Hosea 11 starts off telling us how God first loved the nation of Israel. He called Israel out of Egypt and adopted Israel as his son. He then loved him in the way a good parent - he fed him, protected him, guided him. Israel responded by rejecting God. They become the stereotypical punk kid - completely ungrateful to their Father and self-absorbed.
Rightfully Israel should face the full consequences of their rebellion and be completely wiped out. But God decides that he won't do this, for his heart still burns with compassion for his wayward kid (Hosea 11:8). How could this be possible? It's because God is "God and not a man" (Hosea 11:9). He is the "Holy One" (v.9). This means that God alone is God. There is no other like him. He is separate, unique, distinct, above us and beyond us, infinite, perfect, pure.
God chooses to show holy love towards Israel as opposed to the holy wrath they should have gotten from him. He does this not because of anything they have done; he does this entirely based on who he is - a holy God who can do as he wants so that ultimately he gets the praise and glory.
How then will the sin of Israel be dealt with so that God, the Holy One, can still be who is and yet also be in relationship with such a sinful people. We find out several centuries later, in person of the one true Son of God, Jesus. Unlike the adopted son Israel, Jesus remains perfectly faithful and obedient to God. He obeys the Father to the point of giving up his life on the cross. And it is on the cross that sin is dealt with and holy wrath and justice are satisfied. It is now through Jesus that the way is opened up so that all sinners can be brought into relationship with the Father.
For really, all humanity is like Israel in that we all have acted like punks towards God. We depend on our religious spirituality (acting like the punk kid who says to his dad, "I can make it on my own I don't need you"). Or we depend on excuses for why we sin or why our sin really isn't sin (acting like the punk kid who always says, "I'm a victim, it's not my fault").
The audacity of the gospel is that God still graciously chooses to love us in spite of "punkish" ourselves (Eph 1:4-6). Because of God's love towards us in Jesus, we can now, through faith in Jesus, experience God's grace and compassion. We are forgiven of our sins, made new, and adopted as full sons and daughters of God. We now live in this love, which God calls us to display to the rest of our world so that others might also believe in Jesus and know God's love in their lives (cf 1 Thess 3:11-13).
Let's think further about this holy uncommon love of God. What does it mean to you personally that God is a holy God, and then that he graciously choose to show love towards you in Jesus Christ? What are some practical ways each of us in the coming weeks can display this holy uncommon love to those around us who have yet to personally experience it? What are some practical ways we as a church community can display this holy uncommon love to our city?
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