99 Days to Pentecost: Day 20
Day 20 - March 5, 2021
Hosea 11:1-4 (Read Full Chapter)
When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. 2The more they called them, The more they went away from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. 3Yet it is I who taught Ephraim* to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. 4 I pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
“Our Father in Heaven”
Written by Pastor Tina Hsu
The Old Testament reveals the tender and loving heart of God as He calls Himself a Father and Israel his son. When He prepared Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt in the book of Exodus, He said to Moses, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is my son, my firstborn...Let my son go that he may serve me.” (Ex. 4:22-23). Indeed, God is a loving Father to His people.
In this chapter, God grieves at how far His son, Israel, has strayed, and how Israel has turned towards sacrificing to the Baals and serving idols. Many prophets have been sent to call Israel back to God, but Israel kept going further away. Through the prophet Hosea, God tells Israel of how He was the Father who raised them, nurtured them, and took care of them. He was the one who set them free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. He yearns for a relationship with Israel, as a father yearns for a relationship with his son, and for his son to daily live under His provision and not under the provision or temporary satisfaction that comes from other gods.
Chapter 11 reveals God’s judgment towards Israel’s unwillingness to turn back to Him. The consequence is Israel will be given over to Assyria (v. 5). Yet God still speaks of a time of restoration when His people will return to Him, and He will receive them with compassion and He will settle them in their houses (v. 11). Though His discipline is firm and righteous, the fatherly nature of God is never shaken and His heart to love Israel as His son is lasting.
Take time today to sit under the kindness of God and in the arms of His love.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, how awesome it is that I can call you “Father.” Indeed, you are my loving Father and I am your son/daughter through the work of Jesus on the cross. Help me to daily draw near to You, depend on You, and follow You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
*“Ephraim” in Hosea is interchangeable with the name “Israel.”
When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. 2The more they called them, The more they went away from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. 3Yet it is I who taught Ephraim* to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. 4 I pulled them along with cords of a man, with ropes of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
“Our Father in Heaven”
Written by Pastor Tina Hsu
The Old Testament reveals the tender and loving heart of God as He calls Himself a Father and Israel his son. When He prepared Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt in the book of Exodus, He said to Moses, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is my son, my firstborn...Let my son go that he may serve me.” (Ex. 4:22-23). Indeed, God is a loving Father to His people.
In this chapter, God grieves at how far His son, Israel, has strayed, and how Israel has turned towards sacrificing to the Baals and serving idols. Many prophets have been sent to call Israel back to God, but Israel kept going further away. Through the prophet Hosea, God tells Israel of how He was the Father who raised them, nurtured them, and took care of them. He was the one who set them free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. He yearns for a relationship with Israel, as a father yearns for a relationship with his son, and for his son to daily live under His provision and not under the provision or temporary satisfaction that comes from other gods.
Chapter 11 reveals God’s judgment towards Israel’s unwillingness to turn back to Him. The consequence is Israel will be given over to Assyria (v. 5). Yet God still speaks of a time of restoration when His people will return to Him, and He will receive them with compassion and He will settle them in their houses (v. 11). Though His discipline is firm and righteous, the fatherly nature of God is never shaken and His heart to love Israel as His son is lasting.
Take time today to sit under the kindness of God and in the arms of His love.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, how awesome it is that I can call you “Father.” Indeed, you are my loving Father and I am your son/daughter through the work of Jesus on the cross. Help me to daily draw near to You, depend on You, and follow You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
*“Ephraim” in Hosea is interchangeable with the name “Israel.”
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