(Part One)
It seems that everyone is talking about it: news, magazines, the internet—everyone is focusing on the difficult times that are engulfing the world. Suicide is dramatically on the rise worldwide, as people are overwhelmed with financial and moral issues that seem hopeless. Mass shootings seem to be happening with horrifying frequency. People around the world are being kidnapped as they attend church services. Food and fuel prices are soaring. As a people of faith, we know where to find answers to today’s most difficult questions. Through the ancient prophets, the same God who spoke to Abraham and Moses face to face is speaking to us today. Their messages, delivered millennia ago, are meant to be a guidebook for those of us who are living today.
The Lord never raised up prophets when the present and/or the future looked bright. According to Jewish teaching, Moses was the greatest of all the prophets, and he is the standard by which the importance of other prophets is gauged. Only one prophet stands out whose impact on ancient Israel (as well as on God’s people until the end of the ages) is second to Moses himself: the prophet Hosea, the source for this week’s Old Testament readings.
In ministry for about 60 years, Hosea would see both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel go from peace and prosperity to great turmoil and extreme poverty. Both kingdoms would become vassal states, forsaking the God of their fathers, and living in moral depravity and idol worship. In chapter four, Hosea tells us that the Children of Israel were living without truth, without mercy and without knowledge of God. They were swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and committing adultery. Rather than depending on God for political stability, they formed alliances with surrounding pagan nations, an effort that the Lord said was futile and without logic.
It is in the midst of this social and political milieu that the Lord speaks to Hosea. The instructions, however, had to be shocking even to a man who had dedicated his life to hearing and interpreting what the Lord was saying to a wayward nation. Hosea must have known that being a prophet had some occupational hazards. God never hesitated to place His spokesmen in difficult and even humiliating situations if it helped to illustrate the message that He wanted conveyed to His people. For Hosea, God asked that Hosea pray for the nation of Israel and intercede on their behalf, expecting that Hosea would ask for divine mercy and remind Him that these were the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, beloved because of the covenant. But at this point, Hosea was as disgusted with Israel as God was. Rather than interceding for them, he replied, “Master of the Universe, the whole world is yours. Obliterate this stiff-necked people and take another nation in exchange.” In response, God asked, “What shall I do with you? I will command you to marry a harlot and beget children of harlotry. Then I will tell you to send her and the children away. If you can do this, then I, too, will send Israel away.”
In obedience, Hosea married Gomer, a prostitute, the daughter of a prostitute, and they had three children. The first was a son named Jezreel, the second a son named Lo-ammi (“you are not My people”) and the third a daughter named Lo-ruhamah (“without mercy or compassion”). Even though Gomer’s lifestyle was questionable, and Hosea couldn’t be sure that these children were actually his, he loved her and was devoted to his family.
When Gomer went back to her former profession, Hosea willingly bought her back, paying a high price to redeem her from her sin. Finally, the story goes, the Lord told Hosea to send Gomer and the children away once and for all. “Like Moses, who for a time parted from his wife, you too must separate yourself from her.” That was the deal. But Hosea was not so quick to obey God this time. “Master of the Universe,” he cried out tearfully, “I cannot send her away! I love her and my children.”
The Lord responded with a question. “Hosea, why do you weep?” Hosea replied, “Master, please have mercy on my wife and my children.” The Lord responded tenderly to Hosea, “Your wife is a prostitute, and you don’t even know for sure who fathered these children, yet you love them and cried out for mercy on their behalf. As for me, then, Israel is my beloved child, the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Should I not have the same mercy on them? Israel is my beloved possession, yet you told me to replace them with another nation?”
Finally, Hosea realized the depth of his sin in rejecting Israel and telling God to abandon her. His marriage relationship taught him very graphically of the kind of compassion and commitment necessary for a prophet to bear the burden of God’s heart toward His children. Recognizing the depth of the Lord’s love, Hosea pleads for mercy and begins to speak blessings for Israel. Hosea was transformed from being God’s mouthpiece to Israel, to becoming an intercessor for her as well.
From terrifying predictions of Israel’s degradation if they continue in their disloyal ways of harlotry, the prophet shifts to inspiring prophecies of Israel’s future security and spiritual greatness. Hosea’s prophecy carries the message that even when the Lord is provoked by Israel, His love for her is without limit, and if His affection for His people is such that when He is angry with them, how boundless and beautiful it will be at the end of days when true harmony exists between them.
To be continued tomorrow.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!