in His gracious and loving way, declares I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. (Hosea 11:9) Using a series of four nots, Yahweh conveys a striking heart of compassion. God does not want to wipe away, erase, destroy Israel. God wants Israel to be redeemed, restored, reconciled, made whole. God wants his messy family to have life and to experience the love and grace of the Father. God does not want to see his children hurting, oppressed, rebelling. Why does Yahweh decide to show compassion to his child, his rebellious son who has turned away? The answer lies in a profound and simple truth that we so often forget: For I am God and not man the Holy One in your midst. Yahweh declares that He will not wipe out Israel will not eliminate the one who sins simply because Yahweh is Yahweh, the Holy One. And the Holy One is in our midst. Yahweh will not strike Israel in wrath because Yahweh is with Israel. God is with us. God is here. God is the Holy One in our midst. So when we consider the messiness of our own lives: the heartaches, the questions, the longings, the uncertainties, the fear, God is with us. God is exactly where He is found in any situation: in the space of hope, of grace, of redemption. But sometimes we forget that God is here with us, in the mess of our families and in the mess of our lives. And because God is with us it means we are not alone. So when we gather for worship, we worship Yahweh the Holy One among us. Every week, our worship leaders and team help us to remember this. And Hebrews 2:11-12 reminds us of this: For the one who makes holy and those who are made holy all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters, In the midst of the congregation I will praise you. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, to call us his family, because Jesus is in our midst. Unlike other religions that seek the attention of the divine, we don t need to get God s

attention. God is already here and gives us His attention. When we worship, we worship the One who is among us, who hears us, who is gracious to us. So when we gather for worship, how do we remember the Holy One is among us? How do we show grace to each other and to visitors who gather with us for worship? Old vs New Covenant Let s go back for a moment to the beginning of this chapter where Yahweh says that out of Egypt he called His son Hosea refers to the old covenant and Matthew refers to the new covenant. For a moment I just want to contrast these two. Yahweh is the Father. Israel is the son. God the Father and Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Israel sins, rebels, turns away from, and rejects the Father. Jesus Christ is perfect, righteous, without sin, Jesus Christ is God incarnate. But the punishment for sin is death. So Israel should be punished and should die. Jesus Christ never sins so should not be punished by death. In Hosea we see that Yahweh is conflicted about whether He should punish Israel or not. We never read about God wondering whether Jesus should be punished or not. Yahweh chooses to not punish Israel but to instead show grace and compassion and mercy. The unrighteous is not punished by death. In contrast, God is absolutely certain that the righteous one, Jesus Christ his Son, will be punished by death. Yahweh decided to not punish Israel because God is with Israel. God never leaves Israel, his son. On the cross, bearing the punishment for all sinners, the perfect sinless Son, Jesus Christ, asks of his Father: my God, My God, why have you forsaken me? God the Father abandons His Perfect Son so that his children will not be forsaken, so God can be in the midst of his people. There is no greater picture of grace. Old Covenant New Covenant Yahweh Israel God the Father Jesus the Son Israel rebels, sins, turns away Jesus is perfect, sinless Punishment of sin = death Israel should be punished Jesus should not be punished Yahweh conflicted (punish/not punish) Yahweh never conflicted about Jesus Israel not punished (grace) Jesus punished Yahweh never leaves Israel God the Father forsakes Jesus on the cross And that is why we sing the words that Julia Johnston wrote in 1911: Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt! Yonder on Calvary s mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled. Grace, grace, God s grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, Freely bestowed on all who believe! You that are longing to see His face, Will you this moment His grace receive? Summary There is a family, Israel, whose Father is Yahweh. Yahweh loves his son but the family of Israel is a complete mess. In fact, rarely do we read about a completely healthy functional family in the Bible. There is no model or description of the perfect family in the Bible. This oddly gives me some comfort to know there is no model of perfection we can reach. Instead we courageously receive the messiness and brokenness in our lives and families. Israel, the son, rebels against the Father, Yahweh. But instead of punishing the son as he deserves, Yahweh never gave up or abandoned the faithless Israel. God s grace redeems and restores time and again, because of what was accomplished on the cross through the Son, Jesus Christ. Grace. It s everywhere and sometimes it seems like it s nowhere. Yahweh is everywhere and sometimes it seems like He s forgotten us. But for the simple yet hugely important reason that God is here is why we receive grace. God desires to show his love and grace. God pursues us with his love and grace. God wants us to receive it. Reflective Questions How do you need to receive grace? How do you need to extend grace to someone who has hurt you? How do you show grace to the unlovely, to the suffering, to the hurting, to the broken? How does your family need to experience grace? How does our city need to receive grace? How does our world need to receive grace? Our families, our city, our nation, and our world is messy and needs grace. But God loves to be in those messy places, bestowing grace. Because grace makes beauty out of ugly things.