Out of Egypt

Hosea 11-12

            Matthew plucks Hosea 11:1 out of the Old Testament and applies it to the Holy Family escaping from Herod’s assault on the infants of Bethlehem by fleeing to Egypt and their return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:13-23). On the surface, Matthew seems to choosing a verse that has very little to do with the story at hand. I mean, in Hosea 11, the bringing out of Israel is followed by a recitation of their persistent disobedience. By I think Matthew is making a deliberate contrast: Israel was called out of Israel and became disobedient in the wilderness, but in Matthew 3, Jesus, who obediently came out of Israel, submits to John’s baptism and takes up a vocation of righteousness. Hosea is setting up the next two chapters of God’s love for Israel and Israel’s scorning of the love. Matthew is showing Jesus to be everything Israel was supposed to have been, the fulfillment of the Lord’s plans through that people.

            Which brings us to 11:8ff… Here the Lord demonstrates His heart. He loves Israel so much that He struggles with having to discipline them as they need to be disciplined. I talk often about the difference between God’s alien work and His proper work. God’s alien work, the work that is not natural for Him, is the work of punishment. No parent wants to punish their child, but sometimes a child’s disobedience forces a parent to it. So, too, with the Lord. Indeed, the Lord is the best of fathers, and His proper work, the work that reflects His deepest being, is to bless and care for us.

            Why doesn’t the Lord’s love just overturn all punishment? Because Israel (and we!) continue to resist. In chapter 12:4, especially, we see it. Israel’s forefather was named Jacob, but from the womb and well into adult life, he resisted the Lord’s claim on his life. Famously, he wrestled the angel on the banks of the Jabbok (Genesis 32:22-32). There’s a complexity to our relationship to the Lord. Having given us our own agency, we are free to resist Him, to wrestle with Him, and we do. The Lord’s love is steadfast and while He disciplines us when we disobey, His love endures forever. Consider Hosea 12:9: “I have been the Lord your God ever since you came out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed festivals.” He doesn’t give up on Israel, and He doesn’t give up on us.