Hosea & The Fear of God
As I have recently been studying the book of Hosea there are several things that i have noticed. I want to explore a few of these in the next series of posts.
Hosea is full of the fear of God. The entire book could be summed up in the simple phrase: fear God and repent. This is Hosea’s mission. He wants to bring an appropriate fear of God’s judgment to the northern tribes who are engaged in crass idolatry.
But there is a second emphasis in Hosea’s message. He emphasises mercy that is completely undeserved. We see this in the way in which God actively prevents Israel from sin. There is a sense of awe or fear of God in both emphases, a fear of judgment, but also a fear of abandonment.
One is a fear that should grip us: A fear of the God who lets some go. Throughout Hosea this phrase rings out “you are not my people”. We see this in the writings of Paul, in Romans 1, Paul speaks of those who so dishonoured God, so abandoned God, that God gave them up to what they wanted. Like Pharaoh and his hard heart, so God let this people go after what they wanted. In the end, they became like what they worshipped.
There is a second fear, a fear of judgment but in this judgment it is the chastisement of a loving Father. Throughout Hosea, God is seen as a loving husband calling his wayward wife back. God is judging Israel, taking away her idolatry and her economic prosperity (in other words, real, terrible judgment) so that Israel sees that these idols cannot save. God strips Israel of their support structures so that they might understand who really can save.
So we have two kinds of fear in Hosea that are instructive to the Christian. The first should cause us to fear sin. For sin is the pathway that leads from God. The second is an awe at the merciful way God works. That even in the midst of trouble, God is at work. God uses trials to strengthen us because we are truly his. This type of awe is what Isaiah felt in the presence of God.
When we fear God, we fear his power, his judgment, but we also stand in awe of him. Let us heed Hosea’s words, flee from sin, repent, and come to a God who saves.
