Ashur will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no
longer call what we made with our hands our gods. For it is only in you that
the fatherless can find mercy. (Hosea 14:4; CJB [English: 14:3])
This verse is found near the end of the book of the prophet
Hosea and is part of a section that refers to a time of great spiritual renewal
for the people of Israel. These words express deep repentance. Repentance is
the act of turning from living life our own way to living life God's way.
Israel had been commanded by God to trust and obey him according to his
directives given through Moses and affirmed by the prophets. This verse covers
a wide range of ungodly attitudes and behaviors from which they will finally
turn.
First, "Ashur will not save us". The Hebrew name
"Ashur" refers to the then powerful Assyrian Empire. Hosea prophesies
that the day would come when Israel would no longer look to foreign powers for
protection and help. Small nations like Israel then (or now) have a difficult
time fending for themselves without the good will of powerful, influential
nations. But Israel was not alone. God promised to be with them. It was God who
delivered them from bondage in Egypt. It was God who cared for them in the
wilderness. It was God who enabled them to conquer the Promised Land. Yet they
looked to political alliances instead of this same God to rescue them from
trouble.
Second, "we will not ride on horses". This is not
saying the Israelites would one day refuse for any reason to ride horses. It's
not saying they would refuse to ride horses in battle. What it is saying is
similar to the first statement. It's saying that Israel would no longer put
their faith in the equipment of war to rescue them. We tend to think of our
current era as the technological age, which is true to an extent. But humans
from the beginning designed and developed innovative solutions for all sorts of
reasons. This includes taming horses for work and for battle. The use of
animals and objects as tools is not wrong in itself, but relying on our
ingenuity instead of God demonstrates a gross misunderstanding as to the place
of God in our lives. If God doesn't bless our technology and guide us in its
use, we will find ourselves working against his plans and purposes.
Third, "we will no longer call what we made with our
hands our gods." Certainly this is primarily a reference to the creation
of idols to worship, but it represents much more than that. The prohibition
against idolatry was designed not only to preserve a right understanding of the
identity and nature of the true God, it also directed the people away from
placing inordinate affection on things of our own making. Only God is God,
something we have too easily forgotten.
And finally, "For it is only in you that the fatherless
can find mercy." This is stating in the positive what the other three
statements express negatively. The fatherless in ancient Israel were without
means of natural protection and provision, making them along with widows the
most vulnerable members of society. Declaring that the most vulnerable find
mercy in God is a confident expression that God is capable, willing, and
trustworthy to provide needed help to the society in general.
The essence of Israel's repentance is an acknowledgement
that political and military power, human ingenuity, and man-made religion are
insufficient to provide the kind of help they so desperately need as a people.
All they ever needed is only found in God, the reality of which is available
right now to not only Israel, but to all people through Israel's Messiah,
Yeshua of Nazareth.
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