Daily Devotional for Thursday, July 16
Israel Rejected God’s Love
“When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images,” Hosea 11:1, 2.
One of the most devastating situations that a parent can experience is when one of their children that they brought into the world by birth, grows up and rejects the love, protection, care and wisdom that his parents have provided for them from birth. And they choose to live a life totally opposite of the way their parents taught them.
Many a parent has in some way experienced this situation. This situation causes those parents who experience it, to feel rejected, guilty, remorseful and it causes the parent to rehearse past actions in their minds about themselves and even blame God, all because of their child choosing to reject the love of their parents. It must be understood, the act of rejection by your child says more about the child than it says about you as a loving parent.
In Hosea, God was the caring and loving parent to Israel. He had birthed the nation, walked with them as they grew, He provided for them when they could not provide for themselves. He delivered them from troubles and defeated enemies that were stronger and bigger than them. God healed the hurts Israel experienced as a nation, and yet, Israel rejected God’s love and chose to worship the idol gods of wicked nations and live according to their ungodly practices.
However, even though Israel openly rejected the love God had shown to them, God continued to love them by chastening them. Though we don’t naturally think chastisement is love, The Scripture states in Hebrews 12:6, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Israel’s rejection of God’s love did not change God, it uncovered the depths and dynamics of his love.
FINAL THOUGHT
Do not allow someone rejecting your love to change you, let it uncover the depths of God’s love in you.
Andrew McClung