September 20
Hosea 13:1: When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted
himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. 2: And now they sin
more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and
idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the
craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. 3: Therefore they shall be as the morning
cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is
driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the
chimney.
The sinner and all our vain works are like
the morning cloud, the dew, the chaff and the smoke of the chimney. They shall all
pass away. But Christ is not so, nor are
those who put their trust in him.
It was in the cloud that God gave the rainbow
as a token of the covenant which God made with Noah after the flood. (Gen 9:
13-14, 16) Christ is the Cloud where God
makes his everlasting covenant with his people. It was in the cloud where the
glory of the Lord appeared before Israel.
(Ex 16:10) The LORD descended in the cloud. (Ex 34: 5-8) Christ is that
Cloud wherein the triune God descended among men, where we see the glory of
God. The cloud led Israel through the wilderness and protected them. (Ex 13:
21; 14: 19-20) So Christ is the Cloud which covers, protects, leads and makes
sure all God’s covenant promises to those who trust him.
Also, man’s righteousness is as dew,
passing away. But God's blessings in Christ is dew of another kind. The dew of grace
freely falls wherever God is pleased to send it, even as the dew upon the grass.
His Word is life and sustenance to the believer like dew on the tender plant. (Deut
32: 1-3) As the dew accomplishes God’s work upon the earth so his word never
fails to accomplish his work among sinners. (Is 55: 10-11; 61: 11) Christ is the
Dew from heaven which causes God's elect lilies to grow in newness of life, who
gives us strong roots as the strong cedars in Lebanon, who makes the believer
beautiful as the olive tree and fragrant to smell as the cedar. (Hos 14: 5-6)
Further, Christ compares sinners,
who trust in their own works, to chaff. (Job 21: 18; Ps 1: 4) It is Christ who
separates the wheat, his redeemed, from the chaff. (Mt 3: 12; Lu 3; 17) Christ makes us fruitful and full of life
rather than dry and barren. (Php 1: 11)
Lastly, the sinner and our
vain righteousness are compared to smoke out of the chimney which blows away. Yet,
Christ's bride is a pillar of smoke which is “perfumed with myrrh and
frankincense, with all powders of the merchant.” (SOS 3: 6) That merchant is
Christ the Lord. His righteousness perfumes the believer as myrrh and
frankincense. By faith, the believer rises
up to God like smoke, perfumed in Christ’s righteousness, therefore accepted of
God.
Sinner has the Lord discovered to you that
you and your works are but clouds, dew, chaff and smoke which the wind carries
away with ease? Then heed the Lord's
command. He even gives us the words to
speak to him, “O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by
thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take
away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the
calves of our lips. Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses:
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods:
for in thee [Lord] the fatherless findeth mercy.” (Hos 14: 1-2)