Hosea 2:14-15 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably to her.… In the Old Testament we see the struggle between the Divine love and the perverse human will. God will ever impose restraints and place barriers in the way of sin, and so would make sin difficult and painful. In addition to conscience, the inward monitor, there are outward checks placed by God to hinder men from the commission of sin. Toil is a restraint. It is a bit and bridle to the wayward and the vicious. The wave of prosperity often leaves behind it the rubbish and foam of licentiousness. Pain is also a restraint. There is pleasure in sin. It is not real, it is not enduring, but there it is, and the sinner is attracted by it. The forbidden tree is "pleasant to the eyes." The sinfulness of sin may be inferred from its bitter consequences. Pain is a moral word. It implies punishment. It is the penalty of sin, it is therefore a restraint. But God not only checks, He draws. I. HE WINS BY HIS LOVE. He "allures," persuades, woos, attracts. God respects man's freedom. God Himself cannot compel us to trust and love Him. He has constituted us moral beings. God influences the motives, the desires, the judgments, the affections, operates on the secret power of the will. The only power that can win men from their sin is love. Love has the key that fits every lock in the different chambers of the soul. Love can overcome the enmity of our nature. It will not be slain by any other weapon. And thus God deals with us. II. HE APPOINTS AND USES NECESSARY MEANS OF DISCIPLINE. Having been "allured," drawn to God, we are then trained, disciplined. This wilderness state is a state of — 1. Solitude. A man must get out of the crowd in order to think. Men living in a crowd become mere echoes. In solitude man discovers himself, and realises the presence of God, and these involve a burden of personal responsibility. 2. Trouble. Chastisement was, and still is, the necessary discipline for God's children. Why does God correct them? To make them feel that sin is terribly hateful. And He shews us the tendency of sin. 3. Preparation. The training of the wilderness was necessary. Had they entered Canaan at once, they would have been unfit to take possession of it. God brings us into the wilderness in order to develop our character. The faith that will stand in the storm is the faith that has been tried. III. GOD SPEAKS TO US. Lit. "I will speak to her heart." Not to the intellect merely, but also to the heart. But God's words never reach the heart until we have been prepared for them. What are His words that reach the heart? Words of forgiveness, consolation, hope. Are we then making the right use of our Father's discipline? (James Owen.) Parallel Verses KJV: Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.WEB: "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. |
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