Special Sunday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
In 1988, over a third of Yellowstone National Park was decimated by disastrous wildfires. The park became a wasteland of death. But as it turned out, the fires forced all the old trees to drop their seeds, which began the process of a newer, more resplendent forest emerging. In the genius of God’s creation, death gives way to life.
Hosea’s prophecies against Israel were dark and deathly and perhaps uncomfortable for us. But Israel had habitually disobeyed God, and so according to his justice, God was snatching back all of their blessings that were from him. And yet even when Israel was a wasteland of death, God promised even still to renew it, to cause the land to flourish and teem with life again, and to plant the Israelites back in their home. Death gives way to life.
In fact, God refers to Israel as Jezreel, which means “God sows.” Initially, this was because God was sowing destruction on his unfaithful people—but now the metaphor becomes agricultural, and God is re-planting the crops that allow the people to thrive. And whereas God had called the unfaithful people “Not-Loved” and “Not-My-People,” God is sowing redemption and declaring them his beloved people.
This miracle of redemption has already come, and it came through Jesus. Christ died, but his death gave way to life and he resurrected. And because of that, we who were dead are now restored to life! God causes every good thing to flourish for us, He has renamed us “My-Beloved” and “My-People,” and he plants us in himself is such a way that no one can uproot us. Our death gives way to life! All we can now do is respond the same way the redeemed Israelites did: we look to Christ and, with a heart of joyful worship, say, “you are my God.”
