"As He says also in Hosea, I WILL CALL THEM MY PEOPLE WHICH WERE NOT MY PEOPLE AND HER BELOVED WHICH WAS NOT BELOVED. AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID UNTO THEM YE ARE NOT MY PEOPLE THERE SHALL THEY BE CALLED THE CHILDREN OF THE LIVING GOD. Isaiah also cries concerning Israel THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BE AS THE SAND OF THE SEA, A REMNANT SHALL BE SAVED; FOR HE WILL FINISH THE WORK, AND CUT IT SHORT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; BECAUSE A SHORT WORK WILL THE LORD MAKE UPON THE EARTH. And as Isaiah said before EXCEPT THE LORD OF SABAOTH HAD LEFT US A SEED, WE HAD BEEN AS SODOM, AND BEEN MADE LIKE UNTO GOMORRAH."
So Paul reaches the climax of his argument on the sovereignty of God, in connection with the nation of Israel. His final picture that God is the potter and we are the clay, proclaims forever that God is able to do with His creatures whatever He chooses; but what He chooses is in perfect accord with His own benign character, balanced by His eternal hatred of sin. The reality of things is best summed up in the words of others "ours is not reason why, ours is but to do or die."
The three quotations above are from the prophets Hosea and Isaiah who were contemporary prophets and who predicted a similar message concerning Israel. Isaiah had two children in a normal marriage, Hosea had three children in an abnormal marriage. The meaning of the names and the subsequent history of these children coloured their ministry and their predictions dovetailed to present, firstly, the discipline and ultimate rejection of Israel by God, because of their sins; and their final restoration by the power of God in a glorious future. The message is the same from both prophets, who prophesied for God in a period that represented the best of conditions, but found the nation of Israel in a state of spiritual adultery, seeking and worshipping other gods. The message is that, even under the best of conditions, human beings will stray from heart devotion to the living God. God asked Hosea to marry "a wife of whoredoms." God wanted his prophets to feel as He felt in the matter of unrequited love. Hosea was called to suffer God's pain, and even this would only be a feeble hurt compared to the hurt in the heart of God. Three children were born in this abnormal relationship LO-RUHAMAH, meaning not having obtained mercy; LO-AMMI, meaning not my people; JEZREEL, meaning, will be sown of God. The message is clear because of their spiritual adultery, God would withdraw His mercy from Israel; Israel would loose their relationship with God for a time but ultimately in Jezreel He would bring them back. Jezreel represents a valley between Mount Carmel in the west and the river Jordan in the east; historically, this piece of land became associated with acts of violence and bloodshed and will be so associated in the future, because there will take place the battle of Armageddon. In Hosea 1v11 Gods says "great shall be the day of Jezreel", when God will finally deal with all His enemies and restore His people Israel to Himself.
The two children born to Isaiah the prophet are to be found in the narrative of Isaiah chapter 7&8; firstly, SHEAR-JASHUB, meaning "the remnant shall return"; secondly, MAHER-SHALAL-HASHBAZ, meaning "in making haste to the spoil He hasteneth the prey." So the message of Isaiah's two sons is that they are not to be too hasty but the promise is sure that the remnant will return.
Despite Israel's waywardness and spiritual adultery, all through their history, God has, (and will to the end) preserved a remnant who are the true Israel that He described back in verse 6. The conclusion of this story is that God's plans have not gone off course, but will be fulfilled and the true remnant of Israel will be saved; in the meantime great blessing will come to all the nations of the earth.
In choosing the nation of Israel for blessings in the purposes of God, God was taking a sample of humanity to prove the character of the whole. Thus the sovereign dealings of God will be the same for all of us and instead of questioning God and mistrusting Him, we need to worship Him as Lord, as we were all created to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment