| |
|
Man, has it been a busy week! For this blog, I offer a sermon I wrote for a class project. I wish I had time to use this blog differently, but for now, there's this:
Inspiration
Inspirational
The text for my sermon this morning is Hosea 11, verses 1 through 11.
Hosea spoke to God’s people in the middle of the eighth century B.C. His words were to the northern kingdom calling it “Ephraim,” which is the name of its largest tribe.
Throughout the book of Hosea, the prophet warns the people of Israel of God’s pending judgment because they had abandoned God’s teachings.
In fact, in chapter 10, the prophet announces that Israel will be completely destroyed.
But coming to chapter 11, Hosea paints a picture of God’s mood changing from anger to compassion, and he takes up the metaphor of a relationship between a parent and child.
1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more I called Israel,
the further they went from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love;
I lifted the yoke from their neck
and bent down to feed them.
5 "Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 Swords will flash in their cities,
will destroy the bars of their gates
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even if they call to the Most High,
he will by no means exalt them.
At one phase of my life in the past, I was a school counselor. At this point in the text, I was reminded of some of the counseling cases I had worked. I can only imagine the pain a parent must feel when a child is, as Hosea said, “Determined to turn” away.
My oldest son is away at college, and as great as that is, there is a certain amount of pain that I experience when I think about him being gone from home. I can only imagine what the pain would be like if the reason for his being away were his own rebellion!
Nevertheless, no matter how upset I might be if he had been a rebellious child, I beleive I would eventually come to the same place as Hosea’s proclamation.
In verse eight, the prophet declares on behalf of God:
8 "How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboiim?
How can I give you up? How can I hand you over? I can’t. Admah and Zeboiim were utterly destroyed for their disobedience. But I can’t do that to you.
God responds to the rebellious Israel, not with what they deserve, but with compassion. God once more promises grace to the believing remnant within Israel.
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.
For I am God, and not man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come in wrath.
Here, we see God’s mercy. Despite the unfaithfulness of Israel, God feels compassion. Instead of anger, he promises to spare them.
There is a message in this text for hearers today. Twenty-seven hundred years may have passed since the time of Hosea, but there is a truth that we can still claim.
If we belong to God, then God will preserve us.
To those who belong to God, the question stands: “How can I give you up? How can I hand you over?”
“I can’t,” God answers.
And then what?
10 They will follow the LORD;
he will roar like a lion.
The lion’s roar is interesting. Zoologists have discovered that a lion roars for very specific reasons. The Smithsonian website claims this: [T]he first thing we can say about roaring...is that it is a display of ownership that is only given by residents on their own territory... We had seen that females and males roared to advertise their territory ownership...
The Smithsonian What is interesting here is that the lion roars when it is in its own territory. God will roar, and in that roar is a declaration of sovereignty. The territory is God’s!
The loin’s roar warns other nomadic lions to stay away. They have no place there. Those who live in the territory recognize their own protectors and know to stay close. They know not to follow the roar of an outsider.
Our call as followers of God is to listen for the roar! When we hear God’s roar, we know we are inside the territory, and we are safe there.
But sometimes, we may wonder out of God’s territory. This happens to us all.
Sometimes, we are distracted by something that looks appealing to us. We move closer to see what it might be, putting distance between ourselves and the rest of the pride. One distraction follows another until we are separated from the pride and the protection it gives us.
Sometimes, it is not us moving away that separates us from God. Sometimes the pride is moving on, but we refuse. We stay put, doing the same things we’ve always done until suddenly the pride has moved on and we find ourselves outside—if you will—God’s plan. We are alone, and being alone is dangerous.
Another interesting thing about lions’ roaring is that they use them to stay in touch. lionresearch.org says:[Lions] roar for several reasons. The first is to stay in touch with companions, from whom they have temporarily separated...
www.lionresearch.org
10 (cont.)
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
When we look around and find ourselves out of God’s territory, we should listen for the roar! Then, like children, hurry back.
11 They will come trembling
like birds from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria.
Birds are quick and direct when they travel. We might be reminded of the southern expression, “as the crow flies” as a way of saying the fastest and most direct route.
When we return to God, let’s make it direct and speedy. And when we return, God will be faithful.
11 (cont.)
I will settle them in their homes,"
declares the LORD.
When we listen for God's roar, and when we hurry back into the place God means for us to be, he will bless us.
Copyright 2008, Bill Snodgrass. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
