Out of Egypt …
Hosea on the Anger, Judgment, and Mercy of God

a sermon on Hosea 11.1-11
by David C. Mauldin
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Mobile, Alabama


“I hate you!” the young man shouted at his father. “I’m leaving, and this time I’m not coming back.” The father said nothing. He watched his son slam the door, cross the porch, and get into his girlfriend’s car. It pained the father to see the young man go like this. But he had to let him go. He didn’t know what else to do. Over and over he had bailed the boy out of trouble, starting with that time in 7th grade when he was caught smoking on school grounds. Now the young man was 26. He had finished high school but never went to college. He bounced from one low-paying job to another. For years the father had given his son money. The boy was always eager for the father’s cash but never for his values. The father knew the son fooled around with drugs a little, but he had never been in trouble with the law. He had two children by two different women, but he did little to support either. He was one of those Christmas and birthday dads. His father played the doting grandfather whenever he could, buying clothes and such.

The latest chapter in this unhappy saga began when the young man wrecked his truck. The father didn’t know, but suspected drinking was involved. Why was his boy so reckless and irresponsible? That wasn’t how he was raised. What had gone wrong? The father tried to do everything right. He spent time with the boy when he was young. Took him to ballgames. Took him to church. Tried to teach him right and wrong. It was more than he could figure. Now the young man had come to his father after several months of estrangement asking him to co-sign a loan for a new vehicle. The father had refused. He had told his son he wasn’t going to bail him out anymore after the son had used the father’s credit cards without asking and ran up a couple thousand dollars worth of debt. The father paid the bill, but he knew then that this sort of thing had to stop. He had to try some of that tough love people always talk about. Maybe this time it would work. …

Jesus told a story once about a young man who broke his father’s heart: The parable of the prodigal son. What was original about that story was how Jesus described two sons. The wayward son represented the sinners whom God welcomed through Jesus’ ministry. The other son represented those who had a problem with what Jesus was doing. Jesus was an original thinker, but the image of God’s people as a rebellious son is something he probably borrowed from Hosea.

Hosea was a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel more than 700 years before Christ. The book named for him is the first among the minor prophets in the Old Testament. Minor in this case means the book is short, not that the book or the man is less important than any of the others.

Hosea spoke God’s word in a time of transition. When he began his ministry, Israel was peaceful and prosperous. Unfortunately, there were also big problems. A large gap separated the rich from the poor. Economic injustice and corruption of the courts and government were widespread. Public morals sunk about as low as they ever would in ancient Israel. And on top of it all, God’s people were worshipping false gods and idols. Baal, the Canaanite storm god, thought to be responsible for sending rain, was quite popular. In short, God’s people were unfaithful. They had a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt and given them the Promised Land. They were supposed to be a special and a holy people. But they were just like everyone else, polluting the land with all sorts of evil.

By the time Hosea finished his career, Israel was utterly destroyed. The Assyrians conquered it in 722 b.c. and deported the entire population. These are the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel—lost because they entirely disappear from history at this point. They simply assimilated into the Assyrian Empire and ceased to be Israel. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin continued in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and they would later take the name Israel, but the northern tribes were gone for good. Hosea saw this as God’s punishment.

Old Testament prophets often acted out their message. If you’ve read the Bible, you know that led to some strange behavior, but none perhaps more extreme than Hosea. How to put into action his message that God’s people were unfaithful? He married a prostitute. Now that’s a man committed to his message! She had three children, one of whom is known to be Hosea’s. Hosea named the first, a son, “God scatters” because God would scatter Israel. He named the second, a daughter, “not pitied” because God would not have pity for his people. The third was a son named “not my people” for, God says in chapter 1, verse 9, “you are not my people and I am not your God.”

Just as Hosea’s wife represented unfaithful Israel, Hosea played the part of faithful God. As a sign that God would forgive Israel and take her back, Hosea took back his wife. He looked forward to a day when God would again say, “You are my people.”

As you read the Book of Hosea, two powerful images emerge. One is God as a husband who has been wronged by unfaithful Israel. The other is God as the father of a rebellious son. Both these images speak to the intimate relationship God has with his people. God’s relationship with us is not like a business contract: You give me this, and in exchange, I will give you that. Nor is it a bunch of rules imposed on us: “Do this or else!” Instead, it is something like our most intimate relationships.

