Reconnect: He Calls Series

RECONNECT WITH GOD: He Calls

Hosea 11:1-11

Introduction

The reason we all need encouragement to reconnect with God is the disconnect of sin. We do not see sin the way God does. Our attitudes toward sin:

-Some Deny it - there is nothing wrong.

-Some mock it - make fun of it, as if it were a joke.

-Some minimize it - not really a big deal.

-Some put off dealing with their sin for another day.

-Some recognize it and repent genuinely.

-We probably wear all of those attitudes at some point.

The Bible tells us that God sees sin as an insult to His holiness, a rejection of His righteousness, and intolerable to his presence. Hosea gives us a description of God’s view of sin and redemption.

A little background to Hosea.

It is the first book in the collection called the Minor Prophets. Hosea makes a major contribution to the message of hope and comfort… “telling in unforgettable imagery of God’s love which will not let God’s people go.” (Limburg) The theme of Israel’s unfaithfulness, punishment to come, and the healing love of God. (“I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely….” 14:4). Hosea was called while still young. He lived his life in Israel, the Northern Kingdom. “Because of his own heart-wrenching experiences with his family, Hosea is able to describe the anguish in the heart of God like no other prophet. Abraham Heschel said, ‘Amos dwells on what God has done … Hosea dwells on what God has felt for Israel.” (Limburg)

That’s what makes today’s message one that speaks to the heart - an expression of how God saw Israel and His unrelenting love.“This chapter is one of the boldest in the Old Testament - indeed in the whole Bible - in exposing us to the mind and heart of God in human terms.” (Kidner). God calls to us as a Father calls to his children - in this case - a broken hearted father.

1. God is the Father who Loves his disobedient children.

It’s a long and often ugly story. (Hosea 11:1,2 When Israel was a child, I loved him…But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me…) “We may hesitate in case we read too much into the words. But our chief danger is in reading too little from it…” (Kidner) Romans 8:15-16 "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him, we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"

2. God is the Father who Delivers

11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”

God reminds them of the deliverance from slavery in Egypt -an Exodus of deliverance from bondage into relationship with the Father. Matthew quotes this passage (MT 2:15) in speaking of Jesus escaping the murderous decree of Herod. God is still delivering us from our sins when we turn to him in faith, repentance, and baptism, seeking holiness and strength from Him.

3. God is the Father who Heals

11:3 “It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them.”

The one great disease we all share is within, the sin that is often rooted in our hearts. Through the blood of Jesus we continue to find the Great Physician healing the broken places. Mark 2:17 “Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

4. God is the Father who Leads

11:4a “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.”

Isaiah 64:8 "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Following God’s lead is the crucial element of discipleship. 1 Peter 2:21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

5. God is the Father who Cares

11:4b “To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.”

What a beautiful picture of the condescension of God. “Every detail of this pampering drives home the extraordinary graciousness that Israel has experienced, far beyond anything that she had any right to expect…” (Kidner)

Psalm 8:3-4 "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

6. God is the Father of Compassion & Mercy

11:8b-9 “… My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man - the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.”