” ‘ “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel. . . ” ‘ ” Hosea 1: 10, 11, NIV.
Gracious God, we thank You for being a covenant-keeping God in spite of our unfaithfulness. Your steadfast love, makes us want to be faithful to You. So as we meet to study Your Word dear LORD, please come and teach us how. This is our prayer in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I am sure that You noticed the special phrase from the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 22: 17; 32: 12), in our Scripture for today: “will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.” What makes it so outstanding in this particular setting is that they were being reminded of this promise even after Israel repeatedly sinned against God! Even though Israel failed to keep their part of the bargain – God remained faithful! He is a covenant-keeping God!
We see that attribute of God in all of His dealings with the human race. It is true that God hates sin! But He loves the sinner! I cannot repeat that often enough! As human beings we are just the opposite. Even while we may be guilty of the same sin a brother or sister is committing, we will be very forceful in condemning the brother or sister! In the story of the woman taken in the act of adultery, her accusers obviously were no saints themselves, but there they stood, stones in hand, ready to kill her! That is, until they saw their sins written in the sand! They walked away, not because they suddenly became sympathetic, and decided not to kill her; they simply did not want their sins to be exposed! You see my friends, we have all sinned and come short of God’s glory. We have all broken the covenant – yet YHWH remains faithful!
Among them stood the Holy One. The only One who had the right to cast a stone, because, “He [was] without sin.” Yet He did not even have the desire to cast a stone. Does that mean that Jesus was bending the law to save this woman’s life? Before you or I hasten to answer that question, let us go to Scripture for some answers. I would like to share at least three portions of Scripture with you:
1) “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ” ‘ “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach” (Matthew 23: 1, 2, emphasis provided). As a Jew, the Torah occupied an important place in Jesus’ life. But more than that, it was He who had given Moses the law on Sinai. Unlike the hypocritical teachers and Pharisees, He would practice what He had preached. Jesus knew what the law demanded; it was the duty of her husband to bring her and denounce her. Having been caught in the very act, where was the man? The law also said that the witnesses to the sin were to cast the first stone. But who among the witnesses were without sin? They had fallen in their own trap! He had not broken the law, He had interpreted the law with the authority of the Lawgiver. They were the covenant-breakers. They walked away condemned. She walked away forgiven and empowered, to “Go and sin no more (John 8: 11)!
2) ” ‘ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5: 17, emphasis provided). Of course He had not come to abolish the law, He knew why the law was necessary. He knew that while men and women, remained faithful to the principles that He had given them, they would be blessed. He also knew that only in His power, and by allowing Him full control of our lives would we be empowered to live in obedience. He would fulfill all things, and then put it on our account as our guarantee of faithfulness.
3) Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13: 8-10, emphasis provided). And He kept the covenant to the very end. We read in Scripture, “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13: 1). He not only kept the covenant, but He did it in the true spirit of the covenant – love!
Are you in a covenant relationship with the Savior? If not, why not begin today?