The picture of God as the husband of wayward Israel is the more dominant theme. After all, this was the message Hosea put into action. The idea here is that the Exodus from Egypt was God’s courtship with Israel. Mount Sinai was the wedding. God and Israel had joined themselves to each other. God did everything possible to bless Israel and make her happy, but Israel went after other gods. Baal and the other gods and idols worshipped in Israel were the illicit lovers.

As I was researching the Book of Hosea this past week, I ran across a commentary that spelled out the social dynamics of marriage in ancient Israel. That society was based on a system of honor and shame. Adultery was a terrible thing because it brought shame to the whole family and called into question the legitimacy of children, which was important for property rights—and so on. The author stressed how important it is to be aware of all this in order to understand the power of Hosea’s message. I couldn’t help but think: True, ancient Israel was very different from our lives today, but adultery is still terrible and painful. We get the message. Israel worshipped false gods, and it had all the disastrous consequences that adultery usually has.

Initially, God determines to get rid of his adulterous bride. He promises to expose her guilt—exactly the way Joseph would not do to Mary in Matthew chapter 1. She was a terrible wife. Send her back to Egypt. Egypt is important to Hosea. Historically, Israel was destroyed by Assyria because it sided with Egypt in a military alliance. In Hosea, however, Egypt is more. Egypt is where God found his bride, where he would send her back, but ultimately, where their love would be renewed.

God would not finally be done with Israel. Like Elvis who sang, “I’m caught in a trap. I can’t walk out, because I love you too much baby,” God says, “I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her … There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt” [2.14-15]. God’s people did not deserve a second chance. They deserved punishment. Yet God loves his people. Though they are unfaithful, he is faithful. Hosea saw the destruction of Israel as the prelude to a second courtship.

The other vivid image of Hosea’s message is God as father of a rebellious son. Who is the son in the story at the beginning of this sermon? We are. Our nation. The church, especially in Europe and the United States. You and me. Israel was the original rebellious son, but we have to ask if we are much more faithful than they were.

This passage has it all: We see the tender love of God. “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Again, talking about the Exodus. God taught Israel to walk. He took Israel in his arms, like a father who lifts his little toddler to his cheek.

We see the sinfulness of humanity. The more God called, the more his people went away from him. We see the horrifying prospect of judgment. Destruction comes, and God refuses to help. You know, a lot of people think the Old Testament is all fire and brimstone while the New Testament is all grace and love. That’s not true at all. Here we see the tender love of God and God’s grace, despite the fact that judgment is fully justified. God would be right to destroy Israel and never think twice about it. But that is not who God is. Meanwhile, Jesus and the New Testament writers could sling brimstone with the best of them. In fact, all the passages that I find scary are in the New Testament. This passage in Hosea, though, reminds us as well as any that we rely completely on the grace of God. God is under no obligation to us. We have not and cannot earn God’s favor. In fact, despite what people are prone to believe these days, God does not have to love us or save us just because God is our creator. We have made a mess of things. The human condition is rebellion against God. God does love us, and God gives us new life and saves us through Jesus Christ, simply because that is who God is and what God chooses to do in his great mercy. Hosea was a preacher of grace. And we see that here. “How can I give you up, Ephraim?”—Ephraim was one of the sons of Old Testament Joseph. One of the tribes of Israel was named for him. Ephraim here simply means Israel, God’s people. “How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim?” These last two had been cities near the southern end of the Dead Sea. They were destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah—a destruction that became a proverbial example of God’s wrath.

The point is, God’s people deserved judgment … but, “My heart recoils within me,” says God, “my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger. I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”

Now … now that we know a little about Hosea and his message of judgment and grace, what does it have to do with us? I’m glad you were thinking that question! God’s relationship with Israel then is the same as God’s relationship with us now. In Jesus Christ, we have become God’s people. Jesus has taught us to call God our Father. God has rescued us from slavery—not to Pharaoh but slavery to sin. He has made us his own, and given us every good thing. We have been blessed richly. And when I say “we” I am thinking mainly of those of us in this sanctuary, but also all Christians in our society. All that God did for Israel, he has done for us. This means Hosea has a lot to say to today’s Christian. I want to spell out four vital truths I hear Hosea saying to us. You’ll want to listen to all four, but I suspect you will find one or two more meaningful for what God is doing in your life right now. The four things I hear Hosea telling us are about (1) the importance of faithfulness, (2) how our unfaithfulness affects God, (3) judgment, and (4) the grace of God.

