Monday: Wayward Israel
The story of Hosea has some powerful lessons to teach us. Hosea’s situation is remarkable. His wife, Gomer, runs away and has children with other men. Though she is sexually unfaithful, God calls Hosea to take his wife back and fully show his love to her again. This story is meant as a parable about God and Israel. The Israelites had left God and were prostituting themselves spiritually to other gods, but God still loved them and wanted to show His love to them. But just look at God’s methods!
Read Hosea 2:1-12. What methods does God say He will use to pull Israel back to Himself? What would these experiences have felt like?
This story raises two important issues about the way we experience God when He is bringing us to repentance.
Image © Providence Collection from GoodSalt.com
First, we risk not recognizing that God is at work. When Israel went through such hard and painful experiences, it might have been hard for them to recognize that their God was working for their salvation. When our path is blocked by sharp thorns or we are walled in so that we don’t know where we are going (Hosea 2:6) — is this God? When our basic necessities disappear or we are embarrassed (Hosea 2:9-10) — could our Father be in the middle of it all? The truth is that whatever we feel, God is always working to bring us to repentance, because He loves us so very much.
Second, we risk misunderstanding God when He is at work. We may recognize that God is at work, but we don’t like what He’s doing. While we are feeling hurt and embarrassed, it is easy to blame God for being cruel, for not intervening, or for not caring. But God is always working to renew us through His covenant of love.
| Read Hosea 2:14-23. What does this passage reveal about God? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you have been running from God in any area of your life. If you are convicted that you have been, why wait to go through the crucible? What’s stopping you from surrendering all to the Lord now? |
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I was eating breakfast this morning and thinking about the Sabbath School topic for today, and looking up a few of my favourite Internet sites at the same time. Who says that we cannot multitask? One question that kept coming up in my mind was, "Does God train us?"
It was in this context that I read this article on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-25/happiness-suffering-are-closely-connected-argues-paul-bloom/101242204
(Hopefully, the link will work outside Australia) It is a secular article but it is interesting to note that some of the issues raised in the article give us some insights into our spiritual lives as well. I won't add a lot of my commentary here. I will let you draw your own conclusions.
The other Biblical experience that I think fits the context of the discussion today is the example of Saul/Paul's conversion. (This may be covered later in this series so sorry for the spoiler) The interesting thing about Paul's experience was that he sincerely believed that he was doing the right thing until God knocked a bit of sense into him by striking him blind for a while. It is not just those who are running away from God, but those who think they are running with God, who have the potential to learn from a bit of training/suffering.
It serves as a little reminder to me when I think I am running with God.
The study brings out spiritual unfaithfulness.
God is the husband, carnal Isreal is his wife, and WE are his spiritual wife !
Another brilliant type and anti-type on how God views our conduct in this commercial, norms, and values of this system of things.
James 4:1-17
Shalom in Christ
🙏
Today's lesson asks "What methods does God say He will use to pull Israel back to Himself?"
Does God pull people back to Himself? I guess how you view this question will depend, at least in part, upon how you understand or have experience being 'pulled' by someone. The reason I raise this and similar questions is that I interact with a lot of people and many have an unfavourable view of God that is tied to seemingly subtle concepts such as this. If Satan is trying to misportray God's nature and character so that people reject God, is Satan going to be more successful using obvious lies or extremely subtle deceptions that 'fly under the radar'?
In response to my question regarding whether God 'pulls' people back to Himself, I offer the following for consideration...
1) Romans 2:4
2) "...The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened." (Desire of Ages 22.1)
Language is sometimes impercise. Perhaps a better word than pull would be woo. Sort of like the effort rescuers use to pull someone back from the brink of suicide.
From what I've seen in my life, surrendering to God and asking God to help purify my character has been the initiation to the beginning of a crucible experience. But I would say the crucible experience was worth it because I am having better relationships with my family members and I just saw one of my sisters from church healed from a paralyzed diaphragm because of one of my prayers for her.
God at times tests people through difficult situations like He did with Abraham in asking him to sacrifice his son. And when the person overcomes with God's help, they are brought closer to Him.
Hosea 2:2-3
The more I try to hide and go on into practicing the worship of other gods (spiritual adultery), the worst it will all be when this gets exposed!
Hosea 2:5-7
When I find nothing but waste relating to my carnal distractions, then I try to go back to my original sustainer.
Hosea 2:8-9
When I use the resources given to me only to my own pleasure, they will be taken away!
Hosea 2:10
I cannot hide anything from God. As I openly showed my appreciation for earthly things, I shall be exposed and feel the nakedness of my own actions.
God is a loving God, but as a human being I can do crazy things! I need to be conscious that everything has a price! I take what I give!
Do I know the TRUTH? So I need to surrender myself totally to HIM (JESUS IS THE TRUTH), not to my own carnal nature! Jesus can restore every covenant that I broke!
The story of Hosea and Gomer has multi lessons. One that 1st came to my mind is Hosea was asked by God to take Gomer back. It was not just a pull back Israel, it was a lesson that God would take Israel back if they turn back to Him. That is what He is desiring for us too. He is longing for us to turn back to Him. The parable of the prodigal son is a very good example. With arms wide open, from distance He welcomed him back. Christ died for us to be able to take us back, but we need to make an effort too. He even gives us the desire to turn and the power to do His will. His will is also to turn from sin and look at it as rubbish. Philippians 3:8.