The truth about love in Hosea

The Hosea sermon series taught me that true love involves discipline, which means God’s judgment is essential for His people to repent.

This was so hard for me to grasp in the book of Hosea, considering that the culture I’m in elevates tolerance and positivity, resulting in the conception of a god who never judges and is willing to live with people who don’t even truly love Him. But this is clearly not true from the book of Hosea, where God showed that He desires genuine worship from transformed lives and not mere outward religiosity (Hos 6:6).

So, when God’s people do not have the desire to live godly lives that reflect God’s standards, the godly thing for God to do is to justly judge and discipline them until they truly repent (Hos 5:15).

Whether something or someone is negative or positive doesn’t automatically make it a bad or good thing; rather, it must be framed by God, such that even things that are seemingly negative like judgment and discipline can be for the ultimate good of His glory. The book of Hosea is crystal clear on this when God judges the sin of His own people, it is so that His own people come to the true knowledge of Him as the One who has humbled them. 

Fast forward to the 21st century, the emphasis on positivity is the latest in a line of stumbling blocks that blinds us from seeing who we really are before the real God, and we will surely stumble and fall if we remain so stubborn and stuck-up.

So, for God’s people back then to understand true love, they have to stop being so presumptuous about God’s love, know that God has exposed their transgressions, and accept God’s just judgment. Otherwise, they will continue thinking that they are giving God glory all the while living in their own bubbled reality (Hos 8:2).

Thus, for anyone to truly love God, God has to first cut him to the heart and strip him bare before Himself. It will hurt and shatter his self-esteem, but only then will he see the need for repentance to experience true love in His mercy and grace (Hos 6:1-3).

That’s what the Hosea series taught me about God’s love.

每当我阅读旧约圣经时，我都会感到很惭愧，因为身为一名基督徒，我却不熟悉旧约，也不熟悉它的各种体裁。所以刚开始阅读旧约里的何西阿书时，真的觉得很挑战。尤其当我渐渐地对圣经里充斥着关于神的审判，以及他的子民不断的悖逆感到麻木，也忽略了这些事件背后的意义。借着教会的证道以及成长小组的帮助下，我才开始学习仔细地聆听神透过他的先知何西阿对以色列所说的每一句话，才能够慢慢地体会到神的心意。

何西阿书加深了我对于神的爱的理解。那是一种我无法凭借自己的智慧所理解的爱 — 公义并且圣洁的爱。

因为我和所有的人一样，对爱的固有认识都是腐败的。我对爱的理解总是以我个人认为好的方式去爱，看似爱对方可是却能够对不忠视而不见，并可以一再地妥协，只要不触碰到某个底线就好。我曾经也认为爱不该是限制，而是应该接纳对方做最真实的自己。何西阿书带有的强烈的审判色彩 — 神对以色列不忠的愤怒，并犹如猛狮般地撕裂他们作为审判不会让我第一时间就联想到神的爱。但何西阿书让我看清楚这就是神的爱，一个真正公义、正直，盼望他的子民圣洁的爱(何2:19-20)。 我那根深蒂固对爱的认识原来是不以神为中心的。

我也在何西阿书里看清神的爱是一个我所不配得的爱。神竟然透过他的先知何西阿的生命 — 指示他去娶一个像娼妓一样的女人，生养像娼妓一样的儿女。神甚至在这个女人还犯奸淫的时候要何西阿再去爱她，把她赎回来归自己。这一切都是为了反映神对他的子民的爱是完全仰赖他主动的拣选和怜悯，是他们不配得的。我在以色列身上不断地看到我自己。神给予我怜悯和爱，而我又是怎样的 — 像以色列一般常常遗忘神，缺乏他的知识。神在何西阿书中警告的是，人因无他的知识而灭亡 (何4:6) ，而我却轻看这件事。

如今我或其他基督徒所渴望和敬拜的偶像再也不单单只是人手所造的无用的木头；而是人明明身在教会中却依旧对神三心二意，事奉自己的私欲(何6:6)，甚至不自觉。这也就是为什么神要在何西阿书里宣告他必将以色列剥光，在与她犯奸淫的爱人面前暴露她的下体(何2:10)，好让她可以看清自己在神面前的罪恶。

对神的认识是促使我去爱神和爱人的关键。何西阿书所教导的对神的认识并非只是知识或一堆数据；而是随着对神的认识，我的心会被刺透，生活中有长久和彻底的改变。而这是贯穿圣经每一处的教导。认识这位满有公义，圣洁却又怜悯的神让我能够战兢地去爱他，并顺服他的管教，因为神犹如猛狮般的撕裂是为了要使人对他有真正的认识，真正的悔改，并且不断地投靠他(何11:10)。 这也是我们的主耶稣基督的生命的体现和教导。他是唯一 一个全心顺服神直至死亡地步的神的儿子。而也因为他在十字架上的工作，我们现在也有能力像神的儿子一样为神而活。认识神的爱也让我能够以一个谦卑的姿态去爱他的教会，并时刻以他的视角来审视他的教会，竭力追求保持教会的圣洁。

If you have been encouraged by the reflections above, you can check out our past Hosea series here.