Hosea 11:10-11 (NIV): 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 from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
It is never God’s first choice to administer harsh discipline to His children. At many times in the past, though, it has been necessary. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, there were several times when God knew that they must be destroyed because of their intractable wickedness, and had determined to do it at once. But, because of the intercession of Moses, He relented, and ended up destroying that generation over the course of the next 40 years. (The downside of that was that they ended up passing on their rebelliousness to their children, which continued to crop up and defile the following generations.)
During the time of the judges, God’s people turned away from Him over and over again. Every time they rebelled, God brought enemies in and gave them power and authority to overcome and mistreat His own people, until they were willing to turn back. Later, in the divided kingdom, first Israel and then Judah turned to idols and began to rely on treaties with other nations instead of on their covenant with God. And so He sent them into exile – first Israel, than Judah. Israel was destroyed by the fires of captivity. They melted like tin, and were alloyed with their captors and became completely lost. The remnant of Judah that were taken into captivity, were melted down by the captivity as well. But in their case, the fire purified them, allowing God to recast them into a people that He could prepare to receive His Messiah.
Even today God is willing to discipline His people – those who are called by His name – even though it breaks His heart to do so. God is willing to let the fire of trial, and persecution, and even of captivity, to melt us down, to destroy all that we have grown to rely on for safety and security, and to skim away the dross, so that we come out of the trial purified and clean. Some, when they are melted by the fire, still choose to combine with the world in an alloy that is doomed to destruction. But others, those who stand the test and are made pure, will come trembling to God when He calls us with a roar to bring us out of the world and into His kingdom.
Father, as I always pray, so I pray now in response to Your word: I am Yours, Lord. Melt me, mold me, shape me, fill me. Remove any impurities from my life and from my heart, so that I can stand before You, clean, pure, and shining. Make me into an instrument of righteousness, fit for Your hand, and then use me to help to grow Your kingdom. Amen.