“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me [is] thine
help.”
(Ho 13:9 AV)
What
a verse! This about sums it up! The LORD had brought this nation from the
bonds of slavery to Egypt. He had
brought them over the river Jordan. He
had set them up in their own land and gave them laws of holiness and
righteousness. He blessed them for their
obedience so there was no other nation before or after them. But they turned from the LORD and went their
own way. They rejected the God of Israel
to follow the god of prosperity and compromise.
In so doing, the fell to the wrath of God and the abuse of the very
nations to which they lusted after. They
destroyed themselves.
But
God did not forget His covenant with them.
He restored them only to have them reject their Messiah. They would not accept Jesus by faith. They killed him on a cruel cross. They rejected Him afresh after the resurrection. Yet, God is a God of promise. He made a promise to Abraham and Isaac. A promise which He would not renege. A covenant of love and promise that would
span the ages of human history. A
promise to be their help.
I
have read of some of the godliest people who have come from a life of utter
destruction. Whether before or after salvation,
it matters not, when God met them in their deepest time of need. The addict who was on skid row. The adulterer; alone, penniless, and
destitute. The aids patient, dying in
the bed because he used contaminated needles.
All at their end. But in the
desperation, they cried out for mercy. They
knew they had no other hope. It was at
that point that God raised them up.
We
are often at the end of ourselves. We
make a mess of the life which the LORD graciously gave to us. We have made a complete disaster out of what
the LORD intended to be a blessing. Yet,
God is a God of mercy and grace. All we
have to do is to admit that we have made a mess, deserve the mess, but we have nowhere
else to turn! God is our help. Even in situations, that to us, seems
hopeless.
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