Faithfully Cared For By God

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” Hosea 11:1

Hosea 11:1 is quoted in Matthew 2:15 after an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. He was told to take the Child and the mother and flee to Egypt because Herod would seek to destroy the child. So thus, God called His son out of Egypt referring to Christ.

The removal from Egypt symbolizes redemption. The people of Moses were slaves. They had to do the will of human masters until the Lord broke their bonds and brought them to a land of their own. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. He sets us free from sin and brings us to the heavenly Promised Land.

His call out of Egypt fulfills the Hosea 11:1 prophecy about Messiah. It also symbolizes His identification with His people Israel.

“I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.” Hosea 11:3-4

Ephraim was the largest of the northern tribes. So, sometimes, God refers to northern part of Israel as Ephraim. God took Ephraim into His arms. He did not force Ephraim into a relationship with Him using a whip as a slave master might do. He removed the yoke that others placed on him. He wooed Ephraim with gentle cords and bands of love. He stooped down to his level and fed him. The imagery here is of a loving father tenderly caring for his son. Ephraim did not know that God healed him. So often it is this way with God. He heals us without fanfare. Thus, we might miss it, and fail, like Ephraim did, to thank God and give Him glory!

“He shall not return to the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to repent. And the sword shall slash in his cities, devour his districts, and consume them, because of their own counsels. My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him.” Hosea 11:5-7

Deceived by their rebellion against their loving Father, the people wanted to return the place of bondage and abuse (Egypt) for safety from Assyria, but that was not going to happen. Assyria would attack, destroy their cities and consume them. So often it is this way with rebellion. We have in mind how things will work out for us, but when we distance ourselves from God, things rarely end well for us.

Preacher Adrian Rogers once said, “Sin will take you further than you want to go, it’ll take you longer than you want to stay, and it will cost you more than you want to pay.”

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me. My sympathy is stirred. I will not execute the fierceness of My anger. I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror.” Hosea 11:8-9

How could God let Ephraim become like the cities of Admah and Zeboiim? Genesis 19:28–29 indicates that more cities than just Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed... “when God destroyed the cities of the plain.” In Deuteronomy 29:23, God warned Israel that if they did not follow Him, the land would suffer punishment as did Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, “which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.”

The people of Ephraim had been given more extensive revelations about God than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ephraim had the law of Moses. They had prophets of God speaking to them, yet they chose to stray far from God’s ways. Yet, the Lord confessed to the people of Ephraim, “My heart churns within Me. My sympathy is stirred.” God would preserve them even in the land of their enemies. He was the Holy One in their midst. He would go with them.

“Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God, even with the Holy One who is faithful.” Hosea 11:12

Judah did not go into captivity at the same time as Israel did. In 2 Kings 19, when the Assyrian army surrounded Judah’s capital city, King Hezekiah and his people prayed to the Lord. The Lord heard their prayer. One of God’s angels slew 185,000 enemy soldiers. Ephraim’s capital city of Samaria looked to golden calf idols when Assyria’s army surrounded them. No rescue came.

“Ephraim feeds on the wind and pursues the east wind. He daily increases lies and desolation. Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried to Egypt.” Hosea 12:1

In the Old Testament, the “east wind” is symbolic of destruction. The east wind is associated with drought, scorching heat, and enemy attacks. When we turn from God, we turn to Satan by default. Satan offers his buyers the world, but ultimately destroys them. Self-destructive tendencies are a sign of Satan at work in one’s life. Ephraim pursued destruction. They made covenants with Assyria and Egypt who eventually betrayed them.

“The Lord also brings a charge against Judah and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us—that is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable Name. So you, by the help of your God, return! Observe mercy and justice and wait on your God continually.” Hosea 12:2-6

Jacob was a twin. In Genesis 25:25-27, Esau, his brother, was born first, but Jacob grabbed Esau’s heel in an effort to be born first. Thus, he was named Jacob which means “heel grabber” or supplanter. Jacob resorted to cunningly devised plans to take his brother’s blessings from him. He deceived his brother out of his birthright and his father’s blessing.

In Genesis 32:22–32, when Jacob met an angel, he refused to let the angel go unless the angel blessed him. This is when God changed Jacob’s name to Israel which means “one who struggles with God.”

The Lord urged Judah to look to the Lord, saying, “The Lord is His memorable Name. By the help of your God, return! Observe mercy and justice and wait on your God continually.”

“Ephraim said, ‘Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that is sin.’ But I am the Lord your God, ever since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed feast. I have also spoken by the prophets and have multiplied visions. I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets. Though Gilead has idols—surely they are vanity—though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.” Hosea 12:8-11

Ephraim assumed that their financial prosperity meant that there was no sin in them. They equated worldly success as favor with God. In Revelation 3:17-19, the Lord said to church people in Laodicea, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked – I counsel you... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”

James 2:1-7 says, “My brothers, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or ‘Sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”

Ephraim’s greatest treasure was God. He was speaking to them via prophets and visions. “I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.” His prophets did object lessons for them to demonstrate what was going to happen to them. Sadly, they bet their money on idols that never helped them to turn the proverbial corner onto easy street. God promised to plow their idols under.

“Jacob fled to the country of Syria. Israel served for a spouse. For a wife he tended sheep.” Hosea 12:12

Jacob’s cunningly devised plan to steal from his brother resulted in him having to flee from his homeland lest his brother kill him. This was like Adam and Eve having to leave Eden due to sin. It was like Israel being exiled to Assyria. They should have trusted in God and remained faithful to Him. Thankfully, God in His grace, made their plan B into a part of His plan A for them.

“By a prophet, the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved. Ephraim provoked Him to anger most bitterly. Therefore, his Lord will leave the guilt of his bloodshed upon him and return his reproach upon him.” Hosea 12:13-14

Ephraim refused to listen to God’s prophetic words. They did not believe in atoning sacrifices that were made with bulls and sheep to blot out their sins. They did not believe that the One who created them knew what was best for them. They provoked God to anger with their unbelief. Hebrew 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him [God], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

In Acts 26:27-29, Paul asked King Agrippa, “Do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.” Paul preferred to appear a fool than to fail to preach Christ as all the prophets did before him.

God spoke to Ephraim via His servant Hosea. Ephraim ignored him. They gave God a bad reputation by touting themselves to be His people while living contrary to Him. The only cure for their hard hearts was hard circumstances. As much as God deeply yearned to protect, help, and bless them, He needed to let them suffer the consequences of their bad choices so that they would be set free from their sinful bondages. They needed to give God control of their lives so He could help them to soar from rock bottom to the highest of heights.

John 1:11-13 says of Jesus, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” The greatest blessing is to be a child of God. He faithfully takes care of His own.