When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more they were called,
the more they went away;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals
and 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.
There is nothing more heartbreaking than pouring your heart into your child, only to have them walk away and break ties with you, denouncing you as parents. Hosea had this to say to the child of God, the nation Israel. When the nation was very young, God led them by the hand out of Egypt, away from the bondage of slavery and into covenant with him. Not more than three days after they left Egypt, they grumbled like a toddler in the back seat saying, “Are we there yet?” It would be some time due to their misbehavior. It would be forty years in the wilderness before they were there.
Even as Israel grew into a mighty kingdom, they were wild and reckless, unfaithful again to their Father. They kept looking for and finding gods they liked better than God. These gods did not make them rest on the Sabbath or care for the orphan and the sojourner. These gods let them be themselves and do what they wanted. It did not end well.
Today, so many people worship that which allows them to do what they want, namely themselves, their opinions, and their feelings. Unless someone reaches them with the Good News, it will not end well for them either. It is time for them to acknowledge who taught them to walk so…
They know who healed them.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church