Understanding

4 Yet I have been the LORD your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know any god except Me,
For there is no savior besides Me. 5 I cared for you in the wilderness,
In the land of drought.

                                                    Hosea 13:4-5 (NASB)

 

I've been thinking lately about understanding.  I've also been reading in Hosea a lot these days.  I don't know the attraction to this book, but I find myself reading it often.  Possibly, it's the fact that God spends so much time telling Israel "it doesn't matter that you've prostituted yourself out for all of this time if you just return to Me."  It's such an amazing offer, really.  I think that's why I went so instinctively back to this prophet's writings when I wanted to meditate upon this whole idea.

 

I was struck very deeply by the two verses above.  In 4, the LORD states a clear reminder of who He has been to Israel, and why His very nature demands their (and our) exclusive worship.  In a simple statement that I very nearly overlooked, Hosea details a much more personal reason to show the LORD our affection.  He cared for them -- in the wilderness.  I've looked through the few dictionaries, commentarties, etc that I have down here, to see what "cared" means.  A few of the words are "knew", "fed", "acknowledge", "approved", "loved".  God was interested in these people.  Farthest from His mind was that they be neglected or left to fend for themselves.

 

Not only did God invest in these people, He did so in some of the harshest contitions conceivable.  He loved Israel when they were hot, lost, cranky, homeless, parched, unsure, unsettled, unhinged, and altogether unlovely.  His depth of love reaches far deeper than my mind can venture.  He loved Israel then, and here He is, making His plea once again: "I cared for you in the wilderness"  Walk away from your undoing, and run back to ME -- I love you, and don't want to place this condemnation on you!

 

They didn't listen, and they fell.  God didn't give up on Israel though.  He soon sent His Redeemer and Son, knowing it to be the only way.  God's hand is ever extended to those who want Him.  I want desperately to understand why Israel wouldn't let go of their Baal's, why we act exactly like them in the face of the same offer, and why God keeps telling us "come", when we so plainly don't deserve it.  I admit, I cannot.  Father, how thankful I am that I don't have to understand though -- just accept.

 

-Holly