It starts with the second verse of the book.
Hosea captures all the goodness and beauty God has for us - "take for yourself a wife..." In chapter two, Hosea describes a marriage "in righteousness, justice, love, mercy, and in faithfulness." And then this beautiful phrase: "On that day I will answer, says the Lord, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth; and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel; and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, "you are my people"; and he shall say, "You are my God." Marriage of heavens and earth, marriage of listening, speaking and responding, marriage of man and woman, and marriage of God and his people. You are mine. I am yours.
("Man, maybe I'd better look through the good ol' wedding photo album again. It was worth all that money.")
But that's not all that begins with the second verse. Hosea captures all the tragedy of sin in that same verse: "take for yourself a wife of whoredom." This is not really about torturing poor Hosea. Remarkably, it is about journeying alongside God. What is it like to love someone like God loves Israel?
Through this journey, what really stands out is the chiding, wooing, scoffing voice of God. He sees the backroom deals, he hears the whispers of betrayal in the bedroom, he walks with Israel through the alleyways after she's gotten her scandalous paycheck. He observes, prophecies, and quips with proverbs, ironies, and mournful dirges. He could almost walk away from the whole mess and yet he can't.
("Yeah, come to think of it, maybe I won't look at the wedding pictures. I was way too happy, trim, and optimistic back then.")
God's redeeming love cuts so deep in Hosea's work. When Paul says that God died for sinners in Romans 5:6, we can accept it as a fact. When Hosea talks about God's love for sinners, it burrows deep into our bones. In 9:9, God has had it. Israel's sin is so repulsive, so incomprehensible that it can't be undone or forgotten: "he will remember their iniquity." In 9:10, we find a deeper memory: "Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on a fig tree, in its first season, I saw your ancestors." However clearly God sees our dark hiding places and diagnoses our illnesses, he has a deeper memory. He has total childlike delight over real love and justice, like a weary traveler finding sweet grapes in the middle of the desert.
God is amazing. He is truly the best part of this whole world, being that he is creator. Hosea reminds us of the wedding album we have with God, not because the ceremony has already happened, but because it will happen. Through Christ's sacrifice, he has put heavenly life into us, making us a bride in righteousness, love, mercy, and faithfulness fit for the love of our life - God, the greatest lover of all.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Reading the Bible in 2014 - Day 208: 1 Chronicles 23-29 - Valley of Vision
The end of 1 Chronicles builds to prayer. From chapter 23, we see priests given their various duties. In chapter 25, it is the musicians. In chapter 26, gatekeepers and treasurers, officers, and judges, and in chapter 27, the military. And all these folks gather for an assembly of worship, concluding in 29:10 with David's prayer to God.
Think of the established order of local government. The mayor's office, the chief of police, the district attorney, the zoning commissions, the accountants, and don't forget social workers! Imagine them all being gathered. In theory, it would be for a purpose relevant to all of them.
For the court of David's kingdom, it is worship. From military commanders who need order in the ranks and victory at war, to the treasurer who needs money coming in to make up for money going out, what is needed is God.
But of course, things are different now. Whether in local government, business, a wing of a hospital, a classroom - we aren't quite allowed to do this today. So we aim to get as much of our worship in on Sunday, because good luck finding the space - or the time - to do it otherwise.
It is chapter 29:14-15 that unites us beyond the centuries and sociological changes to our ancestors in the faith: "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are aliens and transients before you, as were all our ancestors."
It is strange to think of our deeper heritage as being 'aliens and transients.' Don't the foreigners and immigrants only travel and work as they do so that their kids don't have to say "we are aliens and transients." It is a strange idea in our world for people to have no home except in God, no identity except in God, no business or job or money except what God gave them. But it should not be strange to God's people.
A Puritan prayer describes our home as a valley of vision: "Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights." As musicians, gatekeepers, treasurers, and warriors gather together for worship, they can see that God has made them great. But David's prayer brings them to the valley of vision: they are aliens and transients who need God.
Think of the established order of local government. The mayor's office, the chief of police, the district attorney, the zoning commissions, the accountants, and don't forget social workers! Imagine them all being gathered. In theory, it would be for a purpose relevant to all of them.
For the court of David's kingdom, it is worship. From military commanders who need order in the ranks and victory at war, to the treasurer who needs money coming in to make up for money going out, what is needed is God.
But of course, things are different now. Whether in local government, business, a wing of a hospital, a classroom - we aren't quite allowed to do this today. So we aim to get as much of our worship in on Sunday, because good luck finding the space - or the time - to do it otherwise.
