A Sermon on Hosea 6:1-6, 11:1-9
Who
knows anything about Hosea (the book or the prophet)?
Hosea
is a prophet in the Northern Kingdom, probably just a little more than seven
hundred years before Jesus is born. The Northern Kingdom of Israel, remember,
has more money, more tribes and more power, but it doesn’t have the Davidic
line (the line of kings descending from David). During the time of Hosea’s
prophecies, the Assyrians will come and conquer the Northern Kingdom and carry
them off into exile.
One
of the reasons we don’t get a whole lot of Hosea is because the book can cause
a lot of indigestion. There are two main metaphors in the book: a husband/wife
metaphor and a parent/child metaphor.
In
that first one, the husband/wife metaphor, God is the faithful husband and
Israel is the unfaithful wife, deserving of punishment- possibly death. While
we can understand a metaphor of idolatry as adultery, we don’t always think
about the fact that in ancient Israel, there wasn’t really any such thing as an
unfaithful husband. Men controlled money, land, power and women’s lives. When
we try to bring the metaphor forward into modern times, the language of
faithfulness and unfaithfulness stands, but not the husband and wife language,
which can get in the way of what prophet is using the metaphor to express.
How
were the Israelites unfaithful? They didn’t honor their covenant with God, the
God who had brought them out of Egypt and sustained them. By the time of Hosea,
Israel had little religious cults that worshipped the Caananite ba’als. A
significant portion of this worship involved fertility ceremonies- sacrifices,
worship and sexual activity to ensure the fertility of the land, especially
rain, safe planting and plentiful harvest.
We
know that the Israelites should have trusted God to provide these things, but
in an arid, desert climate- we can have a little sympathy for people who tried
to hedge their bets so that they could have enough food.
After
all, how many of us have ever said, “Knock on wood” or thrown some salt over
our shoulder? Did we really think that would do anything? Then why do we do it?
It’s something we’ve heard about and we think it can’t hurt to do it.
Technically, if we trust God for and in all things, we don’t need little
rituals like that. Furthermore, we shouldn’t
perform little rituals like that. Same for the Israelites, but on a bigger
scale.
Before
I talk about the parent/child metaphor, I’d like to ask how many of you are
afraid of God? I know we talk a strong and long line about God’s grace and
mercy, but in the end how many of us still worry about God’s anger?
Here’s
the thing, though. If we were going to be afraid of God, we shouldn’t be afraid
of God because of who God is. We should be afraid because of who we are. We are
to fear, love and trust God, but all of those emotions stem from knowledge that
goes two ways… knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves.
Lots
of times, children get grouchy about the punishment their parents dole out, but
there is a way to avoid punishment. What would that be? (Don’t do it in the
first place.) This is the heart of the parent/child metaphor of Hosea. Israel
deserves punishment for violating, for forgetting, for abandoning the rules of
the covenant between them and God. God is tempted to wipe them off the map.
What
stops God from doing this? Not a sense that the punishment would be too harsh,
but the love that God has for them. Listen to those verses again:
1 “When Israel was a child, I
loved him,
and
out of Egypt I called my son.
2
But the more they were called,
the
more they went away from me.
They
sacrificed to the Baals
and
they burned incense to images.
3
It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking
them by the arms;
but
they did not realize
it
was I who healed them.
4 I
led them with cords of human kindness,
with
ties of love.
To
them I was like one who lifts
a
little child to the cheek,
and
I bent down to feed them.
5
“Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because
they refuse to repent?
6 A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour
their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are
determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by
no means exalt them.
8
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I
treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed
within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce
anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the
Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
I was to them like those who
lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
What
did I say before? If we were going to be afraid of God, we shouldn’t be afraid
of God because of who God is. We should be afraid because of who we are. We are
to fear, love and trust God, but all of those emotions stem from knowledge that
goes two ways… knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves.
Even
though we don’t like to admit it, we know ourselves. We, like sheep, have gone
astray and we will again. We could knock wood after each confession and
assurance of forgiveness, to hope that we won’t need it again, but we know we
will.
So
we need the knowledge of God to bring us comfort. We are afraid because we know
the judgment we deserve, but we trust in God’s goodness and mercy because of
who God is and because of God’s compassion toward all creation. In the Hebrew
Bible, knowledge isn’t only intellectual- head stuff. It’s in your gut, in your
heart, in your body. Knowledge is knowing AND doing. Acting on knowledge brings
relationship. God acts on God’s knowledge of creation and keeps God in
relationship with all creation, because God will not break his end of the
covenant.
We
have to act on our knowledge of God. And this is what Hosea tries to impart to
the Israelites (and to us) through his metaphors. God is the Holy Parent,
bringing people into the world to share in creative love. As a parent teaches,
so God gives us the Spirit to instruct us, shape us and help us become the
people God means for us to be. God is a patient parent, who will allow
mistakes, forgives them and knows there will be more. God’s love is
unconditional, more so than even the best parents among us. God’s love heals us, bringing wholeness
and peace.
I
led them with cords of human kindness,
with
ties of love.
To
them I was like one who lifts
a
little child to the cheek,
and
I bent down to feed them.
God’s
parental love always leaves the light of faith shining for us, drawing us back
home. Amen.
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