Bible Study for Texas for 8_3_72803

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Posted: 7/25/03

Lesson for Aug. 3

Hosea 14

Return to the Lord in repentance

By Sam Dennis

One of my favorite movies growing up was “The Wizard of Oz, ” but, alas, this TV fare always aired on Sunday night– which was an impossible time for me. Why? Well, our family always left for church just as the scarecrow was being torn apart by the witch's flying monkeys (or whatever they were).

But one night (maybe it was a night when Bruce McIver was out of town, or a night my Training Union lesson leader was gone, or a night Dad just let things be) we got to stay home and watch the whole thing. When I saw the movie's ending for the very first time, I was mesmerized as Dorothy clicked her “ruby red slippers” and chanted, “There's no place like home.” I nestled into my own bed later and agreed. For there really was no place like home, I thought (no pun intended for those positing faithful Sunday night church attendance yet today).

Since those days, I have come to realize that home is more than a place–it is a state of the heart. As we come to chapters 12-14 of Hosea, Israel was set for finding this out too. As a people, Israel had known a home made up by their own land but had lost in this knowing their real home in the heart of God. Ephraim (Israel) had become unfamiliar with Yahweh's ways. Chapter 11 ends with God declaring of them, “Israel (Ephraim) has surrounded me with lies” and “deceit” (11:12).

First steps back

Even though Israel was now a stranger, God was setting the stage for their return home. To see this, we should be aware of the greater context from Hosea 11:11-13:16. As was pointed out in lesson 2 (see July 13, under, “A Turn for the Worse,” paragraph 1), it is not wrong to see in Hosea a “back and forth” rhythm which is part of the book's entire length, moving from judgment to salvation and back again–and something true in these verses as well. To come home, Israel must first realize they are not home.

As it is helpful to see the rhythm of the book's “back and forth” methodology, it is equally helpful to see its chronology too. Though definitive dates are more difficult to nail down in Hosea's later chapters, there are things yet apparent so that we may sense in it the progression of time in Israel's fall and fate.

For instance, Doug Stuart points out that chapter 1 is the earliest datable part of the book as it “predicts Israel's very demise by means of the names Hosea gives his children, 'as God has commanded him', during the 750s.” He continues, “By chapter 5, the Syro-Ephramite war of 733-32 B.C, is under way (5:8-10).” And, further, “by chapter 11, the retrospective portion of the book has begun.” His point being that when chapters 13 and 14 come around, it is near the end of Hosea's long and faithful ministry, or at the months just prior to Samaria's fall at the hands of the Assyrians in 722 B.C.

So chapters 12-13:1 relate once more the sins of Israel, which have grown over the course of Hosea's ministry. Now Israel has sinned greatly, and these verses spell this out in images of futility. They (Ephraim) “feed on the wind,” pursuing “the east wind all day,” which is a reference to herding, but a kind of herding that is useless in its pursuit of “winds” not catchable.

Also, they are guilty of unholy alliances–making a “treaty with Assyria” and sending “olive oil to Egypt” (v. 1). For this they are warned they will no longer be Israel but Jacob (12:2-6). Jacob became Israel when he humbled himself and prayed (v. 4), but now, Jacob (the deceiver) has returned, losing his namesake and, in this sense, becoming disowned. Return must involve penitence–“you must return,” perseverance–“maintain love and justice” and patience–“wait for your God always” (v. 6).

Next, worse than being Jacob, they are Canaanites (the Hebrew word “Canaan,” meaning “trader,” is translated in the NIV text as “merchant”). As traders, they have become rich by oppressing the poor (12:7-8). But these riches will not be enough to buy deliverance from God's wrath (12:8). Israel will again live in poverty, and their history will be reversed (12:9). Next, they have refused to honor their father's name (12:10-14). By spurning the prophets, they rejected God (12:10) and finally, the prophetic word (12:14).

God's warnings of punishment (Hosea 13:2-16)

God now describes what their punishment will be for their actions. These verses may be confusing because the prophecies combine elements of past, present and future.

For instance, the oracle contrasts Israel's past and present sinful attitude (13:2, 6 and 15); God's past and present faithfulness (vv. 4-6); leading to the implication that the rebel nation deserved to die in the near future (vv. 3, 7-14). But suffice it to say, verses 2-16 in their entirety are a punishment/indictment tracing Israel's history from its glorious past to its future as nothing.

