[TheHaircut, 2009, JAVanDevender]
Hosea 11:8 " 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.
It is an exceptional (and most likely, non-existent) parent who never gets exasperated with their children. Some children are seemingly naturally disposed to be less unruly than others. Some come out of the womb bent on trouble. But wherever each falls within that spectrum, they are never-the-less, all of them, dyed in the wool sinners and sooner or later they act like it. Parents have to deal with it on two levels: first, the natural and just energy that is needed to properly convey parental disfavor at a given wrong doing, and second, our own sinful nature which resents having to take the time, energy and attention which is needed to handle it.
Invariably, assuming the family not to be excessively dysfunctional, there is that stirring of sympathy in the heart of the parent. No matter how severe the chastening, nor how necessary and just it was, there is that heart tug that arouses us and moves us to the hug that comes sooner or later as we receive the repentant spirit with joy and the world is right again - we have been reconciled.
What a tender picture God paints in these verses. He portrays Himself in the same way as the parent of a child who has been severely disciplined and now He is longing for that restoration. How warm is His affection! How we easily we see ourselves in the imagery.
What a great and good God He is... loving and kind .... yet fierce in His righteous wrath and indignation. We treat Him like trash and He deals with us firmly... yet, amazingly, His anger is not greater than His grace but complies sweetly with it. With infinite patience He brings us back, working repentance in us so that we see our lives and our actions in their true light... as will-full disrespect, arrogance and ingratitude. But our tears are precious to Him at all times and never more so than when we come, as a child, an say... from the heart... "Father, forgive me... I am sorry."
Blessings and Blessings... even in this.
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