QT 21/10/2025 Tue. Hosea 11 Why let go, unless they are really dead! 为什么要放手，除非他们真的死了！
QT 21/10/2025 Tue. Hosea 11 Why let go, unless they are really dead!
READ http://www.esv.org/Hosea11
“Love That Will Not Let Go” is a nice sounding phrase that can both (1) give both comfort and also (2) be abused by other. Why so?
Scripture Focus: Hosea 11:1–3 (ESV)
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them.”
Reflections:
This passage is a window into the tender heart of God. Hosea 11 opens not with judgment, but with a memory—a father's aching recollection of His love for His wayward child.
God speaks of Israel as His beloved son. He recalls how He rescued them from slavery in Egypt, how He nurtured and raised them, like a parent teaching a toddler to walk. There’s intimacy here—arms lifting, healing hands, quiet acts of mercy. Yet, despite this love, Israel drifted. The more God called, the more they turned to idols.
It’s not just Israel’s story—it’s ours.
How many times has God pursued us with grace, only for us to chase after lesser loves? How often has He lifted us in our weakness, and we failed to recognize His hand?
And still—He does not let go.
This passage foreshadows a deeper redemption: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (v. 1) is echoed in Matthew 2:15, pointing to Jesus, God’s true Son. Where Israel failed, Jesus was faithful. And through Him, we are brought back into the arms of the Father.
God’s love isn’t transactional—it’s covenantal. It is steadfast when we are not. It heals even when we don’t recognize the source. He is the Father who teaches us to walk, catches us when we fall, and continues to call us home.
There is an important aspect of God when we talk about His love–it is His “justice”, and the associated characters of righteousness and holiness. While we do not know fully how God would act in “love” and “justice” at any point of our lives, the best response is to repent and return to Him in all aspects of our life immediately and enjoy His love.
We are not to presume that the opportunity to experience His love forever excludes Him displaying His wrath against disobedience (this was a fatal mistake). Hosea’s audience—the Northern Kingdom of Israel of his time, ended in exile with no return!
Reflection Questions
(1) Where have you seen God’s love and healing in your life—even if you didn’t recognize it at the time?
(2) Are there "idols" or distractions pulling your heart away from the Lord right now?
(3) How does the image of God as a nurturing, patient Father shape your view of Him today?
Prayer
Father, thank You for loving me with a love that never lets go. Thank You for calling me, healing me, and lifting me even when I didn’t see You. Forgive me for the times I’ve turned away to chase things that don’t satisfy. Help me return to You with my whole heart. Teach me again to walk in Your ways. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
QT 21/10/2025 星期二. 何西阿书 11 为什么要放手，除非他们真的死了！”
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/hos/11/
“永不松手的爱”是个动听的词句，既能（1）带来慰藉，又可能（2）被他人滥用。为何如此？
经文聚焦：何西阿书11:1-3
1 “以色列年幼的时候，我就爱他。我从埃及召我的儿子出来。2 可是我越发呼唤他们，他们越发走开；他们给巴力献祭，向偶像烧香。3 然而是我教导以法莲走路的；我用双臂抱他们，他们却不知道是我医治了他们。
默想：
这段经文是窥见上帝温柔心肠的窗口。何西阿书第十一章并非以审判开篇，而是以回忆——一位父亲对迷途儿女深切的爱意之痛楚追忆。
上帝将以色列称为祂所爱的儿子。祂忆起如何将他们从埃及奴役中拯救出来，如何像教导蹒跚学步的幼儿般培育他们成长。这里充满亲密——托举的臂膀，医治的手掌，无声的怜悯。然而纵有这般深情，以色列仍渐行渐远。神呼唤愈切，他们愈沉迷偶像。
这不仅是以色列的故事——更是我们的写照。
多少次神以恩典追寻我们，我们却追逐次等之爱？多少次祂在软弱时托起我们，我们却未识祂的手？
即便如此——祂仍不松手。
这段经文预示着更深的救赎：“我从埃及召我的儿子出来”（第1节）在马太福音2:15中得到呼应，指向耶稣——上帝真正的儿子。以色列失败之处，耶稣却始终信实。借着祂，我们被带回天父的怀抱。
神的爱非交易——乃是盟约。当我们动摇时，祂仍坚定不移；当我们未察觉源头时，祂仍施行医治。祂是教导我们行走、扶起跌倒、持续呼唤归家的天父。
当我们谈论神的爱时，有一个重要面向——祂的“公义”，以及与之相关的正直与圣洁品格。虽然我们无法完全预知神在生命中任何时刻如何以“爱”与“公义”行事，但最佳回应是立即在生活的各个层面悔改归向祂，从而享受祂的爱。
我们不可妄自揣测：永恒领受祂爱的机会，是否意味着祂绝不会向悖逆者显明忿怒 （这是致命伤的错误）。何西阿的听众——当时的北国以色列，最终竟沦为流亡不归的结局！
反思问题
(1) 你曾在生命中何处看见神的爱与医治——即使当时未曾察觉？
(2) 此刻是否有“偶像”或干扰正将你的心从主那里拉开？
(3) 神作为慈爱、忍耐之父的形象，如何塑造你今日对祂的认知？
祷告
天父，感谢祢以永不松手的爱眷顾我。感谢祢呼召我、医治我、扶起我，即便我未曾看见祢。求祢赦免我曾背离祢去追逐那些无法满足的事物。求祢帮助我全心归向祢，再次教导我遵行祢的道路。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。
