God's Prodigal Son

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Hosea 11, the Old Testament prophet of Hosea 11.

I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals, and they burned incense to images.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.

I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. Will they not return to Egypt, and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates, and put an end to their plans.

My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, he will by no means exalt them. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I treat you like Adma? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me. All my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.

For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. They will follow the Lord. He will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.

They will come trembling like birds. Well, fathers, did you know that God had a prodigal son in his family?

In the opening three chapters of Hosea, Israel was portrayed as God's wife. And last week in chapter 10, we went to the farm and we saw Israel portrayed as God's vine and God's heifer.

And now this week in chapter 11, we return to the house and we see Israel portrayed as God's son. And so it's fitting on this Father's Day that we consider the perfect father, God, and his rebellious son, Israel.

And as we do, we want to ask ourselves, what kind of father in heaven do we have? Is he our father? And if so, what kind of son or daughter am I?

Well, the prophecy begins, number one, with God's fatherly love for Israel, his son. Verse one, when Israel was a child, I loved him.

And out of Egypt, I called my son. Now, this looks back to when the nation of Israel was first born.

Born out of the exodus from Egypt as they came out of Egypt and came to Mount Sinai, where God entered into a covenant with the nation of Israel and they became God's son and he became their father.

An intimate relationship. And Israel was like a very young child. Indeed, the word here could be translated infant. When Israel was an infant, when they were a toddler, a mere youth.

Too young to fend for themselves. Helpless, needy, dependent on parents to care for them. That is how we come into the world.

And that's how Israel was when she was born and became a son of the everlasting God. Well, God was the one who protected and fed and cared for them.

And he did it with such undeserved, gracious love. Ezekiel says on the day you were born, your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean.

Nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. No eye looked on you with pity to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you.

Rather, you were thrown out into the open field for you were abhorred on the day you were born. Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood.

And as you lay there in your blood, I said to you, live. God loved Israel as an infant.

God took her into his arms and cared for Israel as his son. She was down in Egyptian bondage.

They weren't treating her with tender, loving care. They were treating Israel with oppression and cruelty. No one pitied them.

No one cared that they were crying out in their pain. But God did. And he came and did for them what a tender father does for his son.

Out of Egypt, I called my son. He called them forth. He brought them out of Egypt, didn't he? With signs and wonders. When you read that account in the book of Exodus of all the plagues God poured out on Egypt, you're reading of God's tender love for his infant son, Israel.

He's protecting. He's caring for them. They're dear to his heart. And so they were called out of Egypt.

This idea of calling means that they had a purpose. God gave them an assignment and their calling was to be his witnesses. To display his splendor to all the nations.

To declare that the Holy One of Israel, he is God alone. Out of Egypt, I called my son. So the perfect father enters into relationship with Israel as a son.

Now, Israel's response to their father's love in the second place was to rebel against him. They did not fulfill their calling as son of God.

And so secondly, we see Israel becomes God's rebellious son. We need to be careful of blaming the fathers for every rebellious son that comes along.

If for no other reason than the fact that the perfect father, Yahweh, had a son who proved to be a prodigal, Israel.

It was clearly not God's fault, but the son's fault. So God called his son out of Egypt.

But that wasn't the only time God called to them. Verse 2 tells us he called many other times as well. He called them often through the prophets. Calling them to return to him because they had turned their back on him and left him.

And so he's calling them over and over through the prophets. To come back that he might pour out his love upon them. Verse 2 says, the more I called Israel, the further they went from me.

They turned to other gods. They sacrificed to the bales and they burned incense to images. All this is not new to us. We've been through 11 chapters of it.

You're perhaps full up to hear of it. But but get what's being said. God had a son. And the more he called them, the more they roamed away from him.

God's prodigal son ran away into a far country of sin and idolatry and worship the bales. So there's lots of times that he called them to return, but it only drove them further away.

Evidently, there were other voices that their ears were tuned to besides their father. So he spoke and he said, return, oh, son, come back to me, son. Give me your heart, son.

But then so did the prostitutes of the bail worship come to me. So did the world in its siren call to live for pleasure and live for things.

And so though God called. Israel, his son. Did not respond to him, but went after the bales.

