Morning Thoughts - by Elder Philip Conley

Morning Thoughts

Hosea 11:1, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt."

This morning, there are many that do not see the point of studying the Old Testament. They think that it is obsolete, and therefore, unnecessary to our lives today. Nothing could be further from the truth, for the Old Testament was quoted numerous times by our Lord while He walked this earth. He also stated that He did not come to destroy what was written in the Old Testament. Therefore, for what purpose do we study the Old Testament? What does it tell us? Many of us carry pictures of our loved ones in our wallets, purses, etc. It is a token of who we hold dear, and from time to time, we pull them out to look at them. The Old Testament is the place where the Father has painted beautiful portraits of His Son. Whenever we study the Old Testament, we should look for these pictures.

The prophet writes to Israel when they are in a miserable and deplorable situation. They are so far removed from the Lord that He tells the prophet to marry a woman of poor reputation to show their
behaviour toward their God. However, in the verse above, the Lord makes a promise that is very special. He makes it very clear that He still loves Israel. Even in the midst of all their wickedness and iniquities, He is still their Father. He still loves them. The same can be said of spiritual Israel as well. He still loves us even though we fail every day in His sight. He still loves us because we are HIS PEOPLE! He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

Notice also that the Lord loved us when we were children. He did not love us after we began to love Him. We could not have EVER loved Him had He not first loved us. We would have done contrary to His ways with all of our being had He not come in and changed our hearts. Also, He called us out of Egypt. That shows us by nature that there was nothing good in us. By nature, we were like the children of wrath (no difference across the board in behaviour). However, because of His love for us, He called us out of Egypt (nature's darkness) into His marvellous light. He called us and we CAME! There was no chance that we might come. This calling cannot be refused, for it is the power of the Lord's voice that draws us to Him. It will be the same power that draws these old bodies out of the grave and changes them to be fashioned like unto His glorious body. This calling comes in regeneration and finally at the resurrection. Therefore, because of all these things, of what or whom shall we be afraid? Who is going to separate us from this love that was bestowed upon us? Nothing! No power whatsoever will force you from this.

Finally, what makes all principles (election, effectual calling, etc) contained in this verse possible? The answer is found in Matthew 2:15. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ literally came out of Egypt with Joseph and Mary after the death of Herod. Our Lord literally came down to earth to sojourn for 33.5 years. Our Lord literally came to spiritual Egypt to rescue His people from death, hell, and the grave. Our Lord literally hung upon the cross for 6 agonizing hours to START AND FINISH the work of atonement on the cross. He literally did all of these things, and finally, His body arose from the grave after three days and three nights for our justification. My dad once said a minister close to him referred to Hosea 11:1 this way, "It's all there." Yes, I think that is true. It is literally all there.

In Hope,

Bro Philip