Do You Have the Relentless Love of Hosea?
Good Morning Friends,
HAPPY VALINTINE’S DAY! In a recent devotion we explored the story of St. Valentine but today we are going to focus on the story of God’s love as revealed in the rocky story of Hosea and Gomer. The prophet Hosea had a difficult mission and message to convey. The people around him had a limited experience of human love and this was hindering them from understanding God’s unconditional love. So God helped Hosea learn about love so he might share the message. God did this in a way that would be an example of God’s divine love for Israel. And this had to be difficult for Hosea because even though he was a righteous man, he lived just before the destruction of Israel in 722 B.C. Think about what is going on in the story line and compare it to Jesus on the Cross. So you have such a love as Jesus? Do You Have the Relentless Love of Hosea?
Scripture: The Lord said to me again, ‘Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.’ So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barley and a measure of wine. And I said to her, ‘You must remain as mine for many days; you shall not play the whore, you shall not have intercourse with a man, nor I with you.’ For the Israelites shall remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterwards the Israelites shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; they shall come in awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Hosea 3:1-5 (NRSV)
We know love by this that he laid down his life for us–and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
1 John 3:16-18 (NRSV)
Message: It is hard to comprehend God’s love. But let’s give it a shot as we seek to learn about the importance of being able to express love in a way others can understand. Let’s see… Ok, God uses a variety of ways to show love: in baptism, the Lord’s Supper, by speaking to us through scripture and through the lives of others…by forgiving and sanctifying us. But in today’s scripture God uses a rather unique way to show how deeply and unconditionally we are loved. In the story of Hosea we see an example of extreme sin and yet extreme love from the Lord. Let’s set the stage. Hosea was God’ prophet about the year 750 BC. The kingdom of Israel had been ripped in two, leaving the land of Israel in the north and the land of Judah in the south. Israel in the north was going off the deep end with their sinfulness. Judah in the south was not far behind. These were extremely difficult circumstances for proclaiming the Word of God. But that was only the start of Hosea’s difficult mission and message. His marriage was to be a picture of Israel’s relationship with the Lord. God loved his people, but they had committed spiritual adultery. They spiritually cheated on the Lord, and Hosea’s new wife Gomer was to remind them of that. Even Hosea’s children were to be reminders. God instructed Hosea to name his first son Jezreel, after a city where a sinful massacre took place. Hosea’s other two children were named by the Lord too. The next child was a daughter who was to be named Lo-Ruhamah, which in English means Not Loved. The third child was son who was named Lo-Ammi, which in English means Not My People. Can you fathom walking in Hosea’s shoes? Pretty confusing stuff. But I am getting ahead of myself. So God instructed Hosea to marry a sinful woman. Hosea obeyed and took Gomer as his wife. He cherished her and treated her with dignity. Never before had Gomer experienced this kind of love, but she soon grew dissatisfied. She began giving her affections to other men…forgetting her children. She became so involved in adulterous pursuits that finally she abandoned Hosea altogether. Other men used her until she had nothing left to give. Then they sold her into slavery. After this, God gave Hosea an amazing command: “Go and buy her back.” God told Hosea to forgive her as Christ forgives us and to pay any price to bring her back into his home. The relationship was painful…very painful. It is not difficult to see the story of Jesus here. He forgives us and redeems us at the cost of his life even though so many had rejected him. It would appear that we too need to learn to love unconditionally.
Pray we learn from the life of Hosea about love. Pray God pursue us with incredible love of the divine. Pray we are thankful that God loves sinners. Pray we learn from the Lord how to love the unlovable. Pray we realize that God has a limitless love for all people. Pray we repent of our sins and submit to the Lord in thanks and praise. Pray we give God our all. Pray we give God our best. Pray we be faithful in our love for him, for his love has been and will always be perfectly faithful to us. Pray we not limit our expression of love to just words of affirmation but extend the experience into actions that reflect God’s love for us. Pray we build up others self-image and confidence. Pray we love on others in a way that focuses on doing things together that gives an undivided attention to the relationship. Pray we find ways to give not just on special occasions but in small ways everyday as a sign of love. Pray we discover how best to be of joyful service. Pray we experience the helping hand of God on our life…the touch of God on our very soul. Pray we love unconditionally. Pray we have the faith to experience the perfect love of God’s grace.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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