Lessons from the law of the rebellious son and the death penalty
July 10, 2026Deut 21:18-21 As we have seen in Hosea 11, the background to God’s reluctance to eliminate Israel for their rebellion is the law of the rebellious son (Deut 21:18-21). It legislates that parents who have such a son take him to the elders and have him stoned. It is a horrifyingly cold-bloodied idea, especially from our permissive Western context. There are several aspects to it that we may find objectionable. First, how could any parent contemplate such a thing? Second, from our modern cultures, the death penalty sounds much too harsh for the kind of behaviour that many parents routinely…
God’s dilemma and how He solves it
Hos 11:1-11 Many a Christian parent knows the heartache of a child who turned rebellious and walked away from the Lord. Behind the sadness, even resignation, there is often the buried anguish of many years when those parents strained to…
Breaking up fallow ground: The time is now
Hos 10:9-15 My grandmother was born into a well-to-do family and married my grandfather who had an influential job. She had both wealth and prestige and was an immensely proud woman. However, during the siege of Budapest in the winter…
The reality of our heart and what we mourn for
Hos 10:1-8 The house we bought a few years ago came with a beautiful garden including some roses under our bedroom window. All that first summer after our move, it annoyed me that the middle rose produced no flowers and…
The tempting philosophy of ‘God and…’ and its results
Hos 9:1-17 I recently heard the testimony of a Christian woman who raised five children while holding down a demanding job. She was Superwoman, a loving wife, mother and effective worker. Except all this took a toll and when she…
What those who rely on themselves have forgotten
Hosea 8:1-14 I recently visited a historic church from the early days of New Zealand settlers. Wandering around the graves scattered in the churchyard, I came across a more recent tombstone with a person’s name and dates on it, followed…
An anatomy of sin and the painful cost of healing
Hos 7:1-16 At the end of 2019, the effects of the devastating bush fires in Australia were felt even in New Zealand, over 2,000 km away. I remember waking up on New Year’s Eve to an eery yellow glow with…
What it means to know God and why it matters
Hosea 6:1-11 Once upon a time, being a Christian was associated with being ‘a good person’, someone with moral integrity, a diligent and conscientious individual who spoke truth and showed compassion and love to others. Nowadays, Christians are more likely…
Why is God against His own people?
Hos 5:8-15 Many of us know from personal experience, or from those of others, what it is like when we make plans, but it seems that everything conspires against us. It may be the promise of a new job that…
Why pursuing sin can destroy us
Hos 5:1-7 Sometimes one hears people say in their younger years that they want to live first and there will be time enough for God later. Behind such thinking are some appalling assumptions about God. First, it implicitly compares the…
The consequences of neglecting to know God
Hos 4:1-19 It is sometimes observed in spouses that after a long marriage they start to look alike. It is not that their bone structure dramatically changes but in their love for each other they may mirror and take on…