Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise and worship you, for you are good and upright, and without injustice. Lord, in my own heart I find such sin, such a devious bent toward sin. I am not worthy of the least of your mercies. O Lord, at the beginning of this day, as I open your word, O Lord be merciful to me. Speak, O Lord, cast me not away from your presence, take not your Holy Spirit from me. For the sake of the Lord Jesus, who died for me, please speak and renew my heart, be gracious to me, O Lord. Let your steadfast love be renewed to me this morning, O Lord, great is your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Reading
Hosea 1
The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3. So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6. She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
8. When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9. And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
10. 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.” 11. 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.
Meditation
“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” So we read in Proverbs 11:22. It’s a striking contrast isn’t it? First, you’ve got the image itself – a gold ring in a pig’s snout. It’s quite striking, try and imagine actually seeing this! There you are in a pig pen, the pigs are snorting, they’re bumping up against you and jostling among themselves to get the best of the swill. And the stench! All you can think about is getting out of there because of the stench! The pigs continue to squeal and snort, your gumboots are thick with mud, you keep slipping around on the ground, and there’s mud and muck getting smeared all over your clothes. Then you spot it – in the snout of one of these pigs you see a 24 carrot gold ring. You stare dumbly, struggling to really believe what you’re seeing. But, yes, sure enough, in the midst of all this filth, and in the ugly face of the pig itself, there’s a ring in its nose worth $20 000.
Now hold that image in your mind and consider further the shocking parallel that Solomon makes of this scene. “Like a ring a pig’s snout, so is a beautiful woman without discretion.” The woman who flaunts her beauty, which is a precious gift from God, she shows it off, she displays it for all to see. She tries to capture the eyes of men and arouse the envy of women, she uncovers her body in public ways. Yes, she may look beautiful, just like a $20 000 ring is beautiful. But here’s the reality of what’s going on in this scene: she is crawling around in a disgusting pig pen full of filth.
This proverb is a fitting introduction to begin thinking about the book of Hosea. The proverb shocks us, it’s a metaphorical slap in the face. It makes you sit up and pay attention to what you’re looking at, and the Book of Hosea as a whole is similar in the sense that it is a book of stark contrast. It is the contrast between the filth and degradation of Gomer the whore, and the startling response of Hosea himself. Gomer and Hosea present a stark and shocking contrast to the reader.
For those familiar with the Book of Hosea, you will already know that he was the prophet who was commanded to marry a prostitute. Now that in itself, like our proverb, is a slap to the face. It’s a shock to the system. You read it there in Hosea 1:2: “When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.’” You read that verse, don’t you, and you need to give it a second take! Did God really just command one of his prophets to marry a prostitute? It’s jaw-droppingly shocking! And no doubt as Hosea took this prostitute as his wife, the neighbours would have been gossiping, it would have been the talk of the town, and maybe spread across the countryside as well. But it was also a launching pad for his message, and so the stir it would have caused would have been favourable in that sense. “Hosea, why on earth are you marrying Gomer the prostitute?” His neighbours may have asked. “Well,” Hosea would reply, “because the land commits whoredom by forsaking the LORD, that’s why.”
And so as we launch out into this series of devotional studies in the Book of Hosea, I want to start off by showing you that one of its major features is that it’s a book of contrasts, of our lust and God’s love. On the one hand, you have the shocking harlotry of Israel. But the book doesn’t stop there, it isn’t filled only with condemnation and judgment. In contrast with the filth and degredation of God’s people, you have the shocking love and commitment of God. As Gomer was a faithless and shameful wife, so too were God’s people. But in Hosea we also see God’s love powerfully portrayed, for in spite of the whoredom of his people, the covenantal love of God remains, and that is the message of Hosea. It’s a book of contrast – a contrast between our lust, and God’s love. If you want to hold this book together in your mind and understand how it works, all you need to do is hold that picture in your mind: the faithless, whorish Gomer, and the shockingly committed Hosea. In the life of Hosea we see the message of the Book of Hosea perfectly pictured. His life and story is a picture of the book in miniature, and everything Hosea says fits in to that metaphor in some way or another.
Take courage then, you saints who (like me) sense the defilement of your own lusts. Take heart you who feel unworthy of Christ’s love. You may be fairly called a“Gomer”, and you may have played the whore in the eyes of God. But consider the resolve and love of God to redeem the whores of Israel. At our lowest, we need this message. There can be no delusion as to our own fitness – we are guilty sinners. But nor can there be a delusion about God’s love – he has sovereignly committed himself unto us in bonds of covenant love. Come back to your King, your husband. Turn from your sins. My prayer is that these meditations in the Book of Hosea may serve to help us in just this endeavour. I have especially designed them for release on a Saturday, as a preparation for coming to worship the Lord with his people on Sunday. May God be merciful to us in his love. SDG.
Be ye doers of the word…
Are there any sins in your life at this time that you are holding on to? The Northern Kingdom in the days of Hosea were resolutely committed to continuing in their sin, and their sin was unto God as spiritual adultery. Their hearts were turned from him, and instead they loved their sin. Do you love your sin? Is there any sin in your life that you cling to? That has captured your heart? Take these studies in Hosea as an opportunity to turn from such sin, to consider the shocking covenantal commitment that God has made unto you, and to give your heart to him. He will suffer no rival love in your heart or mine. He must have all our devotion and love, and is he not worthy? Has he not loved us with an everlasting love? Consider those sins that have your heart, it is time to turn away from them, and to seek the Lord your God.
Prayer of Confession & Consecration
Almighty God, my loving Heavenly Father, I confess to you that sin so easily entangles me. It is knocking at the door of my heart, waiting to pounce like a beast and take me. I confess that my heart is often allured by adulterous spiritual temptations. O Lord, I am no better than your people in the days of Amos. I have loved sin, I have treasured it in my heart. O Lord, strengthen me that I may turn from it, show me your glory, make me to sense and know the depths of your love toward me. Ravish my heart with your love, O Lord. Spare and save me from the tempter’s power, deliver me from the evil one I pray. Lead me not into temptation. O Lord, I am weak, I am a whore as Gomer was. And yet I hope in your covenantal love and commitment unto me – only spare me that I may walk away from my bosom sins and lovers, and be wholly devoted unto and dedicated to you. Protect me from such rival loves today, and cause me to draw near unto you, the lover of my soul. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Share this post