Prophetic Perspective

Joel 3

            As Joel wraps up his prophecy, he looks forward to a day of judgment on Israel’s enemies and a day of restoration. This makes a good time to comment on what is called prophetic perspective. Joel is seeing a locust infestation, but he can see indistinctly meaning beyond that initial crisis. He likens those locusts to an invading army—whether that’s the Assyrians or the Babylonians or some other army, who knows. But the locusts are clearly a foreshadowing of something greater, which Joel summarizes as the day of the Lord. And as we read on, we see that the day of the Lord is greater than even the defeat of Israel’s enemies. He talks of multitudes gathered for judgment and the darkening of the skies. We can see in that a foreshadowing of the last day. Joel probably doesn’t see all of that, but the words which the Lord inspires him to utter contain all of that.

A Locust Hoard and the Day of the Lord

Joel 1-2

            Joel’s prophecy focuses on the devastation caused by a locust hoard. If 1: 4 is to be taken literally, it might have even been a succession of locust hoards. Some suggest a drought also afflicted Israel.

            Joel uses these natural disasters as an opportunity to call Israel to repentance. They are a foreshadowing of the day of the Lord, a day of destruction for Israel (1:15), “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (2:2). Notice in 2:4-9 how Joel likens them to soldiers and how in 2:20 he refers to the locusts as “the northern horde.” Both Assyria and Babylon, while technically northeast and due east respectively, would have invaded from the north.

            This notion that disasters in the present are foreshadowings of God’s end-time judgment is important. Sometimes we want to know what present evil has occurred to occasion our troubles, but Joel offers an alternative explanation: they are reminders that the Lord will eventually judge a fallen world.

            Significantly, Joel prophesies that the Lord’s judgment is not His final word. He has a new age in store (2:28-32), a passage Peter quotes in connection to Pentecost (Acts). Peter’s appropriation of Joel 2 reminds us Christians that we already live in that new age through faith and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Out of the Blue?

Hosea 13

            After 13 verses detailing Ephraim’s arrogance and the Lord’s threats against her, like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky, comes verse 14, “I will deliver this people from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?” In one way, it makes no sense, especially since the words of judgment pick up again in verse 15.

            So, it is possible, and many commentators argue for it and some modern translations do it, to translate verse 14 as rhetorical questions, “Shall I deliver this people? Shall I redeem them?” One commentator puts it this way, “This would be like a judge saying, ‘Shall I let this prisoner go? Executioner, where is your axe? I will not have pity.’” It makes a lot more sense contextually!

            On the other hand, in his great chapter on the resurrection, Paul quotes this verse about the defeat of death (1 Corinthians 15:55). So, Paul, at least, took it as a promise not a threat.

            What if it’s both? What if the original reader is supposed to read the question, “Shall I deliver?” and think, “Well, the Lord would certainly be in His rights not to deliver! He’s made an airtight case for the unfaithfulness of Israel. Exile was the long-threatened punishment for breaking the covenant. Israel certainly has it coming.” But what if the ambiguity is supposed to move them further so that they say, “On the other hand, the Lord promises that His anger will not burn forever, that He delights in mercy, and that He has purposes for Israel that are not yet fulfilled. Maybe there is yet hope.”

            As C.F.W. Walthers directs, “Do not hold forth with the Law too long; let the Gospel follow promptly. When the law has made the iron to flow, apply the Gospel immediately to shape it into a proper form; if the iron is allowed to cool, nothing can be done with it” (The Proper Distinction, Lecture 39).

Out of Egypt

Hosea 11-12

            Matthew plucks Hosea 11:1 out of the Old Testament and applies it to the Holy Family escaping from Herod’s assault on the infants of Bethlehem by fleeing to Egypt and their return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:13-23). On the surface, Matthew seems to choosing a verse that has very little to do with the story at hand. I mean, in Hosea 11, the bringing out of Israel is followed by a recitation of their persistent disobedience. By I think Matthew is making a deliberate contrast: Israel was called out of Israel and became disobedient in the wilderness, but in Matthew 3, Jesus, who obediently came out of Israel, submits to John’s baptism and takes up a vocation of righteousness. Hosea is setting up the next two chapters of God’s love for Israel and Israel’s scorning of the love. Matthew is showing Jesus to be everything Israel was supposed to have been, the fulfillment of the Lord’s plans through that people.

            Which brings us to 11:8ff… Here the Lord demonstrates His heart. He loves Israel so much that He struggles with having to discipline them as they need to be disciplined. I talk often about the difference between God’s alien work and His proper work. God’s alien work, the work that is not natural for Him, is the work of punishment. No parent wants to punish their child, but sometimes a child’s disobedience forces a parent to it. So, too, with the Lord. Indeed, the Lord is the best of fathers, and His proper work, the work that reflects His deepest being, is to bless and care for us.

            Why doesn’t the Lord’s love just overturn all punishment? Because Israel (and we!) continue to resist. In chapter 12:4, especially, we see it. Israel’s forefather was named Jacob, but from the womb and well into adult life, he resisted the Lord’s claim on his life. Famously, he wrestled the angel on the banks of the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22-32). There’s a complexity to our relationship to the Lord. Having given us our own agency, we are free to resist Him, to wrestle with Him, and we do. The Lord’s love is steadfast and while He disciplines us when we disobey, His love endures forever. Consider Hosea 12:9: “I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals.” He doesn’t give up on Israel, and He doesn’t give up on us.

