Luke 15
records the parable of the young man who, taking his inheritance in hand,
walked out on his father. We call him the prodigal son.
Many of us
may not realize what the word "prodigal" really means. When I was a child, my
father taught evening classes in a medium-security penitentiary in Moberly,
MO. Some of the inmates sang in a Gospel chorus and they chose for their
name, The Prodigals. I suspect they assumed, incorrectly, that “prodigal”
means "wayward," "rebellious," or "unruly." You may have thought that, too.
In fact,
these definitions are far wide of the mark. The primary meaning of prodigal
is "recklessly extravagant, or lavish." In the parable in Luke 15, it
describes the reckless abandon with which the son spent his inheritance: he
"wasted his substance with riotous living."
I would
suggest to you that in Luke 15, there is not only a prodigal son who was
extravagant with his inheritance but there was also a prodigal father who was
extravagant with his forgiveness. And there was a prodigal brother who was
extravagant with his criticism of both his brother and his father. That is
the point of the parable, I believe: an older brother who was recklessly
excessive in his criticism of his brother and of his father was very far from
his father although he’d never left the farm.
Now let me
ask you to turn your attention from Luke 15 to Hosea chapters 6 through 11.
In Hosea 6:4–11:11, a prodigal nation and a prodigal God meet. Israel was
guilty of prodigal living and God responded with prodigal loving. Let’s look
at the text.
The people of
Israel were guilty of prodigal living. They were prodigal in their injustice,
in their intemperance, in their ingratitude, in their insincerity and in their
iniquity. Let me show you what I mean.
A.
Prodigal Injustice (6:6-7:2)
Injustice was
rampant in Israel. Would you just listen to the charges against the leaders
of Israel: the very people who should insure justice in the land? God says
they have broken their covenant with Him; their streets are stained with the
bloody footprints of wicked men; their priests violate the law like common
criminals, including murder; sexual sin is rampant; the common people are
violated by the people in power; the leaders are deceitful and are stealing
from the people.
Does any of
this sound like today’s headlines?
·
In 1756, Voltaire wrote: “All men have equal rights to liberty, to
their property and to the protection of the laws.”
·
As long ago as 200 B.C., Cistellaria Plautus said, “The law for the
rich and poor is not the same.”
·
But the principle of equal protection under the law goes back even
further than that. In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, written over 1500
years before Christ, God told Moses: “22 You are to have the
same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the
Lord your God.’” (Leviticus
24:22)
God intends,
no demands, that all people be treated equally by those in positions of
leadership and power. God had said He would not prosper Israel if justice is
not equal under the Law. Is there any reason to believe that God regards
injustice, favoritism and cronyism more favorably today than He did then?
So let me ask
you, do you believe that rich and poor receive equal treatment by law
enforcement and the courts? Do you believe that citizens and aliens receive
equal protection? Do you believe that the politically connected and the
politically disaffected are regarded equally by those who are in power?
The Lady
Justice statue ranks as one of the most well known statues in the world.
Although, this statue is not typically attributed to any one famous sculptor,
the fact that it adorns so many of the world’s courthouses has rendered it one
of the more well known sculptures.
While it goes
by many names, the most popular are Lady Justice, Scales of Justice,
and Blind Justice. The statue dates it origins from ancient Greek and
Roman times, as the lady represented is Themis, the goddess of justice and
law. Well known for her clear sightedness, she typically holds a sword in one
hand and scales in the other.
The scales
that she holds represent the impartiality with which justice is served and the
sword signifies the power that is held by those making the decision. During
the 16th century, artists started showing the lady blindfolded to show that
justice is not subject to influence. The symbol endures but does the
principle?
Now, lest we
be too hard on our political leaders and on our courts, let me ask if we, as
individuals, treat the rich and poor in the same way? Do we regard our
countrymen and the aliens in our land with the same favor? Do we view the
rich and the poor though the same eyes?
My appeal is
for grass-roots justice, grass-roots equality and grass-roots equity. I make
that appeal because I believe it is God’s appeal.
B.
Prodigal Intemperance (7:3-7:6)
3
“They
delight the king with their wickedness,
the princes with
their lies.
4
They are all
adulterers,
burning like an
oven
whose fire the
baker need not stir
from the kneading
of the dough till it rises.
5
On the day of the
festival of our king
the princes become
inflamed with wine,
and he joins hands
with the mockers.
6
Their hearts are
like an oven;
they approach him
with intrigue.
