Readings for today: Hosea 1-5
God’s ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His logic transcends our ability to comprehend or understand. The complex, paradoxical ideas that cause us tension or seem impossible for us are not impossible for Him. God’s relationship with Israel is a prime example.
Hosea is called to be a prophet. A man who represents God’s will to God’s people not just by the words he speaks but by the way he lives his life. God calls Hosea to make his life a living sacrifice. To marry a prostitute. To have illegitimate children through her. To name them Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi, signaling the judgment and justice of God. It can’t have been easy. It must have looked and felt hopeless. And yet, God is quick to remind Hosea, judgment will not be the final word. Not in his life and not for Israel. “However, in the future the number of the people of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are children of the Living God.” Then the people of Judah and the people of Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint for themselves one leader, and will flourish in the land. Certainly, the day of Jezreel will be great!” (Hosea 1:10-11 NET)
I don’t know about you but I have found this same dynamic to be true in my own life. There are so many moments when I am convinced God must be at the end of His patience. I make the same mistakes over and over again and seem so susceptible to the same temptations and sins. And yet, though God is quick to convict and discipline me as His child, He is also quick to remind me of His unconditional love and grace. God’s justice demands my punishment. God’s grace offers me forgiveness. Somehow, in some way, both of these are true and operative at the same time. It’s not an either/or but a both/and with Christ standing in the middle of it all, holding it all together.
Readings for tomorrow: Hosea 6-9