She Did Not Know

It is both amazing and consistent how God his relationship to his people as a husband to his wife. Throughout Hosea 2, you can hear the pain and agony in God's voice as he talks about how Israel has gone following after other nations and their gods in search of fulfillment. Sometimes I tend to think of God as all powerful and perfect, without blemish. Sorrow causes pain and scarring that doesn't go away easily. When I read this text, I see God waiting, longingly for his bride to come back, all the while having his stomach tied up in knots–-she doe not realize what her life is doing to his. We also see this attitude in the Father of the prodigal son in Luke 15 and in numerous other places where marriage is related to the relationship of Christ and the Church. i am also reminded of a passage from The Singer, by Calvin Miller, when the little girl whose legs have been healed puts her hands into the mangled hand of the Singer. She asks if it hurts, to which the Singer replies not anymore, but the scars never fade. The end of the chapter in Hosea, shows us God's great love in that he wants to take us back if we will only come home--his love is stronger than our rebellion; however, the scars remain. She did not know it was I who gave…

Revelation 17

the beast with seven heads and ten horns!!

Tell Me If You Know

What God asks Job in the last chapters of the book of Job is overwhelming. Job has been defending himself throughout the book from "friends" who want him to come clean about his sin. Job insists he hasn't sinned and longs to vindicate himself before God. Well, here is his opportunity. But first God wants Job to answer a few little questions. It turns out the questions aren't as little as Job is. I remember when my children were younger. They would ride in the back seat of the car with their friends waxing eloquent about their vast knowledge (which was admittedly laughable and completely off-base). When I remembered those moments, this whole section suddenly came into sharp focus--I'm that child. Job is that child. God's understanding is so far above ours that we shrink in comparison. But we only shrink when we are willing to compare what we know and how we act with what God knows and how he acts.