And so what we have in verses three and four is the contrast. This this contrast. We have God's perfect, tender, loving care of his son. And we have Israel's rebellious, stubborn.

Refusal to receive that love. So in verse three, God says it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms. Isn't that a tender picture?

Dads, you remember when your child first started to attempt those first steps and you you were so worried that that he'd fall and knock his head on the table.

And so you took him by the arms and you just steadied him a bit and you let him feel a little weight and let him walk. But if he fell, you were right there just to to shield his his fall.

And that's what God was doing to Israel. So tender with his son. It was I who taught him to walk, taking him by the arms.

But they did not realize it was I who healed them. And in their history, when national calamity and crises arose that threatened to extinguish them.

It was God who came along and took them by the arms and protected them. And save them and delivered them out of all their troubles and their disasters.

But they didn't realize it. They didn't acknowledge that it was God, but rather they thank the Baals as if it was Baal who had healed them.

And God says in verse four, I wasn't harsh with them. I didn't treat them like a beast of burden. Rather, I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love.

Think how gently and tenderly God dealt with his son Israel in the wilderness. He led them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Oh, how tender God is. We've had some heat this spring already, haven't we? And I've stood out in the driveway talking to a brother. Sun just beating on me.

Oh, it's hot. And there's a tree. And we just step a couple steps over and we're in the shade and it's like 15 degrees cooler. You know what God did for Israel?

As he led them through the wilderness. He had a traveling tree going right along with them wherever they went. It led them. It was a cloud, an umbrella, an air conditioner to cool them off.

It was as much for their cooling pleasure as it was for their leading. I led them with human kindness. Chords of love, he says.

And he says, I lifted the yoke from their neck. There they were in Egypt under the oppression of the yoke of the Egyptians. And the Lord just lifted that weight and gave them freedom.

And he says, and I bent down to feed them. Like a tender father again with his young child. Bending down to feed his little one. Oh, how God bent down to feed his son Israel.

He brought manna from heaven to feed them. He brought quail from the sky to feed them. He brought water out of a rock to feed them. He stooped down with tender interest in his son.

It was the pampering, tender, loving care that they received from their father. And yet, in spite of all of this. God's son Israel rebelled against him.

You know, man is his own greatest enemy. And he pushes from him. The tender, loving care of God. Self-destructive.

And so God complains of his children. And in Isaiah 1, 2. I've nourished and brought up children. And they have rebelled from me. You see, God doesn't take prodigals lying down.

I brought them up. I taught them to walk. I did everything for them. And they rebelled against me. And in Malachi 1. He says a son honors his father.

And that's the fifth commandment, right? Honor your father and your mother. A son honors his father. And if I am a father, where is my honor? He asks.

His son Israel was not giving it to him. And it cut him. And he felt it. And all day long, he held out his hand to an obstinate nation.

To a son that would not return. And he called to him over and over through his prophets. The Lord's fatherly love is patient and persistent.

Haven't you found it to be so? So patient. So persistent. But at least up to this point, Israel's rebellion had been equally persistent.

And they would not return. Well, the years rolled on. Centuries came and centuries went. God calling Israel rebelling. God calling Israel rebelling.

Israel's no longer an infant, a toddler. She's an adolescent. She's one of these know-it-all teenagers. That scorns their parents.

And Israel scorned her father. And would not return to him. And so God's patience is at the end. It is now time to punish his son.

Every father out there knows you punish a disobedient son. So thirdly, God's judgment will fall on his son. And now the punishment is spelled out. It includes exile.

Verse 5. They will not. Will they not return to Egypt? And will not Assyria rule over them? Because they refuse to repent. Back to humiliating slavery, they'll go.

I called them out of Egypt. But they've wandered from me. So back to Egypt, they'll go. Assyria will rule over them. And they'll be slaves again. Why?

Because they refuse to repent. They stiffen their neck and they would not turn back to me. Oh, it's a terrible thing to sin against God. But folks, it's 10,000 times worse to have God call you to repent.

And to refuse to repent of your sin. And that's what Israel, God's son, did. And so it would be exile. And it would happen through invasion.

