Hosea 11

Tonight I read Hosea 11. In order to understand this post you really must read the whole chapter. In the beginning God talks about how he raised Israel as a child and taught him how to walk. However, Israel turned away from Him like a rebellious youth, deliberately doing the opposite of what God commanded. Furthermore, Israel lied to God and about God, pretending to love Him while really killing his prophets and worshiping the ridiculous idols that they borrowed from the neighbors. They persisted in slandering God, causing Him profound pain and dishonor.

God knows that they must be punished, that great judgement is due. But in verse 8 He says "My heart is turned over within Me, all of my compassions are kindled." It is not that God is weak. On the contrary, He is so angry that if He were subject to his emotions like a man He would act out in His rage and destroy Israel completely (v9). But God is also grieved.

Human parents often say, when they discipline a child, "this hurts me more than it hurts you." And it is true, though the child doesn't believe it. Imagine if you had to discipline all of your children at the same time. Imagine that you had a million children, each of whom you loved as if he or she were your only child, and you had to discipline all of them. Each one. Can you imagine the misery? And what if, in addition to being their father, you also had to be the judge, and they had just stolen? Committed adultery? Murdered someone? What then? We have no way of imagining the sorrow of God when His people sin.

A God-sized wrath combined with a God-sized sorrow produces a God-sized mercy made possible by a God-sized sacrifice that satisfies divine justice.