We wonder why life must be so painful. Why must there be
death? Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? Perhaps getting our way is
self-destructive?
Perhaps we don’t know what is good for us? Many think, “If
only I’d win the lottery, I’d then be happy.” However, studies have shown that
it is more likely that we will experience the opposite thing.
Let’s illustrate this principle spiritually. Through the
Prophet Hosea, God revealed that His blessings had caused more problems than
they had healed, at least in the long run. He rescued Israel out of bondage in
Egypt, but the more God lovingly shepherded them, the more they rejected Him:
·
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I
called my son out of Egypt. But the more I called to him, the farther he moved
from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to
idols. I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But
he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I led Israel
along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and
I myself stooped to feed him…For my people are determined to desert me. They
call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me. (Hosea 11:1–4, 7 (NLT)
Israel history had been one of ingratitude. The more God
blessed them, the more they turned away. God therefore lamented:
·
“I have been the LORD your God ever since I
brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no
other savior. I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty
land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot
me. (Hosea 13:4–6)
The Prophets of Israel had consistently proclaimed that the
fault wasn’t God’s but Israel’s. He had given them everything He possibly could:
·
“Now I [God] will sing for the one I love a song
about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. He
plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the
middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then
he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.
Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah, you judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done? When
I expected sweet grapes, why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes? Now let me
tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will tear down its hedges and let it
be destroyed. I will break down its walls and let the animals trample it. I
will make it a wild place where the vines are not pruned and the ground is not
hoed, a place overgrown with briers and thorns. I will command the clouds to
drop no rain on it. (Isaiah 5:1–6)
God grieved that even after he had done everything that He
could do for Israel, His people turned away from Him. How then would God get
His beloved people to turn back to Him? He would replace their blessings with
extreme depravations so that they would call upon their Savior. Therefore, the
Book of Hosea closes with God’s plea:
·
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your
sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD. Say
to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer
you our praises. Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again
will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do
the orphans find mercy.” The LORD says, “Then I will heal you of your
faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.”
(Hosea 14:1–4)
In the end, reconciliation to their God did not require
animal sacrifices, just their sincere confession of sins. He would then heal
their unfaithful heart. This healing will be sufficient to satisfy God’s anger
forever.
This could only be accomplished through the Messiah’s death
for the sins of the world. Once this price was paid to satisfy the righteous
nature of God could He then open the door to change, intimacy, and even an indissoluble
eternal marriage through the payment of a wedding dowery:
·
“And in that day, declares the LORD, you will
call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will
remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by
name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts
of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make
you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth
you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I
will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. (Hosea
2:16–20)
This marriage would be consummated “in righteousness and in
justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.” These would come as a gift from our
Husband. He would cloth His bride in these garments, which she could never
provide for herself. This marriage meant that there would have to come a time
when the separating curtain between Israel and her God would be torn asunder, and
His Holy Spirit would reside with His people.
Meanwhile, we await the full consummation of the marriage:
·
For we know that the whole creation has been
groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the
creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in
this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for
what he sees? (Romans 8:22–24)
We now endure the necessary groaning and wait in hope for
His return.
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