Day Twenty-Three
The season of Lent provides us a special opportunity to understand the heart of God for his wandering children in a richer and deeper way. Spending an intentional 40 days thinking about the cross of Christ and the depth of his sacrifice reminds us just how loved we are, because we see what lengths God went to in order to draw us back to himself.
It’s a common misconception to think that this picture of God’s heart, with all of its tenderness and longing for a wayward people, is a uniquely New Testament image. It is not. It is the same heart that we find yearning for the return of his people Israel, prone to wander off in hopeless pursuit of idols despite all God had done for them.
Nowhere is this more powerfully demonstrated than in the story of the prophet Hosea. Called by God to speak out against the nation’s idolatry, Hosea is also called to live out a very striking image of God’s love and Israel’s unfaithfulness in his marriage to a woman named Gomer. Her adultery and Hosea’s faithful attempts to bring her out of her sin both provide a living parable of our relationship with God. Just as Gomer is prone to return to her life of prostitution, so we are also prone to sell ourselves to false idols and godless pursuits…and yet God does not give up on us. Time again, just as Hosea with Gomer, God comes to us in our sin and our unrighteousness and calls us back to himself.
In Hosea 3, Gomer has been sold into servitude, but God calls Hosea to redeem her. With 15 shekels of silver and 5 bushels of barley, Hosea pays the price of her enslavement and brings her home. This is a picture for us of God’s eventual redemption through Christ, who paid the price of our enslavement with his own precious blood. That is how much we are loved.
The anger of God towards sin and idolatry is evident in the book of Hosea, but his anger towards sin is countered by an even more powerful love for his people. In Hosea 11, God says this to his people:
“‘Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?
How can I let you go?
How can I destroy you like Admah
or demolish you like Zeboiim?
My heart is torn within me,
and my compassion overflows.
No, I will not unleash my fierce anger.
I will not completely destroy Israel,
for I am God and not a mere mortal.
I am the Holy One living among you,
and I will not come to destroy.
For someday the people will follow me.
I, the Lord, will roar like a lion.
And when I roar,
my people will return trembling from the west.
Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.
Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.
And I will bring them home again,’
says the Lord.”—Hosea 11:8-11 (NLT)
These are the words God would speak to your heart and mine: “How can I give you up? How can I let you go?” No matter how often we wander into sin and idolatrous behavior, God stands ready to forgive. His love his constant. He has paid the price for our redemption, and calls us back to his heart.
How will we respond?
Come back to me with all your heart
Don’t let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend though straight and tall,
So must we to others’ call.
Long have I waited for your coming
Home to me and living deeply our new life.
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) What has this Lenten journey been teaching you about the heart of God? Are there areas in your life where you’ve wandered, and where he is calling you back to himself? Spend some time in prayer confessing your sin and receiving anew the love that calls out to you even in the midst of it.
2) One author called the book of Hosea a glimpse into “The Incredible Scandal of God’s Perfect Love.” How do you respond to the idea that God’s love is “scandalous?” How might God be calling you to embrace that way of looking at his love?
3) Have you ever been tempted to think that God has given up on you? What is helpful for you in resisting that urge? How can you immerse yourself even more deeply in the truth that he is always ready to welcome us back from our wanderings?
4) The song for today includes these words:
The wilderness will lead you.
To your heart where I will speak.
Integrity and justice with tenderness
You shall know.
How do our wilderness experiences lead us to a place where God speaks? How have you experienced that in your own life?
5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love”—John 15:19 (ESV)