What we really are

In my annual reading through the Bible, I've reached the book of Hosea. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I know, most people don't even know how to find the Minor Prophets, much less read them. And for those who do, it's probably more of a slog than a pleasure. I have found the Minor Prophets to be a truly fascinating section of the Bible, and Hosea in particular moves me every time I read it.

You  may know the story of Hosea. He was the prophet commanded by God to marry a "wife of harlotries," whether she was one at the beginning of the marriage or became one later. (The translation I am currently reading, the NET, makes an interpretive translation which leaves out the fuzziness and calls her a prostitute, but there is some dispute as to her character at the time of marriage.) She bears Hosea one son, then gives birth to two other children who are apparently not his. Eventually she abandons Hosea (and presumably her children) for other lovers.

The Lord then interprets Hosea's home life for Israel. Through Hosea, he says, "This is what you are to me-people who are pledged to me in covenant, but who have rejected me and pursued other gods. You aren't the faithful bride I rescued from distress, and you are giving what belongs to me to others." If the story ended there, you would expect the "divorce papers" to follow quickly.

But Hosea is told to go and buy his wife back. He pays a paltry sum for her, and, after a time of waiting, their relationship was restored. (Interestingly, the Bible doesn't tell us about their future together. Some scholars think this means the "restoration" was actually another object lesson with another woman, but I think that  undercuts the message of the book.)

This is what God does with us. We are estranged from God, people who should be His but who follow after other gods, whether money, sex, career, power, or whatever takes His place. The Lord has every right to send us away, to condemn us to an eternity of judgment for our unfaithfulness. Yet Jesus Christ bought us back from our slavery to sin through His own blood, and makes it possible for us to have a new relationship with God.

There is a heart-rending passage in Hosea 11 that speaks about God's love for His people Israel:

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man— the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.
When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. (Hosea 10:8-11, NIV)

This is the love God has for us. Who are we? Not the good, godly folk we sometimes pretend to be, assuming we're good enough that God has to accept us as we are. We are the rebellious, the unfaithful, the ones who scorn and reject God's love. Who is He? The one who loves us and who paid the price to redeem and restore us.

I encourage you to go read Hosea. It will break your heart, but it will also give you a glimpse into God's heart.