When Loyalty Fails

The Prophet Hosea lived in a time similar to our own in many respects. Both Israel
and Judah, the chosen people of God and descendants of Abraham, were
experiencing prosperity and a general weakening of their moral and spiritual
fabric. The reason for the prosperity was the weakening of Syria, their chief rival.

The nation had been able to scale down its military and become more productive
industrially and agriculturally. In our own nation, while the military has become
more active recently, and there have been some economic downturns, we are still a
prosperous nation. Hosea lived during such a prosperous time. It seems what is
good for the pocketbook is not always good for the soul, though it need not be that
way. (contrast Matthew 19:24-26; 1 Timothy 6:9,10; Revelation 3:15-19 with 3
John 1,2; 1 Timothy 6:17-19).

The prophet Hosea lived in the eighth century before Christ. People were
demanding more luxuries, and it seemed that the more they got, the more they
wanted.

They had begun borrowing the religious practices of other nations (the worship of
Baal and other idols). They searched for a more sensual and less spiritual religion.
Those faithful to God became a smaller and smaller minority, often ridiculed for
their faith and narrow-mindedness. Even then, the Lord patiently called them to
repent and return to Him. While there may have been scattered success with
individuals, the nation as a whole rejected the invitation and history shows a
continued downward spiral to its ruin and destruction. Such could have been
averted. History has a lot to teach our own nation if we'll listen. Notice the
invitation issued by the Lord to the nation through Hosea: "Come, let us return to
the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He
will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third
day, That we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the
LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the
rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth." (Hosea 6:1-3). Why did this
invitation fall on deaf ears? The next verse tells us; in a word; disloyalty. " What
shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your
loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early." (Hosea
6:4).

Realistic repentance (v. 1)

It has often been pointed out that repentance and faith are heavenly twins in the
experience of conversion. So the first question we can ask is, Where is the
expression of faith in verse 1? I would suggest it is in the word come because
here we have what we can call the logic of faith. Normally, if an authority is
engaged in a process of punishment, it is not likely to show mercy. Those who had
broken the laws would choose to hide from the authority rather than go and confess
their faults. Biblical faith thinks differently because it grasps the astonishing fact
that the God of judgement is also the God of grace, that the God who is angry with
their sins can be approached in a repentant manner. A penitent person grasps the
fact that he can draw near to God.

A second detail that this description of repentance gives is that a penitent person
recognises the purposes of Gods judgements, that they are designed in heavenly
wisdom to bring sinners to repentance. As Hosea says, the Lord tore them, as a lion
would tear a sheep, in order to come to them as the heavenly Physician. We can see
in this illustration an example of what the heavenly Physician would later say,
when speaking to those who misunderstood the ways of God (the Pharisees),
Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have
not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

Moreover, we can also see that realistic repentance draws information about the
character of God even from his judgements. We can briefly mention two. First, the
penitent recognises the power of God. It would have been possible for the afflicted
to blame secondary causes for their distress, such as human enemies. But the
penitent traces it to the hand of a God who can bring punishment to whole nations
simultaneously, a reminder of his immense power. Yet because faith is involved,
the penitent works out that the same degree of power can be used in helping
recovery.

Second, the penitent recognises the faithfulness of God. He knows that if the
people return to God he will bless them. This means that he does not judge the
situation only by the severity of the punishment, because he knows that it is an
expression of divine faithfulness. Instead he takes other aspects of Gods
faithfulness into the scenario and realises that God will respond to true repentance.

The final feature of realistic repentance that we can note is that it involves a return
to God. When a person returns, it involves a change of direction. Yet this change of
direction is very specific because it is a return to God. We can imagine an Israelite
saying to himself, What I need to do is change my life and try and keep the Ten
Commandments. But that is not a description of repentance because it is an
attempt to get right without dealing with God. Instead, a true penitent wants to go
and speak with God, and confess his sins, knowing that the Lord will show mercy
for the sake of Jesus.
The prophet Hosea served God in days very like our own. First, Gods people
were divided and it seemed impossible that they could be united again; second,
the population was attracted to alternative lifestyles and were adopting the ideas
and practices of the surrounding cultures; and third, those in power were not
interested in maintaining Gods laws as the basis of society and there was no
concern for the poor and needy. We can see easily that there are similar outlooks
today. So here we have an example of the message that we can bring to our
society.

