A Child Only the Father Could Love
Hosea 11:1-11
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. (Hosea 11:1)
Big Idea:
This passage pictures God’s pursuing love of his child, Israel, in three stages: infancy, adolescence, and adulthood.
I. Infancy (vv. 1-4)
Like a child learning to walk, God raised and cared for Israel. However, as much as he pursued Israel in love, they continued to turn away from him to false gods with the promise of material gain, political power, and fertility. Jesus said one must become a child in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. That is, one must admit their total need and dependence on Christ.
II. Adolescence (vv. 5-9)
Israel arrogantly believed they had gotten to where they were on their own merits. They exchanged God’s grace for their own achievements. Despite this hard-hearted arrogance, God will not give up his child. Despite the wrath they should incur, God resolves not to “execute his burning anger.”
III. Adulthood (vv. 10-11)
Though it appears frightening at first, God’s roar, like that of a lion, is to scare his people back into fellowship with himself. Just as a good father, he would rather see his child go through difficulty if it brings them back to himself rather than see his child destroy himself through a lack of repentance.
Discussion Questions
- What is one way you can relate to God as a child to a father?
- What is one way you have noticed God’s long-suffering grace in your life?
- What would it look for you to view life’s circumstances and God’s law through the lens his fatherly care? How might it change your perception?