“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” (Hosea 11:1-4)
This is beautiful and horrifying all at once.
Beautiful: God declares his fatherly love for Israel. He notes that He called them out of Egypt, clearly referencing the Exodus.
Horrifying: The more He called them, the more they went away, chasing their idols.
Beautiful: God says He taught them to walk. He took them up by their arms.
Horrifying: “But they did not know that I healed them.”
Again, I find it easy to look at ancient Israel with a critical eye. The criticism is well deserved. I find it more difficult to look in the mirror to see my own sin. How often do I fail (or refuse) to recognize God’s kindness to me? How often do I chase my own path, seemingly running furiously away from God’s call on me? Far too often!
Father, help me to stop, look, and listen to you. Amen.
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