Morning Light – October 27th, 2017 – Hosea 14: God’s Final Appeal to Israel

Morning Light – Hosea 14</a
Today: [Hosea 14] God’s Final Appeal to Israel. In this last chapter of the book of Hosea the Father cries out with deep compassion to a backslidden people. The term “backslide” is one that has lost its meaning which is discussed in our study as we read the declaration of the Father through the prophet, imploring a cold-hearted people to return to the God who has loved them so well.
[Hos 14:1-9 KJV] 1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. 2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. 3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Ye are] our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. 4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive [as] the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard [him], and observed him: I [am] like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. 9 Who [is] wise, and he shall understand these [things]? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD [are] right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
Hosea 14 is the Father’s final appeal to the northern kingdom to repent and return to their God. Because the people don’t actually understand how deeply they are in jeopardy, the prophet spells it out for them in great simplicity saying, “you have fallen by your iniquity…” Again, the emphasis is on the actions of the people that are putting them at risk, not by the origination of God. In other words, what they are facing is not God’s doing. So many times, when we face trials and difficulties there is a total disconnect in our thinking between our own actions and attitudes in terms of causality and why we are in the position we are in. Unfortunately, church leaders and theologians only make this matter worse by pandering to self-pity as Jeremiah warned:
[Jer 6:14 KJV] 14 They have healed also the hurt [of the daughter ] of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.
To be clear, when difficulties come, from a scriptural standpoint it is more often arising from the attitudes, actions or inaction of the sufferer. That is a hard truth and one that a self-possessed people will be very reluctant to hear. It is easier to blame it on God, accusing Him of being unkind or uncaring, or twisting the idea of His heart toward us by suggesting we are suffering because “we are so godly” or because God “has chosen us for this special honor…” This is nauseating and it is also completely unscriptural. The suffering of Jesus is enough. There is no human suffering that can be efficacious before God for any reason. To suggest that God choose to put disease on someone for instance, for any reason is to preach “Christ – PLUS” our works, etc., as the basis of salvation. Suffering, sorrow, heart break, do not originate in God. They are part of the fallen condition and the fallen environment we live in. We may not be able to find a direct line of causality between our suffering and our actions, but that doesn’t mean that one exists. It may mean that we are so entrenched in self-justification that we are incapable of seeing ourselves in truth, whereas we are wrongly very quick to blame it all on God for various reasons.
Verse 3 says “Asshur shall not save us…” These were the Assyrians. At this juncture, the northern kingdom was negotiating with the Assyrians, hoping they would attack Judah in the south and spare them. This seemed to work but Hosea is saying that their vile, traitorous treaty with Assyria would not result in the northern kingdom not being invaded. This of course came to pass when Assyria did invade and carry the northern 10 tribes into captivity. After this Babylon defeated Assyria and the captivity continues under Nebuchadnezzar’s rule.
Verse 3 continues that their false gods, the works of their hands would not save them either. How many times do we get in a difficult place and think “I can fix this…” We need to learn the lesson of Hosea 14. Self-reliance can be taken to a fault where we are trusting in our own ability to repair and bad situation when in reality God considers this idolatry against His faithfulness. Who do we think we are? We can’t fix every problem. If you don’t realize this then you can anticipate a problem on the horizon so far beyond your ability to deal with that your helplessness will be painfully underscored. The idols in our hearts must come down, even when they are rooted in our own confidence that we can manipulate situations to our own good when we in fact are rebelling against trust in God by so doing.
Verse 4 calls for the backsliding people to be healed and restored. The promise is that God will love them freely if they will just repent. What does the term “backsliding” mean? We tend to think of it as climbing a steep hill, and sliding backwards because we just can’t make it to the top. That is not what the term backsliding means in scripture. The term actually describes a she-ass in heat sliding back against a prospective mate, or a conveniently available tree, trying to get relief from the animal urges that are burning within her. Not very flattering, but that is the brutal and frank truth as to what being in a “backslidden” condition represents, from the scriptural definition. We pray often for backsliders to be restored and healed, but the problem is much more egregious than we realize, and it is soul-deep, heartfelt repentance from sin that is needed, just as Hosea’s wife Gomer was so steeped in sexual sin that she was willingly without compunction, to sell herself into prostitution even though Hosea loved her deeply and cared for her faithfully.
The cry of God’s heart is that Ephraim (the northern kingdom) would say (v. 8) “what have I to do any more with idols?” The wisdom of God, Hosea declares in v. 9 understands the message of the book and acknowledges that the ways of the Lord are right. The people of the northern kingdom for generations had been shaking their fist in God’s face, accusing God of being unrighteous and unfair but Hosea declares that those that are upright in heart acknowledge the faithfulness of God and walk in His ways. Those who fall however are found in that condition because they are transgressors against His covenant. What became of Hosea and Gomer? We don’t know. We do recognize that Hosea’s 3 children must have been cared for and loved by Hosea although he couldn’t actually be sure they were his and not someone else’s. Ephraim, as a type of Gomer did not respond to God’s love and were totally destroyed and eventually completely disappeared from history. Gomer may have suffered the same fate, and all that is left to us is the story handed down by the sovereignty of God as a cautionary example lest we fall after the same manner.