Verse 6. Swords will flash in their cities. Will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans. Remember, Israel saw Assyria growing in power.

And she thought, well, I've got to strengthen my military might. She didn't lean on the Lord. She didn't trust in him. But she fortified her cities and built high walls and strong iron bars.

And she trusted in those fortified cities and walls and bars. And so the thing that she trusted in would be the thing that God destroys.

Those fortified cities. Would see the flash of sword and those bars. Would be destroyed.

Putting an end to their plans. All those plans for their self-preservation. All those plans of self-defense. Would be brought to an end. As Assyria rolls them over.

And verse 7. My people are determined to turn from me. This is why this judgment's coming. It's not a momentary blip. In their progress. Of following after the Lord.

This is a habitual, settled disposition of his son. He is rebellious. He has said, I'm out of here. And he doesn't want to have anything to do. With a God who calls him to turn from his sin.

And even. Listen to this. Verse 7 ends. Even if they call to the Most High. He will by no means exalt them. Because they have called and called.

In their troubles. But have proven to be insincere. They just went out of trouble. And then they're back to their sins. He will not hear them. His patience is over.

So what have we seen? God's perfect love for his son. The son rebelling. And so the father punishing. All familiar stuff to us in Hosea.

But then. We're stopped in our tracks. In the fourth place. By the predicament of God's intense love. For his son. The predicament.

Of God's intense love. Did your father ever tell you. As he prepared to spank you. This is going to hurt me. More than it hurts you.

And you thought to yourself. Then why don't you just spare yourself the pain. You didn't really believe it. Until you had a son of your own.

That you loved. And had to take over your knee. And spank for his rebellion. Against you. And then you knew everything.

That your father meant. When he said. This hurts me. More. Than it hurts you. There's a predicament.

In every loving father's heart. As we think about punishing. The sons that we love. Our love. Stirs within us.

To have pity on him. And to spare him. But then again. To spare the rod. Is to spoil the child. To spare the rod.

Is to hate our son. And so. So love doesn't allow us. To spare the rod. So. So what do we do? We spank him.

Through our pained love. And here in Hosea. We see just how painful. God's judgments are.

Not to his wayward son. But to himself. For after announcing. His judgment upon Israel. God says. To his rebellious son.

How can I do this? He's in anguish. Over this decision. Verse 8. How can I give you up. Ephraim? How can I hand you over. Israel? How can I treat you like Adma?

How can I make you like Zoboam? My heart is changed within me. And all my compassion. Is aroused. And so God opens his heart.

And shares. The depths of his feelings. Directly to his son. His wayward son. Dads. Do you ever do that?

Do you ever just open your heart. And tell your sons. What your heart feels. For him. God does with his son. His wayward son.

And I know of no Old Testament text. Where the heart of God's intense love. Is more feelingly expressed. Than here.

In verse 8. And it's spoken directly. To his rebellious son. How can I give you up. Son. How can I just hand you over.

To the enemy. To just wreak. Total destruction. Upon you. Now. And that's. The judgment. That God is contemplating.

Treating. His son. Like. Adma. Or Zaboam. Now that's not the.

The most familiar two names. That you've heard this week. I know that. These were two cities. In the plain. During Abraham's. Lifetime.

And they were destroyed. Along with two other cities. And I think you have heard of. Named Sodom. And Gomorrah. And it was a.

Day like any other day. And the sun was just rising. And dads were going off to work. And moms were laboring over breakfast. And kids were. Wiping the sleep out of their eyes. Coming to breakfast. And then it happened.

God rained fire and brimstone. Out of the heavens. Upon. Sodom. Gomorrah. Adma. And Zaboam. The cities of the plain.

And they were totally destroyed. No survivors. Nothing left. But scorched earth. Salt. And sulfur. And so these four cities.

Became symbols. Of. Of total destruction. Utter forsakenness. Final judgment. Like that of Adma. Zaboam.

Sodom. And Gomorrah. And when Israel first. Had become a son of God. This is what God said to his son. That he would do to them.

If they ever broke covenant with him. And went after other gods. Deuteronomy 29. 23. The whole land. Will be a burning waste. Of salt and sulfur.