It is chapter 29:14-15 that unites us beyond the centuries and sociological changes to our ancestors in the faith: "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are aliens and transients before you, as were all our ancestors."
It is strange to think of our deeper heritage as being 'aliens and transients.' Don't the foreigners and immigrants only travel and work as they do so that their kids don't have to say "we are aliens and transients." It is a strange idea in our world for people to have no home except in God, no identity except in God, no business or job or money except what God gave them. But it should not be strange to God's people.
A Puritan prayer describes our home as a valley of vision: "Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights." As musicians, gatekeepers, treasurers, and warriors gather together for worship, they can see that God has made them great. But David's prayer brings them to the valley of vision: they are aliens and transients who need God.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Reading the Bible in 2014 - Day 193: 1 Chronicles 1-8 - Counting Blessings
I recently finished Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. At an intimidating 800 pages, it took a little over a year of stolen moments and early mornings, thanks in large parts to the short chapters. Otherwise, Tolstoy tends to include so many names and places that it is easy to lose track of the basic story.
Reading the genealogies in Scripture, such as the long one found in the first 8 chapters of 1 Chronicles, can feel like an exercise in triviality. Rarely do we feel that the writer is spending less energy trying to reel us in. After all, how exciting and relevant can a list of dozens of names be?
But then what else did God promise Abraham but people...and lots of them? "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing." (Gen. 12:1-2) So Abram will become a nation. The one will become many. As this nation grew, they experienced many ups and downs. Disoriented, they would lose the trajectory of what God was doing. Remembering God's words to Abram, they could remember all the people, the great nation God had promised. They count their blessings.
Imagine the author of 1 Chronicles actually knew a story about everyone who gets listed here. Each name is a story in itself. So the list of names is not as trivial as it seems. The little stories tell the big story of the God who made the promise to Abram. Obviously, not all the people lived as though they were part of this big story. Though they are still included in the list, some of these folks were villains. One suspects they would have found genealogies especially useless. What use is a family if I live only for myself?
But for those of us who love family, family vacations, being part of a tradition, a heritage, being built up by God's promises, there is a lot here in the first eight chapters of 1 Chronicles to at least appreciate if not enjoy. Through Jesus' blood, we are part of God's family. We shouldn't lose the narrative on account of all these names because ultimately these names are the narrative. We are the narrative. Our lives, our choices, our relationships with God and others are the story. "I will make of you a great nation."
My prayer list is not terribly exciting. It is a list of names. If I showed you my list, chances are you might know one or two people, but you probably wouldn't know everybody. Sometimes, I don't even know everybody on my list. People who pray at some point become more or less comfortable lifting up names they don't know and praying for people they've never met before. United by the one who created us all, we learn to live this way, in this family.
Reading the genealogies in Scripture, such as the long one found in the first 8 chapters of 1 Chronicles, can feel like an exercise in triviality. Rarely do we feel that the writer is spending less energy trying to reel us in. After all, how exciting and relevant can a list of dozens of names be?
But then what else did God promise Abraham but people...and lots of them? "Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing." (Gen. 12:1-2) So Abram will become a nation. The one will become many. As this nation grew, they experienced many ups and downs. Disoriented, they would lose the trajectory of what God was doing. Remembering God's words to Abram, they could remember all the people, the great nation God had promised. They count their blessings.
Imagine the author of 1 Chronicles actually knew a story about everyone who gets listed here. Each name is a story in itself. So the list of names is not as trivial as it seems. The little stories tell the big story of the God who made the promise to Abram. Obviously, not all the people lived as though they were part of this big story. Though they are still included in the list, some of these folks were villains. One suspects they would have found genealogies especially useless. What use is a family if I live only for myself?
But for those of us who love family, family vacations, being part of a tradition, a heritage, being built up by God's promises, there is a lot here in the first eight chapters of 1 Chronicles to at least appreciate if not enjoy. Through Jesus' blood, we are part of God's family. We shouldn't lose the narrative on account of all these names because ultimately these names are the narrative. We are the narrative. Our lives, our choices, our relationships with God and others are the story. "I will make of you a great nation."
My prayer list is not terribly exciting. It is a list of names. If I showed you my list, chances are you might know one or two people, but you probably wouldn't know everybody. Sometimes, I don't even know everybody on my list. People who pray at some point become more or less comfortable lifting up names they don't know and praying for people they've never met before. United by the one who created us all, we learn to live this way, in this family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)