HOSEA 11
The more they were called, the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baal sand burning offerings to idols.
3 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.
4 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.5 They shall notreturn to the land of Egypt,
but Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates,
and devour them because of their own counsels.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me,
and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.
– Hosea 11:2-7
HOSEA 11 BENT ON TURNING AWAY FROM GOD
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When Adam and Eve sinned, shame haunted all humans
We began hiding from the One who made us in his image
We shifted our loyalty from our Creator to ourselves
Instead of acknowledging God, we began making idols
It is now automated for mankind to rebel against God
But in his love, God sent Jesus to free us from sin and shame
We can straighten our bent on turning away from God
We can run to the Lord Jesus to give us a new heart and mind.
It is interesting how these following verses address the human condition of rebellion. God created us for a relationship with him and sin turned that into a defiant bent. Genesis didn’t mention details about how Adam and Eve spent their days with the Lord before the serpent came to tempt them to sin. I would imagine that they were enjoying God’s presence every moment. They weren’t resistant to love. Interestingly, the book of 1 John 4 mentions God is love twice. In that same chapter, John explains the presence of fear which is when love hasn’t been perfected yet. From these revelations of the Lord to John, God clearly tells us that fear is the by-product of sin which makes us turn away from God who is love himself. Shame is the manifestation of that fear, that’s why Adam and Eve hid from God. What was the fear about? It was the fear of punishment or the consequence of the sin they have committed.
Man’s sinful nature is to turn away from God (love) and embrace fear. Humans cannot change the purpose of God for man. He made them for him. Because man began hiding from God, he has to make his own gods so that he can control the shame and live in isolation from God to prove he can be his own.
REFLECTION
- Where can you clearly see this isolation & rebellious bent in man? Cite instances.
