"When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.' So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son." ~ Hosea 1:2-3
First of all, can you imagine God asking this of you? I just sat there in awe when I read it. I don't know if I would've obeyed this command. I think I would've dismissed it as a ridiculous figment of my imagination as soon as it popped into my head. And in his time and culture, how much crazier must Hosea have felt?
But in every crazy call Gods makes on our lives, there is a purpose. In this instance, God was asking Hosea to love and marry an adulteress to illustrate his relationship with his bride, Israel. The nation of Israel had shown itself to be rebellious and unfaithful since the start of its relationship with God, much like Gomer was in her relationship with Hosea.
In Hosea 4:7 it says that the priests of Israel "exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful." When I read this verse, I was saddened. In these words there is communicated so much loss, and so much deceit. It's sandwiched between a whole list of charges against God's people, yet it seemed to show the true heart of God in all of their disobedience. God's heart breaks at our flippant exchange of glory for disgrace in our lives. It reminded me of Romans 1:25, which says,
"They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie, and worshiped and served
created things rather than the Creator..."
What kinds of lies are we believing that allow us to believe that the disgrace that the Enemy offers us is worth trading God's glory for?
Reading further into Hosea, I realized the problem goes even deeper. In Hosea 4:12, as well as elsewhere in the book, there is a term brought up which stood out to me. There is a "spirit of prostitution" that led Israel astray, and I don't think I'm stretching the truth to say it probably afflicts us today as well.
It's easy for me to look at American culture and say that everyone else is being sold a lie. That all those people "out there" are living under a spirit of prostitution. And yet I have to remember that Hosea and Gomer's story is my story, too. I am unfaithful to the one who chose me as his bride and turned my ashes into beauty.
Reading of Gomer's unfaithfulness to Hosea, and Hosea's unending love for her breaks my heart. Not because it's a great love story. Because it is a living depiction of the great Love story. My God seeks me out, day after day, minute after minute. He never tires of me, even when I choose time and time again to do things my way. So often I let distraction get in the way of my relationship with him. Over and over my attention is grabbed by voices other than this.
And yet his love "is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot wash it away (Song of Songs 8:6-7)."
If I were to name one attribute of God that never ceases to overwhelm me - more than any other - I would without hesitation choose his faithfulness. I'm continually blown away by the realization that he is FAITHFUL. Always. To the end. Without wavering or wandering.
Even though I behave like a prostitute towards him - the thought both disgusts and grieves me to acknowledge - he loves me with a love so fierce, he refuses to let go. Ever. What a revelation. It can't get old for me!
Imagine for a moment the way it would feel to love so wholly - with a love we can't comprehend - and to be pushed aside time and time and time again. Think of those whom you love the most in life, and picture them treating you in this way. When I did this, I instinctively blocked the thought from my consciousness... it hurt too much. The heartbreak I would experience can't be described... devastation isn't a strong enough word.
But God knows that pain. Because of me.
I hope you're getting a picture of the love story we're all a part of. I hope it's breaking your heart like it's breaking mine. I am so undeserving. I fall so short. And yet, even if I wanted to, there is nothing... NOTHING I could do to lose this love.
The promise of his unchanging love and faithfulness is working in me powerfully, and I hope by reading this that it will begin working in you as well. There is a certain security I am recognizing that I possess, and that knowledge is causing my heart to overflow with love and gratitude for the God who will always remain the same.
I pray that you will find joy and peace in this truth. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is faithful even when you are unfaithful.
"How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure!"
~How Deep The Father's Love For Us, Stuart Townend
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