[O Israel] say to [the LORD]…
“Assyria cannot save us;
We will not mount war-horses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
To what our own hands have made…”
“I will heal their waywardness
And love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
He will send down his roots;
His young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
His fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
Men will dwell again in his shade.
{Cedars of Lebanon are not only majestic, they have a deep root system to survive the rocky terrain in which they inhabit.
Heights of splendor, deep roots, an immovable force. Much like His Church}
He will flourish like the grain.
He will blossom like a vine,
And his fame will be like the
Wine from Lebanon.
O, Ephraim, what more have I to
Do with idols?
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a green pine tree;
Your fruitfulness comes from Me.” (3-8 NIV)
We’ve traveled so far with Hosea. I may forever wonder how his personal story with Gomer turned out. Or what happened to Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi. How their family weathered the trials of being a human illustration of God’s love and judgement.
What Hosea preached during these 38 years could not have been warmly received by his contemporaries. And what he saw come to pass in his lifetime was a tragedy. But from the beginning, God made sure to have him point the Israelites to what will come.
The same is true for us. These are the Shadowlands. And we will never find in the now what can only be fulfilled in the future.
But, oh. What a future it will be.