part0213

Key Verse : "Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them."

When Adam and Eve ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, more than eating fruit from a tree that had been declared off-limits, they were rejecting God by their actions. In the wilderness with Moses, after they had been triumphantly led out of Egypt, the children of Israel were rejecting God each time that they grumbled and complained about not having what they believed to be satisfactory living conditions. Throughout their history, whenever they chose to worship an idol instead of the living Lord, the children of Israel were turning from God and turning to the false, non-living gods of this world.

Since the beginning of time, God has felt the pain of rejection by the very people that He created and has loved. He especially felt it when He let His Son die on the cross at Calvary as a sin Sacrifice for the people that were rejecting Him. One can ignore the work of Creation, and God has still done much for humanity. Yet, for the most part, humanity has not appreciated it. Therefore, before the Lord will use a person for some special work, He will often let that person first feel the same hurt and rejection that He has felt so that he or she can become a more vital spokesperson for Him. With respect to being rejected, one can never fully appreciate how God has felt for all this time and still feels until he or she has first felt the pain of rejection, too.

In Hosea 14:1-9, God used a man, named Hosea, to plead with His people, but given the choice, Hosea might have chosen to not go through what the Lord had him experience. God told him to marry a prostitute, which he did, and then, he agonized over her repeated decisions to be with other men. God let Hosea feel the same rejection that He had felt with respect to Israel, and then, He sent him to plead with the children of Israel to repent and return to Him.