0373. FLEEING FROM THE REDEEMER.

FLEEING FROM THE REDEEMER.

"Woe unto them! for they have fled from Me: though I have redeemed them" (Hos_7:13).

Ephraim is here said to be like a silly dove (Luk_11:11). Could anything be more silly than to flee from Him who hath redeemed us. To flee from Him is to flee to destruction (Luk_11:13). Alas, that such silliness should be so very common.

I. See what the Lord has done for them. "I have redeemed them." Think of their wretched condition in Egypt, and how He redeemed them out of the house of slavery (Mic_6:4). Think of His condescension in coming down to dwell in a bush, that He might manifest His purpose of grace to Moses (Exo_3:8). Think of what He hath done for us in coming down to dwell in the Man Christ Jesus, that He might show forth the riches of His grace in redeeming us by His own blood. What a sacrifice of the wealth of divine love is here. "He is the propitiation for our sins."

II. See what they did with the Lord. "They fled from Him." It is impossible to flee from that presence which is everywhere, or from the all-searching of His eyes; but we may flee from Him in the love and confidence of our hearts and in the choosing of our own will and way. It is a sure sign that there is something wrong within when we turn away from those who love us. The guilty child is ashamed to look its father in the face; its eyes flee from him. Some flee from the Lord, like Jonah, by refusing to obey His Word; but there be many who flee from Him, like Adam, because they know that they have sinned against Him, It was not so with David. "I flee to Thee to hide me." It is utter madness for a thirsty soul to flee from the fountain of living water to broken and empty cisterns.

III. See what they said about Him. "They have spoken lies against Me" (Luk_11:13). Those who flee from the mercy of God are likely to think and speak lies about Him. They would drag the Holy One down to their own level. They speak lies against Him when they say: 1. That God does not love them. 2. That they need to make themselves better before coming back to Him. 3. That the death of Christ was not for them. 4. That simple faith in Him will not justify. 5. That their sins are too many to be forgiven. 6. That He does not answer prayer. 7. That He is not able to keep from falling. Those who speak such lies against Him show that they have come under the power of the devil, who is such a liar from the beginning.

IV. See where they go who flee from the Redeemer. "Woe unto them" (Luk_11:13). They rush into grief and misery and into the destruction of all peace and fellowship with God. To turn away from our Redeemer is to turn back to the bondage and slavery of our own restless self-will. "He that is without Christ is without hope" (Eph_2:12).

Autor: James Smith