Did you hear me? The whole land. Not just. Zaboam. The whole land. Salt and sulfur. Nothing planted. Nothing sprouting. No vegetation growing on it.

It will be like the destruction. Of Sodom. And Gomorrah. Adma. And Zaboam. Which the Lord overthrew. In fierce. Anger. Well God.

Israel. God's son Israel. Did rebel. And she did go after other gods. And now that day has come for punishment. And as God is ready to punish his son.

It's like his whole heart does a flip flop. And he just. He's. His heart is panting within. And he said. How can I do this to you? How can I treat you?

Like Admin Zaboam. It's gut wrenching. Feeling. It's compassion arise. It's pity that desires to relieve misery. It's the father grieving over his rebellious son.

Ever bit as much as King David. When he wept over his rebellious son. Absalom. Oh Absalom. My son. Absalom. Absalom. How. I wish that I had died for you.

Oh Absalom. And here is God. Grieving over his son. Before the judgment is about to fall upon them. How can I do this to you? How can I do this to you? And if you think that's an exaggeration.

Of God's heart. Well just wait a few centuries. Until. This same. God. Is in human flesh. And he's on his way into Jerusalem.

On Palm Sunday. And as he comes around the bend. And there sees Jerusalem. It's a festive scene. Everyone's shouting. It's celebrating. Palms are going down. Clothes are lining the pathway.

Loud praises to Jesus. And he is weeping his eyes out. How. How can I do this to you?

Oh Jerusalem. Jerusalem. If you even you only knew on this day.

What would. Would bring you peace. But now it's hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you. When your enemies will build an embankment against you. And encircle you. And hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground.

You. And the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another. Because you did not recognize the time of God's coming. To you. I am he.

And I'm here. And you did not recognize that it was I. And so judgment will come. But oh how can I give you up to that.

And his heart is broken. And so back here in Hosea 11. The thought of abandoning his son. To total utter forsakenness. To the annihilation.

Like the cities of Admins. Hezbollah. Hezbollah. Is more than this father can bear. He recoils at the thought. He's paying to consider it. And perhaps our view of God needs a bit of adjustment.

In order to take. In all that the scriptures say about him. Everything that Hosea says about him. This is your God. Yes God is judge.

And yes he will judge. But Isaiah calls his work of judgment. His strange work. His alien task. And here God announces that in wrath.

He will remember mercy. This pained deliberation. Of the father. As he's thinking about what. He's going to do. In punishing his son. Comes to this conclusion.

Of verse 9. I will not carry out my fierce anger. Nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God and not man. The Holy One among you.

I will not come in wrath. If you think God is an indulgent pushover. For a father. You haven't read the Bible.

Anger and wrath are his constant. And inevitable attitude towards sin. Wherever he sees it. This moment. Whatever sin he sees. There is only one response.

There is only one response. Possible to God. And that is wrath. And anger. And hot displeasure. Because sin is the contradiction. Of who he is. His holiness. And so he cannot look on it.

With anything other. Than extreme. Hatred. And wrath. wrath. But here he decides. But here he decides. That he will not carry out.

That fierce anger. He will not execute. That fierce wrath. That he has for sin. And so he will not pour out. His wrath.

To the fullest intensity. To the total devastation. Of his people. Oh they are still going to face. The invasion. The sword. The exile.

And the extinction. Of the northern kingdom. But there would be a remnant. They would not be like. Admon. Zoboam. Had no survivors. There would be a remnant. For the fiercest.

Of his wrath. Would be. Withheld. And the reason. For not carrying out. His fierce anger. Well. For I am God.

And not man. The holy one. Of Israel. Among you. I'm God. And not man. This is not how man.

Treats others. Who abuse their kindness. And sin so grievously. Against them. If I were in charge. These guys would have been. Annihilated years. And centuries. Earlier. When you read. What they did.

To God. In going after their idols. But I'm not in charge. God is. And he's not like me.

He says. He does not treat. His remnant. As our sins deserve. He doesn't give us. The full intensity. Of his wrath.

That our sins deserve. But he has mercy. On his chosen remnant. Though they deserve. Just as much. As Sodom. And Gomorrah. And Adma. And Zabon.

