Ask the Pastor

Occasionally, in lieu of a prepared sermon, Doug offers the congregation the opportunity to ask him questions on a variety of issues.  He responds to these spontaneously with a mixture of erudition and humor.  Through the web site, Doug offers this same service to you by responding personally to your emailed comments or questions.  Some of which, with your permission, we will list here to inspire, inform or encourage someone else.  Contact Doug at plymouth@wmis.net. 

Dear Pastor Doug:

I have some questions with regard to Matthew 2:13-15. Will you please

help me understand the reference to Hosea 11:1 per the NIV Bible?

Matthew 2:13-15 explains that Joseph was commanded by an angel in a dream to gather Jesus and Mary and take them to Egypt as Herod was looking for the child Jesus in order to kill him. The angel told Joseph that he, the angel, would let Joseph know when it was safe to come out of hiding in Egypt.

Matthew 2:15 in the NIV Bible states, "And so was fulfilled what the

Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son'."

The  NIV version references Hosea 11:1 which states, "When Israel

was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son."

Hosea 11:2 goes on to say, "But the more I called Israel, the

further they went from me."

I am confused, as it seems to me that the son mentioned in Hosea 11:1 is Israel, not Jesus. God brought Israel out of Egypt through Moses. He also brought Jesus out of Egypt, but Hosea 11:1 seems to be speaking about Israel. Hence the non-capitalization of the word "son" in Hosea 11:1. If it were Jesus who was the "son" spoken about in Hosea 11:1, wouldn't "son" in Hosea 11:1 be capitalized the way "son" is in the New Testament when referencing Jesus? Additionally, Hosea would have been written prior to Matthew, so why would Hosea use the past tense of the verb "to call" ref. "Out of Israel I called my son."

If Hosea were prophesying Jesus being brought out of Egypt, and if Hosea was written before Matthew, wouldn't Hosea have written, "Out of Israel I will call my Son?" Finally, why would Hosea 11:1be speaking of Israel as a child and God's love for him (him being Israel) and talking about bringing Jesus out of Egypt all in the same sentence and verse, and then go on in Hosea 11:2 to say that Israel just went further away

from God when called, plainly referring to Israel again in the second verse?

I would greatly appreciate any help and guidance you can provide.

 Thank you so much in advance for your time and effort.

Doug's response:

I appreciate your careful reading of the text and the questions you ask of it.

Basically, Matthew's use of Hosea points up a common use of Scripture by first century Jews, including many of the most prominent Rabbis. It also shows the impossibility of reading the text literally without distorting it.

The writer of Hosea was indeed talking about Israel. Though as with most of the prophets, he could move back and forth quite easily from the individual (often a reference to the particular prophet) to the people/nation Israel.

The gospel writers were very keen to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Jewish people's hope for a messiah. So any reference that could be made to the Jewish Scriptures to draw that link was used. A common practice at the time was to link a passage if it had a common word. It appears that the context of the original material was not taken into account.

So Matthew uses this reference to Egypt and "the son," though it meant something quite different in its original context, as a reference to his claim about Jesus.The reference to Egypt would further remind his community of Moses and the Exodus events. Matthew appears to see Jesus as the new Moses, giving not the law, but himself, the law of love.
 

Even in the Old Testament, where references are made directly about a Messiah, these were not predictions of Jesus, but rather, of a Messiah who would come at some unspecified future time. It was the New Testament writers who understood Jesus to be the fulfillment of those Old Testament promises.

I hope this helps.