- In his Gospel, Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 as prophecy that Joseph and Mary were fulfilling as they brought Jesus out of Egypt into Israel (Matt 2:13-21). Readers unfamiliar with the Old Testament might not understand how the exodus of a nation could be called the exodus of God’s son, but there is precedent for what we see in Hosea’s book and in Matthew’s. Hosea 11:1 is but one of several occasions in the Old Testament where Israel is referred to as God’s son.
Ex 4:21 The LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
Ex 4:22 “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.
Ex 4:23 “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.””‘
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Ps 80:8 You removed a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it.
Ps 80:9 You cleared the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land.
Ps 80:10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And the cedars of God with its boughs.
Ps 80:11 It was sending out its branches to the sea
And its shoots to the River.
Ps 80:12 Why have You broken down its hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
Ps 80:13 A boar from the forest eats it away
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
Ps 80:14 O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
Ps 80:15 Even the shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And on the son whom You have strengthened for Yourself.
Ps 80:16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Ps 80:17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
[For more on the interpretation of this passage in light of the Son of God, see BSN notes on Ps 80.]
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Hos 11:1 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
- Thus the nation of Israel foreshadowed – and thereby prophesied by its very existence – the Son of God, the Messiah. The nation Israel was God’s primary witness in the earth until Jesus came along. Could one man be as effective a witness as an entire nation? Yes, if the one man is Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, He has already proven to be a far more effective witness for God. Saying this is no slight to the nation of Israel; it is simply paying proper homage to the Son of God whom that nation foreshadowed.
- Thus did the aged Simeon, with the Holy Spirit upon him, look at the infant presented to him by Mary and Joseph and say, “…A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
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