I've been reading in Hosea lately and I cannot get over the first 3 chapters. Hosea is basically the man, and through his story I'm learning more and more about how I fall short of where I need to be.
Hosea is faced with an intense command from God. Chapter 1, verse 2 says this: "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." I don't know what I'd do in this situation. Take for myself an adulterous wife? Really? But since Hosea is the man, he obeys God and marries this girl named Gomer. I don't know what her parents were thinking when they named her this... but whatever.
Chapter 2 talks about Israel and how adulterous it has been to God. There is some pretty harsh language towards Israel throughout this entire chapter and it seems pretty grim for the Israelites at this point. But this is where the story gets interesting: the start of chapter 3.
The Lord then says to Hosea "Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adultress. Lover her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes." Even through Israel's total deprivation in sin and turning to anything but God, He still loves them. He tells Hosea to do the same for his wife. Hosea searches out his wife and finds her immersed in sin to the point of being put on auction for other men. He looks at her with love and buys her back for 15 shekels of silver and asks her to come live with him again for "many days". Hosea takes his wife back even after she has openly and freely given herself away to other men. What a picture of redemption this gives us!
It says in Exodus 21:32 that the price for a slave is 30 shekels, so in essence, Hosea's wife here is being sold for half the price of a slave. She is cheapened so much that she is being sold for next to nothing practically. But Hosea still sees worth in her. To me, this gives me great hope because I am worth less than Hosea's wife. I have cheapened myself so much by sin that I am worth next to nothing, but Jesus Christ loved His bride enough to come and not only buy us for half to the price of a slave, but He came down and saw us in our nakedness and shame and adultery and decided to give His LIFE for us. I'm chosen to be His, and I can think of no one greater to serve than Someone like that.
May we realize this and grab hold of Christ's extended arm that's buying us back from adulterous slavery. And may we live with Him for "many days" learning through the words that He's spoken through the Bible.
I'm ready to start preparing the bride for the Bridegroom's return.
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