Unfaithful bride . . .

 

READ Hosea 1–5

Hosea was the last to prophesy before the northern kingdom fell to Assyria (about 722 B.C.). While peace and prosperity prevailed, so did idol worship. This story is gut-wrenching for God instructs Hosea to marry a prostitute whose unfaithfulness would serve as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. The ministry of a prophet was tough enough, but this made it worse. Even the children of this marriage were named to suit the situation (“No Mercy” and “Not My People”).

However, as usual, God gives hope with this promise:

Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:9–11)

As for the wife, He said, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” and He echoes this thought to His wayward people:

“And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. (2:14–20)

But before Israel came running back to God, they would experience an exile that would result in a change of heart; they would never again worship idols:

For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days. (3:4–5)

It is easy to look back on this and see that God had their restoration in mind, yet when it was happening, their lives were in shambles as God said devastating things to them, such as, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame.” (4:6-7)

He also said, “ . . . a people without understanding shall come to ruin” (4:14) and “With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.” (5:6) Did they even hear this promise for their future . . .

I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me. (Hosea 5:15)

So much of today’s world operates as if God does not exist. The idols may not be carved images (more like paper currency and human heroes) yet the worship of many has turned away from the One who created them. Will God also intervene like He did in the OT?

The Bible says yes; He already has. He donned human flesh to intervene, living to prove He was no mere man. He allowed, even planned, His own death on a cross to pay our penalty for sin. Then He rose from the grave and appeared to hundreds before returning to the heavens from which He came . . . with a promise to come back, to take all who trust Him to be with Him forever. The invitation is still open, no matter any form that rejection has taken. Just like Hosea willingly accepted his wayward wife when she came back to him, Jesus’ arms are open to embrace all who come running home to Him.