It is not clear who is speaking in these verses. There are two options: one is that
the people are speaking to one another because they have realised their folly and
want to repent together; the other is that Hosea, as a preacher, is calling upon
the people to repent of their sins and return to the Lord. The latter is more likely
because it was the case that the people as a whole did not return to the Lord.

Here we have an invitation to return to the Lord. The first comment that can be
made about it is that there is a common identification. Whether it is the people or
Hosea who is making the call, the speaker(s) identify themselves with the others.
There is no attempt to grade their sins or point out that some were worse than
others. The fact is that they were all sinners who had fallen short of the glory of
God.
Yet Hosea did not divide the people into groups of us and them. Instead, he
realised that there was a corporate identity that he had to acknowledge.

Moreover, Hosea and the remnant would have been aware that sin is a matter of
degree. They were not themselves perfect and while they had not participated in
the sins of the majority they were still guilty of not having been what they should
have been. Just because someone is worse than me is not a reason for me to
assume that I am better than I am. Each person has a share in causing the need
for corporate repentance.

Rapid recovery (v. 2)

I have heard some people speculate if Hosea is talking about the resurrection of
Jesus in this verse because it mentions that there will be a raising up on the third
day. It is possible that there is a pointer here to his resurrection, which we can see
as we look back and note that all true spiritual life comes because Jesus rose from
the dead. Sometimes a description of a later action by Jesus is hidden within a
previous action involving others. Yet we should not be led away from the point of
the passage which is that Gods people will experience a national recovery from
captivity, which is also a picture of our recovery from the captivity of sin.

I would suggest that what Hosea also is stressing here is the speedy response that
God will make towards true penitents. The contrast is between the long length of
time they have been wandering from him and the short space of time that it will
take him to restore them.

Moreover, the prophets words indicate the nearness to which they will be restored
they will live before him, in his presence. This description points to more than
nearness, it also indicates delight in them as God looks on them with pleasure. The
words before him mean to his face, which means that his eyes are on them.

Refreshing restoration (v. 3)

There are two questions we can ask here. The first is this: how should a restored
penitent live? Hosea tells us that such must press on to know the Lord. We should
observe that there is a communal experience here, a reminder that it is good to
repent together and well as to repent by ourselves.

This is a wonderful exhortation because it implies the provision of divine strength

and instruction. Pressing on is a picture of energy and determination to find what is
valuable. It is like Pauls comment that he forgot what was behind and pressed on
to what was ahead of him. In Pauls case, he was pressing ahead to receive a divine
commendation. Hosea was urging a new priority which would result in a new
pleasure discovering the reality of the covenant God of his people.

The word knowing when referring to God is the same as enjoying intimate
fellowship with him. There is so much to discover in the God of all grace. We can
speak about his mercy and about his great plans for the future. As his children
through faith, we are led to marvel at the greatness of the inheritance that is given
to all his children. But they must have repentance in order to have fellowship. It is
not that they repent first and then have fellowship. Repentance is an attitude as
well as a verbal expression of regret.

The second question is, What can a restored penitent expect from the God he has
come to know? Hosea uses two illustrations from the world of nature. The first is
taken from the daily experience of the dawn. Does the prophet mean that divine
light comes after the period of darkness that marked the individual before he
repented of his sins? The night of spiritual decay was now over. Does the prophet
mean that the warmth of the new day has replaced the coldness of the time of
spiritual night? The heart that previously was cold towards God is now melted by
the rays of heavenly sunshine that mark the arrival of a better day in their
experience.

