“Let's learn about Yahweh. Let's get to know Yahweh. He will come to us as sure as the morning comes.
Hosea 11:8-9,
“How can I
give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand
you over, Israel?
How can I make
you like Admah?
How can I treat
you like Zebolm?
I have changed
my mind. I am deeply moved.
I will not act
on my burning anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again. I am El, not
a human. I am the Holy One among you, and I will not come to you in
anger.”
God's heart of
love and pursuit is so clearly evident in the book of Hosea. God was
chasing after Israel in her harlotry. He so longed for His people
to hear His true heart in His proclamations and judgments that He had
Hosea marry a prostitute so he could understand firsthand and speak
from the heart.
His judgment,
punishment, and strong words were not meant to utterly destroy
Israel, but to get them to turn from their idolatry and repent.
Hosea 6:1 says,
“Let's return
to Yahweh.
Even though he
has torn us to pieces, he will heal us.
Even though he
has wounded us, he will bandage our wounds.”
His ultimate
goal was that of love and union with his people not destruction. He
wanted them to truly know Him and become one with Him.
Hosea 2:19-20
says,
“Israel, I
will make you my wife forever.
I will be
honest and faithful to you.
I will show you
my love and compassion.
I will be true
to you, my wife.
Then you will
know Yahweh.
Commentary
notes, “Betrothal was a binding commitment, the last step before
the wedding and consummation. forever:
The Lord emphasized that the new
marriage between Himself and Israel would be permanent.” [1]
To know
Yahweh,is the Hebrew word yada,
Strongs #3045. It means “to make oneself known, reveal oneself.”
[2] It is a knowing “which comes through experience with the
senses, by investigation and proving, by reflection and consideration
(firsthand knowing).” [3]
This is
not a “knowing” that is from having learned of or heard of God
but that of seeing, hearing and experiencing Him for ourselves.
God is an intimate God who desires us to know (yada) Him. Many of
the Israelites were following a set of religious rules rather than
having a relationship with God.
They were
sacrificing and doing all the things that looked good on the outside.
While they had all the right religious talk, they didn't 'know' God
in the sense of having a relationship with Him and delighting in Him.
This is
what God longed for. He told them, keep their sacrifices and give
Him instead their heart. Delight in me and honor me rather than
following my rules. He said in Hosea 6:6, “I want your loyalty,
not your sacrifices. I want you to know me, not to give me burnt
offerings.”
When we
are following a set of rules and regulations rather than truly having
a genuine relationship with God, we are going to be left empty and
hungry for something to fill us. In this empty place, we can easily
turn to idolatry.
I love to fast
and pray, but there was a time that I was working way too hard at it.
It became something I was doing in the flesh rather than the
Spirit. I had a dream where I was fasting and praying but in the
midst of it, my face was unhappy. I felt God speak to me that to
trust Him, delight in Him, and relish in His goodness was worth so
much more to Him than all my fasting. What He really wanted was not
for me to work so hard but to delight in Him and 'know' Him.
I had a dream where I was fasting and praying but in the midst of it, my face was unhappy. God seemed to be unhappy about this because I wasn't trusting Him and seeing His goodness in the midst of my circumstances. I felt God speak to me that to trust Him, delight in Him, and relish in His goodness was worth so much more to Him than all my fasting. What He really wanted seemed to be not as much my fasting as for me to delight in Him and 'know' Him.
This
longing for His people to 'know' him is also expressed in Hosea 6:3,
after the people returned to Yahweh and turned from their idolatry,
Hosea prophetically proclaims, “Let's learn about Yahweh. Let's
get to know Yahweh. He will come to us as sure as the morning
comes. He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring
rains that water the ground.”
Job is an
example of coming to a place of knowing God after suffering and
repenting. Job suffered tremendous difficulty. Eventually he came
to a place of being able to see and repent from his self-idolatry
and self-righteous pride. Through this, he came to really know God (rather than
just 'know' about him by what he was told about God). Job 42:5-6 says, “I
had heard about you with my own ears, but now I have seen you with my
own eyes. That is why I take back what I said, and I sit in dust and
ashes to show that I am sorry.”
God speaks of punishing the people of Israel in Hosea so that they turn from their harlotry and know Him. God
does not desire to punish us or bring His judgments upon us in a way that
would destroy us. Rather it is out of a passionate jealousy that He pursues us. It is out of a
desire for us to be totally His and know (yada) Him that he goes after us.
The
punishment for sin is death (Romans 1:32). But God demonstrated what
His judgment looked like when He sent His Son to pay the price. 1
Jn 4:29 says, “In this the love of God was made manifest
(displayed) where we are concerned: in that God sent His Son, the
only begotten or unique [Son], into the world so that we might live
through Him.”
Paul
demonstrated a little of this kind of passion with the church in
Corinth when they were being led astray. He would be full of hard
words and rebukes in his letters to them because his desire was to be
able to come to them in meekness as they repented.
He asks
the church in 1 Corinthians 4:31, “When I come to visit you, would
you prefer that I punish you or show you love and a gentle spirit?”
He says
in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, “I'm as protective of you as God is.
After all, you're a virgin whom I promised in marriage to one man
-Christ. However, I'm afraid that as the snake deceived Eve by its
tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from your sincere and
pure devotion to Christ.”
In 2
Corinthians 13:2-4 Paul goes on to say, “I already warned you when
I was with you the second time, and even though I'm not there now,
I'm warning you again. When I visit you again, I won't spare you.
That goes for all those who formerly led sinful lives as well as for
all the others. Since you want proof that Christ is speaking through
me, that's what you'll get. Christ isn't weak in dealing with you...
vs 10,
That's
why I'm writing this letter while I'm not with you. When I am with
you I don't want to be harsh by using the authority that the Lord
gave me. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt
you.”
God,
thank you for your relentless pursuit and passionate desire for us to
'know' you. I am so grateful for Your goodness and all the reasons
You give day after day to delight in You. I stand amazed. Draw us
deeper into this love and 'knowing' you. Where we have gotten
off-course, draw us back to You.
3. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ;
White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and
New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 1:130
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