He is. God. Not man. He's the holy one. That means. The separated one. The one who's distinctly different. He's like no other. He's not like us. And he's holy.

In his love. God. And so there's hope. Beyond the judgment. And it's not. It doesn't have anything to do with.

Because of Israel. His son. Has everything to do with. Because of who God is. His nature. He is God. And not man. The holy one of Israel.

And this all leads us to the final point. Number five. The surprising and gracious homecoming. verses 10 and 11. They will follow the Lord. He will roar like a lion. And when he roars, his children will come trembling from the West. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. And I will settle them in their homes, declares the Lord.

So we learn from this that the wayward son was not exempt from judgment. A way into bondage and captivity, he went away to Egypt and Assyria.

But once again in Hosea, rarely in Hosea, but once again in Hosea, we see that judgment does not have the last word with his son.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. God's gracious salvation has the last word. There is hope even beyond the judgment of God.

There is hope. For a day of future restoration. And he points to that here. The end of chapter 11, a future homecoming.

And it starts with them following the Lord. Verse 10, they will follow the Lord. Now there's something new. That's something that Israel hadn't been good at. They had turned away from the Lord and followed in their own ways, in the ways of the nations.

But this is speaking of something new, something different. Yes, judgment will come. It must come because if God just spares them, then what will happen?

They'll just return to going in their own way. So God must discipline them. He must pour out his judgments and he must work a change in heart in them. And that's what he portrays here has happened.

They've gone away into captivity. They've learned their lesson in the woodshed. And now there's this homecoming. And now they're following the Lord. They've been humbled in the far country.

Here's the return of the prodigal. His waywardness has been healed. His heart has been turned away from idols, back to the Lord. And now he's following the Lord.

And notice it is the Lord himself who does all this with his effective call. He will roar like a lion. He'll roar like a lion.

The king of the jungle. The lion of the tribe of Judah. And when he roars, it's not a call to ignore. But his call is sovereign in grace.

And it carries with it the very power to affect what he says. Does he say, come to me, sinner? Then there's a power in this roar to actually make the sinner's heart come to this lion.

Amen. There's a power in his call to change the heart. A voice that wakes the dead and makes his people hear.

And so what's the effect of his roar? When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. Why trembling, kids? Because they've been humbled for their sin.

They've been humbled for their idolatry. For their forsaken God. Now they're returning, but they're coming trembling. They're coming trembling. There's holy awe of this God who is roaring like a lion.

And verse 11 says, they'll come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, from these places of their captivity. Now they'll come back into the land and I will settle them in their homes, declares the Lord.

Notice it again. It's something that the Lord will do. He will call them. He will roar. He will settle them in the land. Salvation is of the Lord. The fact that there's any hope after judgment poured out upon them is all owing to his sovereign surprising grace.

What have we seen in Hosea from chapter four? Right on. We've seen Israel sin. God's judgment. Israel sin. God's judgment. Back and forth for eight chapters.

And now at the end of this section. We see that beyond God's judgment. There's a peak through the dark storm clouds of judgment.

And the sun shines a shooting ray on a future day of redemption and restoration and hope of salvation. It's all of grace.

It's all of grace. It's all the Lord's doing. There's three sections to the book of Hosea. And every section ends with this bright ray of sunshine about future hope.

But before that, there's just a lot of darkness, isn't there? We've seen it. This cycle. Israel sin.

God's judgment. Israel sin. God's judgment. And then finally we come to future redemption. And that cycle went chapters one to three.

The very last verse of chapter three, verse five, ended this way. Afterwards, the Israelites will return and seek the Lord, their God and David, their king.

A reference to Jesus. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days. The last days in scriptures is from the first coming of Christ to the second coming of Christ.

And in this period, under King David's greater son, Jesus, people will come trembling back to the Lord. That's how the first section of the book ended.

Start the second section, chapter four. We've seen Israel sin. God's judgment. Israel sin. God's judgment. And we come to the end of chapter 11. What do we have?

We have the lion of the tribe of Judah roaring. And the people having been chastened by the disciplining judgment of God coming trembling from the west, out of Egypt, out of captivity, back to the Lord.

