Restorative justice, not retributive justice

Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Liz Nixon answers:

What did I like about today’s passage?

These chapters mostly talk about the way Israel has been unfaithful to God, and the natural consequences that come from sin. The people take to sin so easily and naturally: they made idols and worshipped them, installed new kings without consulting God and used the altars meant for worship as a place to sin.

Hosea declares in chapter 9 that Israel has been unfaithful to God and God Himself says He has hated them because of their wickedness in Gilgal; they will be driven out of His house and He will no longer love them. They did not want God, and so they would learn what it is to live without God, through exile to Assyria and a dreaded return to Egypt.

The nation has been focussed on being strong, rather than being in relationship with God. And the punishment which will come their way is not about vengeance or justice being served. The discipline of God is about the restoration of those who have done wrong, hoping for repentance from them and a fresh start with Him.

God’s justice is about restoration, not retribution.

Exile will be an opportunity for them to know God better and have a clearer understanding of who He is. They have been slow to learn whilst living in God’s land, so a time away from His land and His temple could teach them to pursue Him outside of those things. Can they learn and change though?

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

I love seeing how God describes the early days of their relationship, almost with rose-tinted glasses, given that the people were complaining pretty much as soon as they arrived in the wilderness!

Yet we know God sees things more clearly than us, so maybe it is less about rose-tinted glasses, but “son – glasses”. He sees Israel through the lens of Jesus, seeing who He had made them to be and perfectly loving them as they learn and change.

God says He will gather them together again after a period of exile as discipline, but they will not be as fruitful this time, unlike the beginning. This is exactly what God promised would happen for disobedience under the terms of the Old Covenant (see Deuteronomy).

Thankfully, when we live under the covenant of Jesus’ blood, God remembers our sins no more and fruit can still abound in our lives. That is good news! We can come to God by faith in a new and better covenant, where He promises to remember our sins no more.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

It’s important to see life through God’s perspective rather than my own or through the people around me, so I’d like to get into a good habit of seeking His opinion on things first, before then turning to my husband, family and trusted friends.

Who am I going to share this with?

People on The Gold course.