First, Hosea reminds us of the importance of being faithful to God. Can you imagine what a typical ancient Israelite might have said to Hosea about some of the things going on at the time? “It’s no big deal. So we offer a few sacrifices to Baal? Where’s the harm in that? It can’t hurt to cover all your bases. So some judges and officials take bribes? That’s how the world works. So we’re a little loose on morals, who cares? Nobody gets hurt.” And he would be right for the most part. Every culture in that day worshipped lots of gods—the more the merrier. Just add yours to mine. To insist on worshipping only one God would be downright un-neighborly. And yes, money makes the world go round. And as for moral issues, is it really anyone’s business? Then Hosea responds by marrying a prostitute and saying, you have been unfaithful to God!

It’s hard to put a good face on adultery. It’s not like you can minimize it somehow. Something like: “The bad news is, I cheated a few times. The good news is I was tempted to cheat a lot more.” I don’t think any sane spouse would give you credit for that. But isn’t that what we are in essence saying to God when we surrender most of our lives to him but keep back a part—or when we are generally faithful, except in the case of one specific temptation we really don’t want to get rid of?

This language of intimacy says something about God. God wants all of us, not a half or even 99%, certainly not 5 or 10%. Jesus said this often. Give God all your heart, mind, soul, and strength—or don’t bother. You either go all in or you fold. When we look at all that God has done for us, offering God everything hardly seems enough. Jesus died for us. The Word became flesh. He knew what suffering is all about. And he did it all for us. Can we do less for him? Hosea warns us to be faithful because how we live matters to God. God wants only good for us. It hurts God to see us go after worthless things that degrade and harm us. It angers God when we hurt one another. God cares how you live. Above all God cares about your commitment to God.

Scripture calls King David a man after God’s own heart. That’s odd if you think about all of David’s faults and failures. He was a great warrior, but weak in many ways. He was an adulterer and a murderer. He was a terrible father. I could go on. Nevertheless, despite his weaknesses and faults, he always remained steadfastly devoted to the One True God. He always loved God, always trusted God. He always turned to God in good times and bad, whether he had achieved a great success or committed a disgraceful sin. He knew there was nowhere else to turn.

Second, Hosea shows us how our unfaithfulness affects God. We maybe do not think of this much. People tend to think of God as either unmoved by anything or always mushy and soft hearted. According to scripture, God gets angry. Yes, God is patient and kind, but there is just so much of our rebellion God can stand. If you take the time to read the Book of Hosea, and it is not that long, you’ll find some harsh and disturbing words. I am sure that God gets angry with us. When you look at the state the world is in, God should be angry. I suspect God gets angry with the church too. “I give them all these blessings. I pour out my Spirit on them. I ask them to be different from everyone else—to show my glory and share my love. Then what do I get?” Sometimes God gets angry with you and me.

Yet greater than any fear of punishment is the pain of hurting someone you love, and according to Hosea, we are capable of breaking God’s heart. And I know that happens all the time. God is the husband who found his wife cheating. He is the father whose son walked out of his life. And we are the wife and the son. Yet God always dreams of that second courtship and honeymoon, or that prodigal son’s homecoming. God rejoices when we repent. He takes pleasure in our faithfulness. Just as our sin causes him pain.

Third, given all that anger and pain, we ought to expect judgment. Judgment has become an unpopular topic in preaching, but it shouldn’t be. Judgment is nothing more than God setting things right while you happen to be in the wrong. Everyone wants God to step in and establish peace, justice, and righteousness; but nobody wants him to do it at their expense. Rules, after all, are for other people. Right? Hardly. The threat of judgment is not an empty one—merely a dark background against which God’s grace stands out all the more brightly. You can say no to God one too many times, as the northern tribes discovered. And even those who come to Christ can bring plenty of heartache on themselves in the short run because of their unfaithfulness.

Fourth, given all the anger and pain, we ought not to expect any mercy or any grace … and yet this is just what we do receive from God. God doesn’t want to destroy us. God wants reconciliation. “I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”

Hosea holds out hope, but we have to ask ourselves whether he was wrong. He promised a homecoming the 10 northern tribes never had. He promised a new relationship between God and his people. He promised salvation. But did it ever arrive? For more than 700 years it seemed the answer was no. And then, once again, “out of Egypt I called my son.” The Gospel of Matthew invites us to see this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus. Through him God has done what Hosea said he would do, and best of all, these promises are now for all people. You can have a renewed relationship of intimacy with God. You can be part of his people. You can be free from slavery to sin and from judgment. You can know the joys of God’s love. Hosea says it is like the joy of romance, or the tender care of a loving father. Amen.

rev_mauldin@yahoo.com
July 30, 2006