The second illustration is taken from the spring rains that watered the ground.
While there were good immediate effects of those showers in the sense of
providing refreshing water to drink, they were also long-term effects because it
was the spring rains that guaranteed there would be a harvest later in the year. The
ones whose lives had been dry and fruitless would become refreshed and fruitful.

Is it too much to see in these descriptions a reference to Jesus as the Light of the
World and as the Water of life? Several ancient Jewish writers saw them as
descriptions of the Messiah. If his resurrection is hidden in the previous verse, why
cannot the consequences of his resurrection be hidden in this verse? We are not
suggesting that Hosea and his contemporaries realised this they would have
connected the illustrations to the God of Israel. But we can read, indeed must read,
the Old Testament with New Testament eyes. And when we do, we discover Jesus
hidden and yet clear in its pages.

The light and the rain come down from above, they come down to us freely, they
come down to us gently, and they cause life to appear. That is what Jesus does. So
he can be our Sun and our Satisfier, the giver of guidance and the provider of
eternal life depicted by the water. This is the prospect that the penitent have, of
experiencing the wonderful capabilities of Jesus to lead them into the heights of his
gracious locations and there share with him what he has provided for his people.

After six chapters of the Lord listing Israels many sins, it makes sense to
approach the peoples return to God with great skepticism.
Its like a mother who counsels her daughter not to go out with that crowd
tonight. The Mom just has a bad feeling about it, suspecting this group of
friends is up to no good. But a fight ensures, the daughter eventually slamming
the door, shouting insults. And when the daughter misses curfew, and it gets
later and later, and eventually a call comes from the police reporting the child is
drunk at the station, the mother still hurries as fast as she can to rescue her
daughter for danger.

And so the Lord responds to the peoples supposed change of heart, as a loving
parent might, disgusted, angry, but always-loving.

I bet youre familiar with the phrase the Lord useseither because you use it
yourself, or because its used about you:

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? Corrupt Ephraim, wicked Ephraim.

Hosea writes that Ephraim is consumed by corruption. Government official accept
bribes; the king encourages drunkenness, and the pride of the people separates
them from God. The people lie about God; they slander their maker.

What shall I do with you, O Judah? Judah, fallen as well, with leadership who
seek their own gain above others, and deny the God of all. Powerful Judah, that
should fortify towns for the Lord, but denigrates them instead. Judah, too
concerned about its own matters to consider its God.

Indeed, what is the Lord going to do with you, O Ephraim, O Judah?

What is God going do with us?

The truth is, were all captive. Ephraim, Judah, Britain, America, Ayrshire. No
place on earth escapes by our own doing. As one confession puts it, We are in
bondage to sin, and cannot free ourselves.

In chapter 10, Hosea describes sin and captivity with the agricultural
metaphor: You have ploughed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you
have eaten the fruit of lies. And that is true for us. We are caught in sins cycle,
harvesting the food that does not nourish.

We are so consumed with the daily grind, the status quo, the same old same old
that we cannot see a holy way forward. Well complain about others maybe, but
we wont be the change we want to see.

Its part of the human condition, our tendency to list and dissect other peoples
problems, issues, and sins, but to leave our own neither described nor addressed.

Friends, we reap what we sow, and we separate ourselves from God, denying
Gods good intentions for us.

But, thats not this books ending. Thats not how God responds. What am I
going to do with you?

The Lords indictments in Hosea, continue to the very last chapter. To the end,
the Lord calls for justicebut there is none. To the end, the Lord demands peace
and equitynone of that either. To the end, the Lord cries for rightness of heart,
and knowledge of the Lordfrom Ephraim, from Judah, from Israel, from
America, from Britain, and from Ayrshire, but there is none.
Explain that when rain falls to the Earth it covers everything. Say, When rain
falls to the earth it covers the whole earth and washes it clean. This is like the
salvation that God gives to us. Gods mercy covers us and washes us clean.