YHVH called Hosea to be a prophet and told him to marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her for like an adulterous wife the land is guilty of unfaithfulness to YHVH. So he married Gomer and she conceived and bore him a son. YHVH told Hosea to name the boy Jezreel because YHVH was soon to punish Israel for the massacre at Jezreel. Gomer conceived again and bore a daughter. YHVH told Hosea to name her Lo-Ruhamah (which means not loved) for YHVH would no longer show love to Israel. Gomer conceived and had another son. YHVH named him Lo-Ammi (which means, "not my people"). Yet one day, those called "not my people" will be called "the children of the living God". The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.
"Say of your brother, 'My people', and of your sisters, 'My loved one'. Rebuke your mother for she is not my wife and I am not her husband. I will not show my love to her children because they are the children of adultery." Their mother has been unfaithful - going after lovers. But YHVH will withhold his provisions. He will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers. He will stop all of her celebrations. He will ruin her vines and fig trees. He will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals. Her lovers will reject her.
And then he will woo her and lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. And she will respond like she did when she came out of Egpyt. "In that day," declares YHVH, "you will call me, "my husband" and you will no longer call me "my master".
Hosea 2:19-20 "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness and you will acknowledge YHVH."
Then YHVH told Hosea to go to his wife again though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. He told Hosea to love his wife as YHVH loves Israel though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes. His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because they rejected knowledge, YHVH also rejected them as priests. Because they ignored His law He will also ignore their children. They will eat but not have enough. They will engage in prostitution but not flourish. A people without understanding will come to ruin.
Understanding God's love for us and what our relationship with God should be like is impossible without God revealing it to us in ways we are able to comprehend. Hosea was called to be an example of God's faithful love for His people by being faithful to his adulterous wife. God's love for us is pure. He wants the very best for us. He wants us to succeed. He wants us to be happy. But as God is faithful to us so we must be faithful to him. We must turn away from the gods in our life and worship and love only him.
Dear Father,
We can only love you because you first loved us. (1 John 4:19) Thank you for your love. You show the depth of your love for us in that while we were still sinners Messiah died for us. Romans 5:8 Thank you. I really can't even understand how great a gift this is. But I do believe that without this incredibly unselfish and loving sacrifice I would not have the hope of reconciliation or everlasting life.
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