Did Hosea love her?
Well with all the Redeeming Love hullabaloo, I’m momentarily stepping out of 1 John and into Hosea. (If you are unaware of what I’m talking about, I’ll link my short video about it in the comments) Something I didn’t articulate in the video is a point I think it’s vital we don’t miss. First of all, the book of Hosea in the Bible is not a love story. I repeat…. It is not a love story. In fact—and here’s the point I don’t want us to miss—the Bible is silent on Hosea’s feelings about the whole marrying an immoral woman situation.
The more I ponder this, the more I realize how critical this is to understanding the larger theme of Hosea. Hosea was simply stone-cold obedient. He obeyed. It’s debated among scholars whether or not she was a prostitute when Hosea married her. The MAIN point is that when God commanded Hosea to marry her, she would cheat on him over and over. According to the Bible, Gomer’s unfaithfulness to Hosea was example of Israel’s continual unrepentant rebellion against God. In chapter 3, God does command Hosea to "love her" after she had committed adultery and had fallen into destitution. Of course, love is not a feeling of infatuation. Initially, when God commanded the marriage, Hosea obeyed. There is no indication he was in love with her in the romantic sense at the time. Whether or not those feelings developed, the text doesn't say...which, in my view, speaks volumes about the unconditional love of God. Hosea was commanded to love her despite how he may have felt about it. We'll explore this more as we get deeper into the book.
God loves us because He IS love. There is nothing we did to deserve his love. By nature, we are “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). There is absolutely nothing we’ve done to deserve his love, yet he lavishes it on us anyway.
The story of Hosea is not a love story about a victim of sex-trafficking who is loved out of a toxic system into a marriage with amazing sex and sudden fertility. In fact, in the next couple of posts, we’re gonna talk about those kids they had… . Their names were: “Jezreel” (“For I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel”) “No Mercy” (“For I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel.” “Not my People” (…for you are not my people, and I am not your God) Hoo boy it’s about to get good. Click here to read the next post....
5 Comments
Robin
1/30/2022 06:43:56 pm
Hoses, in and of itself, IS a great story. I was among those who didn't realize the core message is THE message of Scripture! For example...the parable of the prodigal son is the exact same story! The two camps, houses, kingdoms...however you want to refer to them...and their reunification is the theme underlying the WHOLE gospel. Why did Yeshua have to die? Most would say to provide an atonement for sin. That's not wrong, but if more were familiar with the Torah they would realize there's more to the story. Here's a Torah riddle...what does a certificate of divorce, death, and resurrection have to do with salvation? There is indeed a love story in Hosea. However, the love story in the book of Hosea is not between Hosea and Gomer. The love story is between God and His Beloved, the nation of Israel. THANK YOU for your ministry and your faithfulness! I wanna be just like you when I grow up (even though I'm a grandma. :-)
Holly Massie
2/15/2022 09:04:32 am
Just because we don't hear about Hosea's feeligs doesn't mean he had none. The point of the story is God's faithfulness to Israel in spite of their unfaithfulness to him which IS indeed a love story. 3/1/2022 10:02:18 pm
Thank you so much Alisa for the great introduction to this study, I am looking forward to reading more of it throughout this week.
Kelly B
7/22/2022 07:30:59 pm
For someone that has been abused and used as a sex worker we long to find a way to get out. To know that there is love out there for us. Where we are not shamed, deamed and belittled. That we can be loved as we learn to love ourselves and how much God loves us. Also He is a jealous God. You keep saying Christian woman. We are all children of God. Stop labeling and creating seperation with amongst us. Reedeeming Love saved my life. I think it is one of the best books ever wrote. Don't pick it apart and allow the meaning to be interpretated they way one does if it helps them find God's love. It clealy shows that though they found each other and she learned about love He still showed her when she began worship Josea that she must put God first and then He gave her back to Josea. Are you telling me that there is not one "Christian woman like other women can fell madly in love with there husbands so much that when they aren't together their heart hurts because the love was so powerful?" That seperates them from other woman who may not be a Christian but worshp God that they obey him by understanding the difference in putting God first. That's the problem no one is any better than the next person. God heals the broken and we all sin and so what if it doesn't resemble the book of Josea. It's a movie and a very good one like the book. Did you see the movie wonderwoman or catwoman? Have you ever been in a comic store? Did you ever watch the Fantastic Four with your children? I'm sure a lot of you have bought those figures for your children yet they are accepted even though they have their breast and buttocks hanging out. Don't judge their is only one God. Francine Rivers wrote one of the most incredible books that touched many broken hearts and made them whole through Christ who strengthened them. And she received praise when they made it into a movie. Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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