And Jose is going to take us through this cycle one more time. Chapters 12 through 14 and the whole of chapter 14. It's like the clouds just roll back and there's nothing but sunshine as we see the brightest display of the coming salvation.

And the rest of the Bible makes clear often by quoting in the New Testament, quoting the book of Hosea. It makes clear that this restoration, this future restoration happens not only to the Jews who come trembling back, but to the Gentiles.

Who were not a people, but now are the people of God who had not been loved, but now are the loved ones. And they come trembling to the lion Jesus and walk in his ways.

And yes, Gentiles join Jews. They're grafted in to the reconstituted Israel of God. And from the east and the west, they come. These Gentiles, they come to sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Jesus.

Full citizens of the Israel of God. Heirs of the same promises. For if you belong to Christ. Galatians 3 29.

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. So what we're studying here has to do with us.

Have you come trembling back to the lion and his call of the gospel? Return to me. Why will you die? Why will you not turn and live?

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. How can I give you up? It's always interesting to ask the question at the end of a chapter of the Old Testament.

How does the New Testament use Hosea chapter 11? Well, it does so by quoting one half of it, one verse. It quotes half the last half of verse one, doesn't it?

Out of Egypt, I called my son. You remember Matthew 2. And King Herod wants to kill Jesus, but he pretends he wants to come and worship him.

Just a toddler, just less than two years old. And an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream. And says, go get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.

Stay there till I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. And so he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.

And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet. Out of Egypt, I have called my son. Hosea 11, 1b.

And when you first read that in Hosea 11, 1. I suppose you didn't immediately think about Jesus. You thought about Israel, his son, whom God called out of Egypt in the Exodus.

And you were meant to think of that. Indeed, that's its first reference. But under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew sees Israel as a type of Jesus.

There are many similarities. Both were called God's son. And had an intimate relationship with God. And had a peculiar calling in their life. Both found temporary refuge in Egypt from danger.

Both were miraculously delivered by their heavenly father from extinction as infants. Both had to return to their own land to fulfill their calling. And so Matthew sees these, this thematic unity.

These themes that were true of Israel. Well, he sees them as true of Jesus. And so he says, these words that were originally spoken of Israel are fulfilled ultimately in Jesus.

Out of Egypt, I have called my son. Now, here's where the likeness is between these two sons. Ends and the contrasts begin.

Because Israel did not fulfill their calling as the son of God, did they? They rebelled. And they were unfaithful. But God not only had a rebellious son in his family.

He had a perfect son. An eternal son. And Matthew, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the eternal Godhead.

And Matthew is telling us in chapter two by quoting Hosea. He is saying that in Jesus Christ, we find all that Israel was called to be, but failed to be.

Where Israel failed to obey, Jesus obeyed. Where Israel failed in their calling to glorify God and display his splendor. Where Jesus, the son, has perfectly succeeded.

He was faithful as God's son over his house. And so by quoting Hosea 11, 1, Matthew is connecting Jesus. He is linking Jesus to the message of the whole book of Hosea.

And Hosea is saying that Israel must undergo slavery and bondage once more for their ungrateful wickedness. I called you out of Egypt, but back to Egypt, back to bondage, captivity.

You must go. So there will be a second exodus. A second exodus that will follow when Israel will come trembling back to the Lord.

From Egypt and to Syria. And when will it happen? Chapter three and verse five. In the last days under David, our king. A messianic title for Jesus.

Jesus. And so Matthew is saying he's here. The greater son, the perfect, obedient, faithful son.

He's here. He's the one born in the manger in Bethlehem. The roaring lion has come and is roaring and his children are coming trembling back to him.

And so Egypt is a type of spiritual bondage. And Christ came to identify with those in bondage to set them free and to lead them out into freedom.

And the way this deliverance will come ultimately to the Israel of God is through God's perfect son, Jesus, the eternal son of God, who is faithful where Israel was unfaithful.

So Christ comes out of Egypt. He's called out of Egypt to show that this fulfillment of the second exodus is come.

And Matthew's announcing the long expected, the true, the real, the eternal deliverance of God's people is come in this person, this son of God.

Hear him. Worship him. Trust in him. The son that God called out of Egypt. And that takes us back into Hebrews 11.

