October 1927
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
652
forth his roots as Lebanon." Dew, in many countries, is a great blessing to the vegetation, especially in dry seasons. What the dew is to the vegetation, God will be to Israel. Being thus revived by the Lord, Israel in turn shall become as dew from the Lord to many nations (Mic. 5:7). The promise of vigor and power contained in the latter part of the verse is set forth beautifully in Psa 92: 12-15 (cf. Psa. 1:3). Vs. 6-7. These verges contain an en largement on verse 5. V. 8. . “Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?" Having seen his mistake, Ephraim will turn to God with all of his heart. God then regards him and causes him to flourish and to bear fruit. God’s Wonderful Love Hosea 11:1-4, 8, 9; 14:4-8. Memory Verse : “He loved us and sent His Son.” 1 John 4:10. Approach : A gentleman who was an artist went hunting. He had a good opportunity to shoot at a flock of geese riding at ease on a lake, but instead he Lesson Story: Often we have some work to do that we do not enjoy very much, but if it is right, we, like Amos, will go forth and do whatever is ■our duty. Amos was faithful and told the people of Israel all the words that God had spoken to him. Oh, boys and girls, just see how God loves His people, and how it hurts Him when they sin against Him and wander away. After the loving message God sent through Amos, plead ing with the people to come back and worship Him, they continue in their wicked way. Yet the loving heavenly Father does not give them up but sends another prophet to them, by the name of Hosea. Now, Hosea lived in Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, a great pleasure-loving city. He had a fine house to live in and money and education, but there was trouble in his home, for his wife was not good to him. Her heart was full of sin. Now, Hosea loved his wife and brought her back home after she ran away, and hav ing this- great sorrow in his own home helped him to understand better how it grieved the heart of God when His peo ple Israel, whom he loved, ran away from Him, and cared more for riches and pleasure than for Him. Through Hosea God again tells how He loved Israel and how He had cared for them and blessed them, and saved them from the wicked nations round about them, and that Israel did not know how much God loved them. While God warned His people of their sin, and that He would punish them, yet over and over He pours out His love to them, and promises to forgive them if they will come back to Him and turn away from . sin: We could never forget the dear dropped his gun and looked at the scene through the rushes until the geese flew away. T h e n he w e n t h o me and p a i n t e d a mo s t beautiful picture of the lake, the geese, and the wonderful s u n s e t scene. As the artist sees things with an artist’s eye, so God ’sees all with an eye of love. —Arnold’s Com.
requires Him to "punish even His most faithful children, but He will in no wise leave nor forsake them (1 Pet. 4 :lf). In the latter part of this verse God states that He is “God and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee." Man nurses anger and hate; God does not. Man, unregenerated, is unforgiving; God is abundant in loving-kindness and for giveness. Furthermore, He promises to return “not in wrath.” When Jesus re turns to earth again the day of^vengeance will be in His heart against His enemies, the God-defying world (Isa. 63 :1-6) ; but this indignation-will not be against Israel, for they will see their error and in gen uine repentance return to Him with a confession of their failure (Jer. 3:19-25; Isa. 53:1-9; Zech. 12:10-14). He .will come and dwell “in the midst of thee" (Zech. 2:10). In 14:1 the prophet declares to Israel that their sins were the occasion of their fall, and urges them to return to God with a humblgilconfession found in verses 2 and 3. V. 4. “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely;' for mine anger is turned away from him." As noted in the comment on 11:9, Israel will come with a penitent heart and contrite spirit confessing their sin; then God will heal their backsliding and restore them to their favored position. V. 5. “I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast
them up is vividly portrayed in the de parture of the glory of God from the temple (Ezek. 10:11). It was God’s pure parental love which caused Him to punish them for their sin and to give them up for the time being. “In all their afflic tion He was afflicted" As a parent suf fers when his children are in distress, thus the great heart of God is rent, so to speak, when even the least of His chil dren pass through suffering. Though God has given Israel up for the time being, they are still “beloved for the fathers’ sake" (Rom. 11:28). Mothers may forsake their babes but God will never forsake Israel (Isa. 49;15, 16). “How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as Zebaim?" These peo ples referred to here were destroyed in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. The use of the rhetorical question is equal to God’s affirming that His love would not permit His blotting out the nation. V. 9. “I will not execute the fierceness o f mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim : for I am God, and not man : the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not come in wrath.” His love al lowed Him to punish them only in meas ure-—just enough to correct them, which is the real object of all true chastisement (Psa. 30:5). God “will not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in measure and will in no wise leave thee unpunished" (Jer. 30:11). God’s love
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