Divine love operated in the life of Israel from the very beginning. He re deemed them from bondage in Egypt ( I ) . This verse is used in the New Testament in connection with the birth of Christ (Matt. 2:15). As God once called out of Egypt His beloved son, Israel, so also in the fullness of time He called from Egypt into the Holy Land “ the One who in His own person summed up the People of God” (Pilcher). In spite of God’s bringing His people out of bondage in Egypt they turned away in contempt (2). Verse 3 shows how God taught His people how to walk as a parent does an infant. Yet they did not appreciate His ministries unto them. Verse 4 suggests all the loving methods God used in seeking to bring His people close to Himself. In the latter part of the verse the imagery is of the husband man who occasionally loosens the straps under the jaws by which the yoke-is bound to the neck of the oxen, and lays food before them to eat. In a thousand ways God had acted mercifully toward His people. The Reluctance of God’s Love Hosea 11:8-11 God can scarcely bring Himself to cast off His people. He cannot judge them as He did others, as Admah and Zeboim which He completely and finally overthrew along with Sodom and Gomor rah (Deut. 29:23). And though He is compelled to bring chastisement upon them and permit them to be taken into captivity, yet there will come a time when they again shall inhabit the land (I I ) and divine love will be manifested in boundless measure to these whom He has chosen. The Healing Power of God’s Love Hosea 14:4-9 The thought of this passage is summed up in verse 5: “ I will be as the dew unto Israel.” The restoring power of the dew in a land like Palestine is remarkable. From April to October there is scarcely any rain in that land. Were it not for the dew all vegetation would perish. But in that land with its cool nights every night during the dry season the dew is heavy bringing restoration to parched vegeta tion. How like the love of God! It re fuses to let His people go. It heals their backslidings. And God is always like this. Don’t spurn such love. Helps for the Children Hosea Tells About God’s Love Hosea 14:1-9 Memory Verse: (God said) “ I will love them freely” (Hosea 14:4). After Hosea had redeemed his wife from the slave market, God made him to realize how like his wife were the Jewish people in their relationship to their God. To Hosea was given the task of showing their sins and begging them to return to God. It is always more dif ficult to tell people about their sins than it is to say something that is complimen- A P R I L , 1 9 5 0
tary to them. Hosea was merely God’s mouthpiece, bringing God’s message to His sinful people. These people had for gotten God and had commenced to wor ship idols and do many other sinful things. Hosea reminded them of God’s love that brought them out of the land of Egypt and carried them safely to the promised land. He said that God would be right in punishing them severely for their sins, but instead He loved them and yearned for them to come back to Him and to love Him and serve Him. He begs them to show their love for God again, and gives to them God’s promise that He will forgive their sins and love them freely. Perhaps one of God’s servants is en deavoring to bring you back to God, back to your place in His house and to your love for Him and for souls. Are you heeding God’s message, or are you ignoring it as did the Jews? Perhaps God would use your lips to tell someone in your family or one of your friends that their sinful life is displeasing to God. Are you willing to be His messen ger, as was Hosea? If you prayerfully speak to others .about your Lord, and remind them of His promise, “ I will love them freely,” you, too, may be used to do great things for Him. May 21, 1950 A PLEA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Micah 1:1, 2:1, 2; 3:5-12; 6:6-8 Pointers on the Lesson The prophet Micah has been called the “ commoner” of his day. He was the champion of the rights of the common people against those who wronged them politically, economically and religiously. Thus he denounced princes, prophets, merchants, all who had anything to do with crushing those dependent upon them. Micah is a very practical prophet. He stresses the fact that one’s religion ought to show itself in upright living. If such is not the case, something must be wrong. The Time of the Prophecy 1 :1 Micah was a younger contemporary of Isaiah. Both prophets preached during the dark days preceding the captivities of the northern and southern kingdoms. The reasons for the coming captivities were evident all about, and against these things the two' prophets thundered. Though Micah was from Judah, his proph ecy concerned both Judah and Sama ria and was mainly directed against the latter. It should be noted that it was “ the word of the Lord” that Micah de clared. He had no message of his own. It fe always so with God’s true messen gers. The Reason For the Prophecy 2:1,2 In these verses the reason is shown why God will judge His people (v. 3). The leaders among them had been “ de-
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