An Outrageous Request

Each of us has a dream or an ideal of how we want our life to go. Our imagination often runs wild with future plans, houses, jobs, relationships, etc. It’s easy for us to see these dreams and ideals as the source of what will make us truly happy.

What would you do if God spoke to you and told you to do something that, not only wasn’t on your list, but was the opposite of what your goals have been? Would you obey?

It’s not an odd request to desire to find someone to love, marry, be faithful to and grow old with, right? That is a safe assumption that we all want. But God calls his servant Hosea to marry a prostitute!

Yes, let’s consider that again…”Go take yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom” (Hosea 1:2). Umm…wait a second here. That doesn’t sound like a good idea. Whoredom is the definition of unfaithfulness. God is asking Hosea to sign up for a life of pain, suffering, frustrations and sorrow.

Why would God call Hosea to do this? Hosea was a prophet, a man set aside by God to be His mouthpiece to the nation. God wants Hosea’s marriage to be an illustration to the people of Israel about their sin against Him. “For the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord” (Hosea 1:2).

Just as Israel has played the harlot with God, so Gomer would cheat on Hosea, repeatedly. Can you imagine the pain he must have felt? How many times would you allow someone to cheat on you before you said enough is enough?

Hosea’s love and pain concerning his wife paint an amazing picture of God and his love for his wayward people.

Hosea and Gomer marry and have three children, each whose name represent a prophetic charge against Israel. “Jezreel” means judgement is coming. “No Mercy,” communicating rejection from her father and abandoned to the troubles of this world. “Not My People,” where God declares the covenant with His people null and void.

Okay, so if marrying a prostitute wasn’t enough pain, could you imagine having to name your children these terrible names? The pain his children would feel when people said their names, made fun of them or whispered behind their backs.

This graphic portrayal of sin, rebellion, pain and suffering was to be a clarion to the nation. God, in His great love for His people, did not remain silent but is calling out to His people. Hosea becomes a picture of our faithful God and Gomer our wayward hearts.

God calls to the people to realize that their sin, their rebellion, their harlotry is what is causing their misery. They keep pursuing the very things that destroy them.

“Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; ² there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. ³ Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.” Hosea 4:1-3

Notice at the very root of the sins is no love for and no knowledge of God. An improper view of God will lead to wrong assumptions about life. Hosea 8:4 makes it clear that we make idols for ourselves to our own destruction. We think we know what will make us truly happy, but that is often the very thing that robs us of our happiness.

At the beginning, we talked about dreams and ideals of what makes us happy. Jesus Christ is the only one who can truly make us happy and joyful. He is the one who will bring true satisfaction.

If we are honest with ourselves, we have hearts similar to Gomer, constantly cheating on her husband. We are rebellious and have set up idols in our lives. When we pursue sin, know that there is a judgment coming, we will have to give account. When we pursue sin, we will not find mercy. When we pursue sin, we miss out on the covenant relationship with God.

BUT…

Christ came to change all that. Later on, in the series we will continue to read about how Hosea’s love for Gomer is a picture of Christ. But despite our sin and rebellion, God pursued us and provided a way for forgiveness. The judgement (Jezreel) was paid for on the cross. When we repent of our sin and trust in Jesus alone, we can have confidence that there is mercy (No Mercy) and we can be God’s people (Not My People), for Jesus turned the tables.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10

God’s amazing love is available to you today. Will you reject your idols and trust His steadfast love?