All in All (1/11/15)

1. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
2. The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals, and offering incense to idols.
3. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them.
4. I led them with cords of human kindness,with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
5. They shall return to the land of Egypt,and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me.
6. The sword rages in their cities,it consumes their oracle-priests,  and devours because of their schemes.
7. My people are bent on turning away from me.To the Most High they call, but he does not raise them up at all.
8. How can I give you up, Ephraim?How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me;  my compassion grows warm and tender.
9. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst,  and I will not come in wrath.
10. They shall go after the Lord,who roars like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west.
11. They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.

First of all, who’s Israel? Who’s this talking about?

On the first level it obviously applies to the nation of Israel which was held captive as slaves in Egypt. There’s also the reference in Matthew 2:14 which says that the statement “out of Egypt I called My Son” refers to Jesus. You’ll remember that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod. But some years later, the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Herod had died and that he should return to Nazareth.

But we can take this personally too. I am Israel. You are Israel. In Romans chapter 4, Paul says that the righteousness that God saw in Abraham is the same righteousness that God sees in us when we trust in Jesus.

In Ephesians 1:5 Paul writes that “we have been adopted as sons through Jesus Christ.”

So we can say “When I was a child, God loved ME and called ME out of Egypt.”

But wait a minute… I’ve never been to Egypt!

But what was in Egypt other than sand and a mean Pharaoh? Slavery! The Israelites were bound, beaten, forced to make bricks without straw.

In one way or another we are all slaves to sin.

• In John 8:34 Jesus said that “Anyone who sins is a SLAVE to sin.”
• In Romans 7:15 Paul shows his frustration over his own sinful nature when he says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

We are slaves to sin.

And yet, even as a child; as someone who has no sense of responsibility or no ability to make the right choice between right and wrong, God calls us. When I was a baby in the church nursery, God was calling me.

This sounds a lot like Romans 5:8– “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

And even while we hang around in Egypt. Even when we’re like the prodigal son. Even when we hold back and don’t let God be our all in all, our Heavenly Father still calls us.

“Yes… But I gave my all in all”

Throughout the history of Israel, the biggest problem they had was idolatry. They followed the people who were living in the land when they arrived and they adopted their gods. So if you read the Old Testament prophets, you’ll keep hearing about Baal, or the high places- altars where they sacrificed to Baal.

Now I don’t have an Asherah pole in my back yard, but like anyone else, I’m prone to idolatry. When we spend too much time on the computer, or watching TV, or watching our weight; we can get into habits where we put other things ahead of God. Idolatry.

Whenever we toss and turn with worry, it’s as if we’re praying to ourselves. We’re looking to our own resources instead of trusting God. Worry is a form of idolatry.

Ephraim is Joseph’s son, and the name is used here in the same way that Israel is.

God teaches us to walk. God provides every skill and resource that we need in order to glorify Him, and He stands by ready to guide us along the way.

And God heals us. The Hebrew word used for heal goes beyond just healing a disease. I won’t try to pronounce the Hebrew, but the word literally means to stitch, or mend, or repair, or make whole. The same word is used again in Hosea 14:4 where it says that God “will heal their waywardness.”

And so we have a picture here of a loving God who wants to lead us by the hand, to guide us, to restore us and make us whole. And yet, we tend to ignore Him. In our slavery to sin, we don’t realize that God surrounds us.

“Yes, but I gave my all in all.”

Again we see the reference to slavery. Instead of being led by chains, God leads us with cords of human kindness. He brings people into our lives to nurture and guide us. So if you’re a parent or if you’re a Sunday School teacher or Youth group leader, know that God is showing His love through you.

He lifts the yoke of sin from us and feeds us. Not only did God send the Israelites manna during the Exodus, but this verse says that He “Bent down” to feed them. He bends down and comes into our world to feed us. Jesus said in John 6:35 that “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. “

Through Jesus, God gave His all in all. He forgives us. Frees us from sin, and then feeds us with the bread of life.

• We are prone to sin. We are prone to run away from God. We may be growing in grace, but none of us have our acts together. We hold back, we don’t allow God to be our All in All.
• Without grace, judgment is always hanging over our heads.

Genesis 14 tells us that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and also the cities of Admah and Zeboiim were destroyed because of their sin.

We don’t let God be our all in all, and yet, He continues to seek us like a precious jewel. We should be left to deal with the consequences of our sin.

We can’t begin to understand God’s amazing grace. And yet, HE GAVE HIS ALL IN ALL.

The Lion refers to the King. Isaiah 11:11 tells us that one day King Jesus will gather His people who are scattered across the world. We can get into end time prophecies,  the main thing here is to see that God gave us Jesus to be our Savior and King.