The pathos felt in the opening of this oracle is astounding, “when Ephraim spoke men trembled; he was exalted in Israel” (v. 1). But now, now he is guilty of Baal worship, “and died” (v. 1). So the punishment of Israel is measured, whether in the past, present or future, as so: (1) They will lose their place of eminence (vv. 1-3); (2) they will lose their Savior, and will meet him again as avenger (vv. 4-8); (3) they will lose their king (vv.9-11); and (4) they will lose their hope (vv. 12-16).

And, though there typically is only a sampling of sins in prophetic oracles (more often one or two), likewise there is more often only a sampling of punishments listed as well. Hosea 13:2-16 breaks this mold. I have listed at least four in general above, but one can argue for more, even six, as Stuart does.

God's call to return

(Hosea 14)

The death of Israel is contrasted against the last chapter of the book, chapter 14, which describes the alternative to judgment–repentance, reconciliation and renewal. I can't help but wonder at the prophet, perhaps fully engaged as doom was approaching, yet still with a message of hope. In this, Hosea is a model for our present times and circumstances.

So, as an alternative to judgment, Hosea calls the people to repentance (14:1-3). It is the only way. As they stumble, they must look up rather than down (14:1), and put their intentions into their words (14:2-3). How? With a request to God: “Forgive all our sins” and “receive us” “that we may offer” to you (v. 2). So, repentance includes the request of the sinner, but also a pledge, which is “the fruit of our lips” (v.2), and Hosea reminds that repentance includes a confession (14:3). It is a confession as to who they are; they are “fatherless” (14:3). And as to what they will not do, such as “say… our gods to what our hands have made” (14:3).

Beyond repentance, there is reconciliation and renewal (14:4-8). In reconciling Israel to himself, God will make their relationship secure (14:4) and pour out his blessings upon them (14:5-7). The prose is sublime: “I will be like the dew to Israel” and “he will blossom like a lily” (v. 5), and we see invigoration.

The uses of fruit images are of excellent application. As to “lily,” it is used elsewhere only in the Song of Solomon, where it is found a total of seven times, showing a special connection between this passage and the Song of Solomon. And what are the fruits of true repentance? Life becomes beautiful (the lily); life becomes sturdy–“he will send down his roots; his young roots will grow” (v. 5), life becomes fruitful and useful–“his splendor will be like an olive tree” (v. 6), and life becomes fragrant–“his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon” (v. 6).

Finally, renewal is represented by verse 8. God is Ephraim's only source. It is he who is “like a green pine tree”; and they are to remember that their “fruitfulness comes from him” (v. 8). The way of return to God is now complete. From repentance to reconciliation and now renewal, Israel is to know her strength is from the Lord. Verse 9 is generally regarded as a conclusion later added to Hosea. It is an exhortation to all who would be “wise” to listen and to give heed.

As Hosea uttered these final words, perhaps the chariots were at Samaria's walls. Regardless, in 722 B.C., his predictions were fulfilled. The Assyrians destroyed Samaria, and its inhabitants were taken into captivity from where their descendants never returned.

Going home

On Sept. 11, 2001, I was on New York's Manhattan Island. Others from Parkway Hills Baptist Church and I had gone there to work with a Southern Baptist missionary, Taylor Field, at the Graffiti Mission on the Lower East Side.

On the morning of the attack, the sky was clear. Earlier, I had been out jogging and, with the city, was readying for a busy, independent and confident New York City-kind of day. But when the sky turned gray, I was caught in the midst of a humanity I did not know but with whom I now had everything in common. For a few frightful days, all of America wondered about their safety and future, but, for us on the isle, we lived it. My “physical home” in faraway Plano could not be reached by plane–I'd have to drive, if I could get a car. And so, in that faraway place, apart from family and church, I looked up at the sky and felt terribly alone. I wanted to be home.

In my prayers that night, I prayed God would protect my family and help them not to worry, and, that he would soothe my own soul. He did, but not in the way I thought he would. The neighborhood, the area I could not leave for fear of not getting back in, became strangely my home as I discovered anew what home really is. For home is the place where God is. Not a place of brick, mortar, nor even family and familiar friends, but where God dwells with us and we with him, and where he is honored and our souls needs are met. For that is a place worth coming home to.

Questions for discussion

bluebull In light of our world, how are we to come home today?

bluebull Can we expect God requires from us the same steps of repentance he did from Israel?

bluebull In this love song from God, try to imagine yourself as his child. How does he know you? How can you know him? What steps can you take to return?

Sam Dennis is pastor of Parkway Hills Baptist Church in Plano.


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