Fairy Tales seem ingrained in us. We read them as children, and they form the structure for virtually every epic story mankind has ever told. A prince fights to rescue the princess from the dragon/tower/wicked stepmother, and they live happily ever after. We long for this to be true in real life, even if as grown-ups we understand that’s just not how life works. But even as adults, we still understand what a tragedy it is when the fairy tale crumbles.
In the movie above – which Irving Bible Church did an incredible job with – who do you identify with? I’ll be honest: my response was pretty visceral. My gut reaction was anger. I was mad at the girl, shocked at how easily she discarded her husband’s love for a quick fling – and before the shoe-polished “just married” had even been washed off her car!
But the truth is, we – you and me – we are the unfaithful wife, the cheater. The liar. We don’t like admitting that, do we? We like to identify with the mistreated husband – the good guy who has done nothing but love… and has been burned and hurt. But in reality, you and I are the ones cheating, we’re the ones who are unfaithful. And you and I can’t hide our unfaithfulness from God.
Hosea is a book that gets far too little attention, maybe for obvious reasons. It uses “salty” language, for one. But it also describes God in all His complexity. God is absolutely holy and just. God is also love itself, perfectly, completely loving. We regularly affirm both of these things…but have you ever thought what a storm our sin must cause Him? If He is just and holy, then our sin must be dealt with – but if He is loving, then it tears Him apart to do what justice demands.
In the context, Hosea was writing specifically to the Northern Kingdom of Israel – 10 tribes who had abandoned the God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt and traded His love for the shocking religious practices of their neighbors. Worshipping the Baals meant ritual sex. It also meant infant sacrifice. And while we’re rightly shocked that any parent could place their infant on the red-hot metal hands of an idol. do we understand the consequences on our kids when we abandon God to chase after modern, more discreet idols? Until we are brave enough to plumb the dark caverns of our own sin and how truly awful and hurtful it is to God, we will never really understand the depths of His stubborn grace.
As we study the book of Hosea, we’ll be asked to probe those dark corners of our own hearts – the places where we sweep the sins we don’t want to face or admit. As we study the guilt of Israel, described in terms that don’t leave any excuse or escape, we’re forced to face our own guilt before a God we’ve done wrong. Will you go there? Because here’s the thing: when we begin to come to grips with the many ways we’ve cheated on our God, when we travel deep down into those dark, dank caves… we find that He’s already there, waiting to woo us back. Even as we hurt Him by walking out the door, He’s already there offering us His love and forgiveness. When we understand His right to demand justice for what we’ve done to Him, the John 3:16 Gospel we’ve heard maybe too many times begins to make sense in ways it hasn’t before: the holy and sovereign God of the universe has paid the price justice demanded because He loved His bride and could not give her up. And for those who are truly His, the fairy tale that began in Eden comes true in the end.
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
(2 Timothy 2:13)
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