Day 10: Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
The exodus from Egypt represents a “type” of salvation illustrating a pattern that is realized in Jesus Christ. Israel spent 400 years in Egypt before the exodus, eventually enslaved and suffering. The picture of the exodus is: slavery → God’s provision of a deliver → God’s deliverance. The pattern illustrates the salvation accomplished through Jesus Christ. Hosea, in chapter 11, utilizes that type with a prophetic word: the son of God will be called from Egypt.
After the wise men visited Jesus, Herod feared another king was born and ordered the baby boys of Bethlehem killed. Jesus’ family fled to Egypt where, some years later, an angel of God called them to return to Israel. More than an isolated prophetic word, Hosea’s word illustrates the purpose of God in all of history: to send His son to save sinners. That makes Hosea 11 fascinating. The chapter details God’s compassion and Israel’s response of rebellion. “My people are bent on turning away from me” (11:7). How are you responding to God’s saving love? God’s call to belief is a call to repent from sin and follow Jesus.