Their passion
smolders all night;
in the morning it
blazes like a flaming fire.
The leaders
of Israel were guilty of gross overindulgence and wanton excess. God said
that they are all adulterers with burning passion that needs nothing to stoke
its flames or stir its coals. The Lord said that the king’s lieutenants are
intoxicated and that the king even joined in their drunken revelry. YHWH
charged that the assistants and associates approached him with plots, schemes
and conspiracies on their mind and that the king conspires with them to
exploit the powerless.
While it
would be tempting to use this as an opportunity to level a fusillade at
politicians, let me hasten to say that very often government of the people
merely reflects the values and the morals of the electorate. If we want to
clean up government, we ought to start by cleaning up our own lives, our own
hearts and our own minds. Intemperate government is usually an extension of
an intemperate populace.
In Hosea’s
time, God’s people were guilty of extreme intemperance. Are we today?
C.
Prodigal Ingratitude (7:7-16)
Tremendous
ingratitude is another characteristic of Israel in Hosea’s age. God said:
13b
I long to redeem
them
but they speak lies
against me.
14
They do not cry out
to me from their hearts
but wail upon their
beds.
They gather
together for grain and new wine
but turn away from
me.
15
I trained them and
strengthened them,
but they plot evil
against me.
16a
They do not turn to
the Most High.
With all that
YHWH had done for these insignificant descendants of Abraham, would you not
think He could expect that they would demonstrate gratitude in response? But
He could not.
What about a
people today who say that they have received God’s favor? Should they not
live lives of gratitude? A nation that sings that God has shed His grace on
them ought to live as if He has, not as if there is no God.
An attitude
of gratitude will reflect itself in thanksliving.
D.
Prodigal Insincerity (8:1-14)
Hosea wrote:
2
Israel cries out to me,
‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’
3
But Israel has rejected what is
good;
With their
mouths, they spoke God’s name and pledged their allegiance to Him but with
their hands, they made false gods that they worshiped. With their lips they
told God that they loved Him but with their hands they made objects that they
loved more.
They
disregarded God when they chose their national leaders and then wondered why
their leaders disregarded God. They went through the rituals of worship but
their hearts were surrendered to other lords. They liked to wear the title of
“God’s Chosen People” but at the same time, they were choosing other gods.
One of the
maxims of Scripture is that God knows our hearts. We cannot deceive Him with
acts of piety. Extravagant acts of insincerity will not atone for hearts that
are far from God.
E.
Prodigal Iniquity (9:1 – 10:15)
Again, from
the pen of the prophet:
Let Israel know
this.
Because your sins
are so many
and your hostility
so great,
the prophet is
considered a fool,
the inspired man a
maniac.
Hosea
presents a laundry list of the sins of Israel. They have been unfaithful to
God. They are immersed in corruption. They worship idols. Their leaders are
rebellious toward God. The people’s hearts are deceitful and they have sown
seeds of wickedness. The nation has trusted in armies and armaments instead
of the arm of the Lord.
As a result
of prodigal, blatant and outrageous iniquity, God’s people were going to
receive profuse punishment.
So what about
God’s people today? Is there sin in the camp of the Lord? Do we violate
God’s laws with abandon?
In the face of Israel’s excessive disregard
of God and disobedience to His will, how do you think He will respond? Would
you not expect Him to banish all of Israel from His presence and forbid them
or their offspring from any share in His kingdom?
While that is what you might expect, that is
not what Israel would receive. Prodigal living was about to meet prodigal
loving. Prodigal iniquity was about to go head-to-head with prodigal
inequity. Hear the word of the Lord:
8
“How can I give you
up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboiim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9
I will not carry out my fierce
anger,
nor will I turn and devastate
Ephraim.
For I am God, and not man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come in wrath.
10
They will follow the
Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling
from the west.
11
They will come trembling
like birds from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them in their
homes,”
declares the
Lord.
Justice would seem to demand capital
punishment for the capital crimes committed against God. Israel deserved
God’s anger but received God’s adoration…God’s reckless, extravagant and
lavish love.
CONCLUSION:
One of the earliest phrases we learn as children is,
“That’s not fair!” Some of us have not matured very much beyond that stage,
at least in our relationship with God. We still shake our fists at Him and
charge Him with being unfair when we don’t get what we want from Him.
Well, guess what. God is unfair. And I am glad He is.
If He were fair, we’d be all be condemned because of our wickedness. But God
is not fair. We deserve justice but He grants grace. Now isn’t that
just…amazing?
