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Day 4 -God is the God of Israel
Hosea also uses the image of Israel as a bride and the time in the wilderness as a honeymoon. Israel turned her back on God and followed after other lovers. As said, this is a representation of idol worship. But God doesn’t leave it at that and goes after Israel Himself as a Lover! Just as at the beginning, He invites Israel back to the wilderness, the place where the first love began. God will speak to Israel’s heart to reawaken the first love. This is followed by wonderful promises about the restoration of Israel: the return to the Promised Land, the Promised Land blooming again – just as we see before our eyes today.
“Then you will call me, ‘My Husband.’”This is wordplay in Hebrew. The word ‘Baal’ means ‘Lord’, but it is also the word for ‘spouse’. ‘My Baal’ means ‘my spouse.’ But instead of this, Israel will say, ‘My Husband’! That is much more intimate. Besides this, Israel has this intimate relationship not with Baal - the false god, the tyrannical spouse – but with the LORD God.
Something to think about: Do you appreciate that God is still the God of Israel? How wonderful it is that through the Lord Jesus, we belong to Him too!
Scripture
About this Plan
God loves Israel. You can find proof throughout the entire Bible. He chose Israel and set them apart to be His own people. The Bible uses various metaphors to describe this love: God calls Israel His firstborn son, and through the prophets, He also calls Israel His bride. In this reading plan, we invite you to join us as we dive deeper into God’s love for Israel.
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