In That Day

 

Monday, July 25, 2022

“In that day, I will answer,” says the Lord.  “I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds.  And the sky will answer the earth with rain.  Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapevines, and the olive trees.  And they in turn will answer, ‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’  At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself.  I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.’  And to those I called ‘Not my people,’ I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’  And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’”  Hosea 2:21-23

There are a lot of people who are fond of the argument from silence.  The lack of an easily-located answer is the one note sung for such a conclusion.  It sounds something like:  Well, if it doesn’t walk like a duck, or talk like a duck, or act like a duck at all, there can’t possibly be a duck here.  When something unpleasant happens, persons who are looking for someone to blame, find a silent Heaven convenient.  Have you ever seen someone raise an angry face or fist towards the heavens and dare God to show Himself?  That sounds something like:   If you’re really there, I dare you to strike me dead.  (5 seconds later)…I thought so!

Hosea’s prophecy is very much filled with judgment over the sins of Israel’s unfaithfulness as God’s people.  However, there is much about God’s redemption of Israel hiding in the wings.  This is the connection with the anger many people feel over their perceived lack of action on God’s part.  The assumption is that since they see no judgment for wrongdoing and injustice, God is either sleeping on the job, a fraud in His claims, or never existed at all.

The problem with arguing a so-called proof from silence is it presupposes we humans are even remotely capable of judging God.  After all, we are the created beings; God is the Creator!  And it is always the lesser which is contained within the greater, not the other way around.  God transcends time, eternity, and all knowledge, because He created such.  To assume we know better than God is to take upon oneself a fool’s mantle.  We are like a child sitting on a curb at the parade that has already half-passed-by our location.  

The child looks to his right at the part of that parade which has already passed.  He remembers the guy with the baton, leading the band at the parade’s start, but as he looks the other way, he cannot see the end of the line, where the elephants are bringing up the end of the show.  He can’t see clearly all that’s coming; he is limited to what he sees passing right now.  God, above the whole business, can see the baton-twirling lead at the parade’s front, and the sweepers at the end of the parade, cleaning up after the elephants.  And He sees everything before, inbetween, and after.

Hosea has been told by the God who is outside of time and space, and Who sees all of history and the future at once, in the time He has chosen, the judgment will be an answer – for even the foolish questioning of the skeptic, the atheist, and all fools.  That answer will include God judging, loving, restoring, and settling whatever questions that exist, and more.  He will balance the scales…in that day!

For You Today

Let’s let the Apostle Paul’s doxology of Praise to God sum up today:

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.  Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.  

Ephesians 3:20-21

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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To dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text:  When God Measures and America // Israel

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©