As Hosea’s unfaithful wife broke his heart, so unfaithful Israel broke God’s heart. Lukewarm Christians break His heart today. Amid rebukes and prophecies of doom, God made it crystal-clear to His people how deeply He loved them and longed for their return to Him.
“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness . . . as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its season” (Hosea 9:10). Picture yourself in the hot, dry, dusty desert. You are parched, thirsty, hungry, and just plain miserable. Suddenly you see them! Clusters of ripe grapes hang from the vine, and sweet, tender figs adorn the branches of a young tree. Delicious! That’s how God felt when He rescued Israel from Egyptian slavery and made a covenant with them at Mt. Sinai. What a delight Israel was to Him!
Sad to say, they began disappointing Him almost immediately. Even during the wilderness wandering they frequently resorted to idolatry and fornication. By Hosea’s time (about seven centuries later), Israel had become so corrupt that God was about to send them into captivity in Assyria. Hosea used another simile to describe the wayward nation. “For Israel is stubborn like a stubborn calf” (4:16). Stubborn calves plant their hooves in the ground and will not be led! (Do I hear any 4H or FFA folks who identify with this?) Or yoke a stubborn calf to a cart; he may just refuse to pull!
Israel stubbornly refused to be led by God’s law. They rejected the yoke of service God placed upon them. When the Lord sent His prophets to call them to repentance, Israel refused to heed them.
Do you know people who balk at the leading of God’s word? Before we point too many fingers, let’s look in the mirror. Beloved, let us not be like the stubborn calf!
Next week we’ll look at some more similes Hosea used to describe Israel. They, too, will apply to us in the church
–Joe Slater
