When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
The declaration is God's own word that He loved Israel when Israel was a child, from its childhood and earliest days as a people. To call His son out of Egypt is to identify the exodus deliverance from bondage as His own act of bringing out Israel, His son. That deliverance was an expression of tender love and care, revealing Him as compassionate, tender and parental in character as one who loves and saves Israel.
Its immediate context expands that tender care into teaching Ephraim to go and taking them by their arms, healing them though they did not know it, drawing them with cords of a man and bands of love, and removing the yoke from their jaws to feed them with meat. That care stands in contrast to failure to recognize the advantages given them, in going from Him to sacrifice to Baalim and burn incense to graven images. They remained bent to backsliding and would not exalt Him though called to the Most High, so that the sword abides on them because of their own counsels.
The context then declares that His heart is turned within Him and His repentings and compassions are kindled together, so He will not give up Ephraim or make Israel like Admah and Zeboim. It shows His great mercy toward those who have departed from Him, a love that continues even when they turn away and become captive to their enemies. Though written in times past, the word with its context has a present-day application, holding out blessing on condition of repentance. It gives ground for churches to seek the Lord now, to humble themselves before God in an individual work of repentance, and to look to Jesus for sufficiency and power because the ransom for the soul has been paid and heaven is working for the salvation of man.
The declaration is God's own word that He loved Israel when Israel was a child, from its childhood and earliest days as a people. To call His son out of Egypt is to identify the exodus deliverance from bondage as His own act of bringing out Israel, His son. That deliverance was an expression of tender love and care, revealing Him as compassionate, tender and parental in character as one who loves and saves Israel.
Its immediate context expands that tender care into teaching Ephraim to go and taking them by their arms, healing them though they did not know it, drawing them with cords of a man and bands of love, and removing the yoke from their jaws to feed them with meat. That care stands in contrast to failure to recognize the advantages given them, in going from Him to sacrifice to Baalim and burn incense to graven images. They remained bent to backsliding and would not exalt Him though called to the Most High, so that the sword abides on them because of their own counsels.
The context then declares that His heart is turned within Him and His repentings and compassions are kindled together, so He will not give up Ephraim or make Israel like Admah and Zeboim. It shows His great mercy toward those who have departed from Him, a love that continues even when they turn away and become captive to their enemies. Though written in times past, the word with its context has a present-day application, holding out blessing on condition of repentance. It gives ground for churches to seek the Lord now, to humble themselves before God in an individual work of repentance, and to look to Jesus for sufficiency and power because the ransom for the soul has been paid and heaven is working for the salvation of man.