Remember the predicament of God's intense love? Israel's sin called for his fiercest anger and wrath poured out upon them, ultimately forsaken forever.

That's what they deserve. But remember, God's heart was so stirred. How can I do this? I will not carry out my fiercest anger. And so he sends them into captivity, but he withholds his fiercest wrath.

Well, there's a problem here. There's a problem. This is the Holy One of Israel. He cannot just set aside his fierce wrath. Whatever he feels stirring in his bosom, he can't just say, well, I know they deserve it, but oh, I just pity them so much.

I won't punish them and give them what they deserve. He would contradict himself. He would deny himself. His holiness, his justice, his wrath, his anger. He cannot do that.

For God to remain holy, the full intensity of his wrath and anger must fall upon sin. And so we have a problem arising in Hosea 11.

But when Matthew tells us in chapter 2. That God has called his son out of Egypt.

Here's the deliverer. He's come. And you read on in Matthew and you come to chapter 27. And we find, we find, we see that God's love finds a way out of this dilemma on a lonely hill of Golgotha.

Where he pours out the fiercest anger. The undiminished, undiluted, infinite wrath upon sin.

Upon this son of his, Jesus Christ. It was total forsakenness.

It was utter devastation. Final judgment that we would have endured forever and ever in hell. Not one drop was spared, brethren.

It was given to him to drink in his cup. And it fell full force upon our substitute, God's perfect son.

As I thought of this, I thought. Brothers and sisters, if it's so pained God at the very thought of punishing his prodigal son, Israel. That it stirred him to the depths and he says, how can I do this?

How can I give Israel over? Remember, what was the agony and torment of the father's love at Calvary? When he contemplated pouring out the strictest, fullest, undiluted wrath.

Not upon a wayward son. But upon his own beloved son in whom he was well pleased. Oh, how can I do this to you, my beloved son?

But he did not spare his own son. But gave him up for us all. Yes, us prodigals.

Favored prodigals. Chosen by grace. How deep the father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure. That he should give his only son to make a wretch a treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss. The father turns his face away. As wounds which marred the chosen one bring many sons to glory.

Trembling at the sight of such wrath. Trembling at the sight of such sovereign grace and love for us prodigals. You see, we're the prodigals.

We're God's prodigal sons. And God did not spare his own son. That he might spare us his prodigal sons. He put his own perfect son to grief.

That he might spare us from eternal torments. For we had turned and gone our own way. Each of us had gone our own way. But the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.

And by his stripes we are healed. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. For I am God.

And not man. This is not man's way. With prodigals. But it's God's way. Let's worship our father this day. Is he your father?

What kind of son are you? Are you a trembling son? Who wants to live out every day to his glory. Display his splendor. Which is what you're called to.

You can only fulfill that in Christ. In the perfect son. United to him. And some of you say, Well, you know, we saw God stepping up to the plate.

Getting ready to punish his son. And then, oh, how can I do this? And backing away. You know, maybe he'll do that. For all sinners in the day of judgment. Maybe he doesn't really have what it takes.

To truly send someone to hell forever. And maybe he'll come to judgment. Yes, he's bad. But how can I do this? I mean, it's forever and ever. Oh, may God spare you of such a thought.

Folks, if he did not spare his own perfect son. When he bore the sins of his people. Don't think for a moment that he'll spare you. If you go on rejecting that perfect son.

He's holy. His fierce wrath will either be born by you forever in hell. Or by Jesus Christ on Calvary.

For all who put their trust in him. Trust him. Receive him. Today. This is the day of salvation. This is the day of grace.

Let's pray. Father. Father. We see again in Hosea.

And in the New Testament. In Matthew. Just how much it cost you. To be our father. To call us as your sons. To redeem us prodigals.

From what we deserved. And we're humbled. That you should ever give up your son. The son of your love. For us. You should put him to grief for us.

That we might know everlasting joy. And oh, please bring to our hearts. That old, old story. With power again this morning. To cause our hearts to tremble.

To wonder at this love. To wonder at this holiness. At this great wrath. This way of salvation.

This eternal life. Oh, draw sinners to yourself. And make us worshipers. All over again we pray. For Jesus prays. Amen. Amen.