Quickened or Deceived

“And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.” (Hosea 12:12)

Hosea the prophet was recalling Jacob who fled his home after his conflict with his brother Esau. He worked keeping Laban’s (his uncle) sheep seven years for Rachel. But he was tricked and was married to Leah instead. He worked seven more years to marry Rachel. In this Scripture Hosea uses the name Jacob who fled his home. But he uses the name Isael for the name the Lord gave him when Jacob wrestled with the Lord and changed his name to Israel, meaning “strives for God.” It was Jacob that left his home. It was Israel who served Laban, caring for his sheep, to marry Rachel.

After Hosea gives us this tidbit of history, he recalls how the Lord delivered Israel from Egypt by a prophet and preserved him by a prophet in the following verse.  Why is Hosea recalling these incidents?  This is part of Hosea’s prophecy of the indictment of Israel and Judah. In his prophecy, Hosea is saying Israel was nothing. He fled his home because he was afraid of his brother’s wrath when Jacob deceived him and Isaac and stole his birthright and his inheritance by deception. And when he found family in Syria, his own uncle deceived him, married his older daughter Leah to him instead of Rachel and tried to cheat him in other ways of his wages for caring for the sheep. And the Israelites were slaves, unable to rescue themselves from their predicament in Egypt.  

What Hosea is saying is that they were nothing but deceivers and helpless people who came from deceivers and helpless people. They were nothing without the help of the Lord and yet they provoked the Lord God to wrath by their idolatry. They abandoned the Lord God Who helped them and made them a mighty nation to worship other gods which were not gods. This is a picture of us before we came to the Lord. And this is a picture of them who turn from the Lord.

Paul writes, “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:1-3) Why should we esteem one over the other? Why should we even consider ourselves anything? They as we were nothing but sinners unable to rescue ourselves from the grab hold the devil had on us. We all were in the darkness of sin and needed Jesus our Savior to rescue us from the darkness and misery of being apart from the Lord, apart from peace, love, joy and life without knowledge, understanding and wisdom. We were dead in our sin. (Ephesians 2:1) Peter writes about our former life without Christ. “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:” (1Peter 4:3). So, we have nothing to brag about, nothing to exalt ourselves about and nothing to be proud of except of the mighty and loving hand of the Lord who rescued us from the misery of our own will.

The lesson for us is realizing that we were nothing and can do nothing. Without the Lord we are nothing and can do nothing. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” (John 15:4) 

There are some who have deceived themselves into believing they belong to Christ. They say they are Christians, believers and children of God, but their actions betray them. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” (1John 2:4-6) The Lord said that by their fruit we would know if they are a good tree or a corrupt tree. (Matthew 7:16-20) They are like Ephraim that Hosea mentioned. They have abandoned the Lord and will reap the wrath of God. At the moment we live in a time of grace. God is patient, waiting for them to repent. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2Peter 3:9) But if they should die without repenting or if the Lord should come before they repent, they will receive the consequences of their sin. God has reserved a day of wrath for those who hate Him. “Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;” (Romans 2:4-9)

In our Scripture of study, we learn how the incidents of the Old Testament are examples and lessons. We all came from nothing... but God. God’s love and mercy was shown to the Israelites and was shone and is shone to us. The Israelites turned away from God and incurred the wrath of God. How much more those of us who trample the blood of the Lamb underfoot disregarding His great love, mercy and wonderous life He wants for us?