- marry a prostitute and establish a family with her (1:2) then,
- when the inevitable happens, buy her back from the man for whom she had abandoned him (3:1)
probably didn't fit Hosea's personal 5-10 year plan.
But the family portrait, no matter how dysfunctional, couldn't be a clearer picture of God's relationship first with Israel then with the Church. God takes a "bride" despite knowing she would commit spiritual adultery, and His plan all along is to buy her back at the greatest price imaginable.
In Hosea's day, Israel's adultery was literal idolatry - worshiping false gods from pagan nations. Why would they do that when they already had the one true God and every perfect gift He could give them? For the same reason we do the same thing today… covetousness!
Hosea 2:12-13… Hosea 3:1… Hosea 4:11-13… they wanted what it seemed the pagan gods had to offer. And they were, very literally, willing to prostitute themselves to get it. (Check out the history of "raisin cakes" as mentioned in 3:1!)
Fast forward to Colossians 3:5 (NLT)… "Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy (i.e. covetous), for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world."
So, what is it that I want more than what God has already given - or promised to give - me? When I figure that out, I'll have found my idol. And when I find my idol, I'd better be willing to cast it down… either that or wear a big scarlet "A" on my chest.
As I am reading through Hosea, I found myself really pitying Hosea. I was thinking how awful that would be to love someone that is unfaithful to you. But then I remembered that Hosea represents God and this is exactly what God is dealing with. He loves a group of people who do not love Him back, and instead they love things that are manmade.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me at how compassionate God is, yes Israel was judged, but they were judged for something they did wrong. But, in most of the passages where Hosea writes about God's judgements on Israel, there are verses that talk about Israel's restoration. An example of this would be in Chapter 1:2 - 9 the judgement is given, but Chapter 1:10 - 2:1 Israel's restoration is given. This judgement followed by a promise of restoration occurs throughout the rest of this book which I think is really amazing. Even though God's people turned away from Him, He can not wipe them out completely because of his unconditional love for them. So cool.