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God gave an unusual mission to one of His messengers, a prophet by the name of Hosea who lived in the northern kingdom of ancient Israel.
This extraordinary assignment was an illustration to these people both of God’s warning of the coming judgment they would face for continuing to reject Him, and also of the extraordinary love that God has for His people.
You see, the people of Israel had been rescued by God out of slavery, to be His own people. These were to be the people through whom, He would make Himself known to the world.
But rather than faithfully trusting God, and displaying His goodness and love to the world, the Israelites cheated on God by worshipping false gods over and over again throughout the centuries.
This brings us to Hosea who lived in this northern division of Israel where their rejection of God was more obvious than it was down in the south, in Judah.
God told Hosea to “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be fathered by other men.” God said that, “This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against their God by worshipping other gods.” (Hosea 1:2)
Hosea obeyed God’s instructions and married a woman named Gomer.
Although Hosea was always faithful to his wife, Gomer, she often cheated on him with other men as a prostitute.
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Over time Gomer gave birth to three children, a boy, a girl and then another boy.
It’s interesting how the meanings of the names of these children described the condition of the nation and the consequences that would come on these Israelites which would include them being taken away as captives into Assyria.
The oldest boy was named Jezreel (which means God plants), and although it wasn’t an unusual name, in this case it spoke of two things: first it signalled the coming judgement (1:4-5), but it also pointed ahead to a time of future hope and restoration (1:11; 2:22). God would again plant His people in a good land.
However, it’s the meaning of the second two children that really stand out.
The girl’s name meant, “No love” or “No mercy” because God said, “I will no longer show love to these people of Israel or forgive them” (1:6).
The youngest boy’s name meant, “Not My people,” because God said, “Israel is not My people, and I am not their God” (1:9).
Have you ever wondered what it must have been like for these three children? Did they ever really know who their Dad or Dads were? What was it like to have a Mum who went off with other men?
Can you imagine growing up being called “Not loved” or “You’re Not Mine” your whole life? Maybe you can relate to that feeling of not being loved or feeling like you don’t belong; feeling like a rejected outcast.
God warned that those who continued to reject Him would one day find themselves rejected.
Through Gomer, God compared the people of Israel to an unfaithful wife, and God said that they would suffer the consequences of rejecting Him.
“Bring charges against Israel — your mother — for she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. …
And I will not love her children, for they were conceived in prostitution. Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water, for fine clothes, and for oil and wine.’
She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has … (2:2, 4-5, 8)
But God also promised that,
“... the time will come when there will be too many Israelites to count! Then, at the place where they were told, ‘You are not My people,’ it will be said, ‘You ARE sons and daughters of the living God.’
At that time the divided people of Judah and Israel will unite together. They will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be — the day of Jezreel — when God will again plant His people in His land.
“In that day you will call your brothers ‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters ‘The ones I love.’ (1:1-2:1)
God desires to have a lasting relationship with His people.
“… I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the wild pastures and speak tenderly to her there.
When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call Me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’
I will make you my wife forever; I will marry you in righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.
I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me personally as Yahweh, your God.
… they in turn will answer, ‘Jezreel’—‘God plants!’
For at that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called ‘Not loved.’ And to those I called ‘Not my people,’ I will say, ‘Now you are my people.’ And they will reply, ‘You are our God!’” (2:14, 16, 19, 20, 22-23)
God’s persistent love for Israel is illustrated in Hosea’s persistent love of his unfaithful wife when Hosea bought back his wife.
Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” So I paid her debt and bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. (3:1-2)
God knew His people and loved them and is willing to pay to bring us back to Himself, but they didn’t really know Him, just like Gomer didn’t really seem to know her own husband.
God says,
I know you; You cannot hide yourself from Me, O Israel. You have left Me as a prostitute leaves her husband, and you have defiled yourself.
Your deeds won’t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through, and you do not know the Lord. (5:3-4)
Not really knowing God seems to be the real heart of the issue.
Listen to the heart cry of God, He wants His people to really know Him.
“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.
I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces with My words, with judgments as inescapable as light.
I want your love, not your sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings.
But like Adam, you broke My covenant (my sacred agreement) and betrayed My trust. (6:4-7)
God’s desire is for relationship. Can you hear the cry of His heart?
“How can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you …? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows.
No, I will not carry out My burning anger. I will not completely destroy you, Israel, for I am God and not a mere human. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.
For someday the people will follow Me … And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord. (11:8-11)
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down.
Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. …
The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your unfaithfulness; My love will know no bounds, for My anger will be gone forever.
“O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from Me.” (14:1-2, 4, 8)
God wanted to warn the Israelites that if they continued to move away from Him, they were really turning from their lover, protector, and provider, like a loving husband or father; they opened themselves up to the consequences of being abused, defeated, and destroyed.
At the same time, the story of Hosea and his relationship to his unfaithful wife gives us an amazing glimpse of the faithful love of God even when we turn our backs on Him.
God is the God who doesn’t give up on us, but pursues us in love and brings us back at great cost to Himself.
This is the God who came to earth to die on the cross and took on Himself the great debt for our freedom and for us to know Him.
Maybe you feel like God has rejected you, that He could never want you, but the truth is He does want you. Even though you may feel like your name is “Not loved” or “You’re not mine,” God wants to say, “You are loved more than you know, and you are mine. Trust Me as your God and Father and walk in relationship with Me.”
The day would come when Israel would say ...
“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us; but now He will heal us. He has injured us; now He will bandage our wounds.
In just a short time He will restore us, so that we may live in His presence.
Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” (6:1-3)
Let us press on to know Him. May that be our cry as well. (Based on Hosea)
- What does it mean to you that God wants you to know Him personally?
- What does it mean to you that God cares so deeply for you that He persistently pursues you, draws you back to Himself and calls you His own and that He does this at great cost to Himself?
You are wanted. You are loved. And you are God’s child as you simply trust in Him.
Blessings,
Mike Smith
P.S. You can watch the video Mike sharing this story on Facebook or Youtube.
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