NOTES for Hos 11:9

In what God's reaction distinguishes itself from the reaction of man? Above all, probably, just in particular by the fact that acting in a concrete situation, conditioned by human sin, He never makes spontaneous decisions. Of course, it is doubtless a little bit strange to read about the wrath of God to a man set up in a purely spiritualist way. In fact: are all the human emotions peculiar to God? But one should not forget all the same that behind the human emotions there is often a completely concrete relation towards any person or event, a concrete and rather often completely aware intention. And the relation and the intention, unlike the emotions, are appropriate not only to man, but also to God, as they are appropriate to any personality.

Well then the wrath of God becomes completely understandable: as we see, it is about something which would have put man in fury, if he could see the situation with the eyes of God and evaluate it as God evaluates this situation. And here is, later begin the differences: because unlike God, Who holds His wrath, it is not also easy for the fallen man to retain it. Why so? Is it only because of the incapacity of man to control his own emotions? Perhaps, after all, not only. The problem is apparently still in the relation of the fallen man to a concrete situation and to people, participating in this relation. As we see, the reaction of the fallen man in the situation is in particular a spontaneous and direct reaction. Man sees usually only the closest perspective, the closest consequences of the situation that arose and evaluates them mainly or exceptionally. God looks at things differently: he sees not only all the perspectives connected to the arisen situation, from the closest to the most distant, but also these potencies, which are connected to it (it is above all of course about spiritual potencies). He sees all the possibilities that are opened, even also the most improbable, the possibilities for a successful resolution and an exit from the difficult arisen situation, and is ready to use them.

And, of course unlike man, He is not going to use to the one who committed the fault sanctions only for sanction, punish for the good of punishment, although punishment consisted only to make the sinners feel the consequences of the sin committed by them. If God does something similar, then it is only when He knows that it will afterward allow to participate any of the possibilities seen by Him to get out of the difficult situation, in which His people were stuck by their sins. And it is not really the matter to break the union-covenant once concluded: even if from the people will remain only a faithful remnant, God will keep loyalty for the covenant, even for this remnant. In fact, such view and such relation are called be Hosea mercy. This mercy, on which the people only hope, after all the sins committed by them.

All Israel’s sinfulness and unfaithfulness do not annul God’s love and faithfulness. It is characteristic of people to take revenge for offenses, and moreover not always to observe any proportion in retribution. But God is not man. His ways are not our ways. He does not come to destroy us; He sends His Son, a Child, into this world so that our sin may be destroyed on the cross and our heart may turn from hardness to mercy, for this is how our God acts (v. 8).