What Does This Mean for Us?

Hosea 9-10

            You know, sometimes I read the prophets and it just strikes me, “This is still God’s Word.” I mean, it’s not like it only applied 2700 years ago in the specific instance of Israel and her disregarding of the covenant the Lord made with her. Now, if you’ve ever sat in one of my Bible studies, you know that you have to be careful with the way that you bring it forward and apply, but it does still apply.

            What do these condemnations have to say to us? First, let’s remember that the Lord never completely abandoned His project with Israel. He did indeed fulfill the promises He made that through her all the peoples of the earth would be blessed. By the time that promise is fulfilled, there’s really only one truly faithful Israelite, namely, Jesus, but He did achieve His purpose. The Lord still promises today that His church will endure, that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So, we have that assurance, even if there are only 7000 left (1 Kings 19:18), the church will endure and the Lord’s purposes through it—to bring the good news of Jesus to the world—will be achieved.

            Second, though, our reading today is pretty short on promises! How do these condemnations apply to us?  For starters, Hosea 9:7 says, “The prophet is considered a fool, the inspired person a maniac.” How does that apply? I’m writing this at my district pastors’ conference, and the speaker just made a point about the way we often simply don’t hear God’s Word. He preached a funeral sermon and talked in it about the wages of sin being death; he made the point the sin was the cause of death. One of his congregation corrected him, “Oh, no. She died of cancer.” Sin is definitely a teaching of Scripture that is unpopular. No one likes to have their sins pointed out. In many ways, we (including this preacher) soft-peddle sin and its effects.

            Scorn for God and His Word, pursuing prosperity and a comfortable life, pursuing one’s own interests at the expense of others—these are things that Hosea condemns Israel for, laying them out as reasons for the Lord’s anger and the impending judgment. And put Israel’s sins that way and we realize the same charges could be applied to us today! Are we then under the threat of exile or destruction? Maybe. A principle I stand by, “God has promised that His church will endure until the second coming; He has not promised it will meet in your neighborhood.”

            These are sobering thoughts, but as I’ve said, these are the words of God, and they still apply to us these many years later. At the least, this ought to motivate us to examine our hearts and lives, to repent our sins and receive forgiveness, and to strive to live out our faith.

Images of Israel’s Sin

Hosea 7-8

            Chapters 7-8 use several images for Israel’s sin that make some important points about the nature of sin. First up, 7:3, in which they delight in sin. Sometimes we are caught up in sins and loathe ourselves for it (Romans 7:21-25). Other times we are so used to, habituated to, our sin that it becomes normal; we don’t even notice it as sin anymore. That’s delighting in sin!

            Second, I found the likening of sin to an oven powerful. But it’s not just any oven; it’s an oven that doesn’t need stirring because it’s always hot. What an image for the constant temptation of sin! Because sin is always ready to seize us, we need to be constantly aware of its burning in us.

            Finally, today I appreciated 8:7, “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.” My Bible’s cross-references remind me that we’ve read something similar before, but it’s an important reminder: play with the fire of sin and you get burned.

            So, today, a reminder to be on the watch for temptations to violate the Lord’s commands and to deal with our sin with immediate repentance. (Fortunately for me, my other devotions today included Psalm 86:5, “You, Lord, are forgiving and good!”)

Hosea 5-6

Hosea 5-6

            It’s so easy to think, “All Israel had to do was trust the Lord,” but it’s not always that simple. Well, it is that simple, but we don’t see things clearly. Imagine Israel. Hosea says they are sick and covered in sores (5:13). They know things aren’t going their way. They are surrounded by more powerful enemies Their economy is being squeezed. Things look grim. What’s the most natural thing to do? Find an ally. So, they turn to Assyria. What the Lord wanted was a radical dependence on him, that they would forsake their dalliances with the nations around them and their gods. I daresay we’re the same way. We want to rely on the Lord; we think we do. But our confidence is ultimately in different places—in our own abilities to fix our problems, in our finances to see us through, whatever. Those are pretty natural places to look for security, and we often don’t see it for the idolatry that it is.

            There are some important lines in chapter 6. The first paragraph (vv. 1-3) seem to be Israel’s confession, that the Lord who punishes also restores and that they only need to seek Him. The reference to “after two days, after three” in verse 2 may be the Scripture Paul is referring to in 1 Corinthians 15:4 when he says that Jesus “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Second, Jesus quote 6:6 in Matthew 9 and 12. The point here is that God doesn’t want mere mechanical performance of the sacrificial system; what matters is faith, faith that is active and living and manifests itself in a changed life. There’s a lot more that could be said there! I direct you to the Small Catechism and its discussion of Baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar. Finally, there’s a translational issue at 6:7. NIV takes Adam as referring to a place, down near the Jordan River. But the NIV’s footnote indicates that it could also be translated “like human beings.” NIV favors the first because of the second half of the verse and the word there that is there. Still, it’s interesting to think that maybe Hosea was being intentionally ambiguous, reminding Israel that for all her special role in God’s plan of salvation, she was still only human and therefore as much a part of God’s problem as the Gentiles.