Punishment - Disdain - Rejection - Promise (RV)

. . . and in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."

 - From Hosea 1

I can remember the first time I read Hosea, with adult eyes. I had reached a point where I understood the meaning of the harsh terms and concepts contained therein. It is a very hard book to read.

How can a loving God do this?

God singles out Hosea. Hosea is going to see what it's like. Ultimately, God connect with us on our level. We end up seeing things through His eyes. In time, we get it. The narrative of the Old Testament had been pretty much concluded. God's dealings with His people have had all the drama of any closely linked group of people. If you have loved anyone deeply, you know what it is like to be hurt; to be betrayed, forsaken, denied.

Hosea experienced loss and personal grief . . . not the way Joseph did, by being sold away into slavery by brothers that always hated him; not the way Samson did, by being used by a woman of questionable reputation. Not even the way Job did, by having everything the he valued obliterated, right before his eyes.

Hosea would have an experience like most ordinary people: the sharing of the intimacy of marriage, and a home with your children. The wife would be unfaithful, and the children would put him through the worse form of rebellion and humility as they grew.

Hosea would be rejected and scored by people that should love him. He would share  unrequited love. He would know any kind of pain known by people in horrible marriages, and by parents whose children cause, for them, a lifetime of trouble.

And it was all orchestrated by God.

You see . . . anybody that has lived can probably relate to that. God says "Do you see what I mean . . . now?"

Israel's rejection of God merited an angry and devastating response. A person going through a bitter divorce understands this. You wish something horrible would happen, that would force your family back together.

God would first punish Israel for rejecting Him . . . by removing their status as a nation. They would no longer have a nationality, a people, a family. And then when they call out for His help, he would turn His back on them. He would ignore them. They would not be worth His notice. And to add insult to injury . . . even after all this, He would close the whole episode by rejecting them utterly.

I know a man that once told his pre-teen daughter, after repeated acts of disrespect on her part: "If you want me not to care at all, I can do that." What followed was years of distance between father and daughter. His angry words created a deeper wedge yet. Children expect, they need, unconditional love. God wouldn't even have that for Israel.

Four hundred "silent years" followed. Israel would be effectively wiped from the pages of history.

Almost.

Because, in the end, God's promises are sure. And He did once promise them a great nation that would last forever. He was only setting the stage for the coming of One that could fulfill the justice of the Old Testament, while establishing a way to fulfill the good promises, of the New.