Read: Hosea 1-2
Verses selected for reflection: Hosea 1:2-9
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.” 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.”
Reflect
Sometimes, when the pastoral ministry gets challenging, I might remember the prophet Hosea. Then, I get to feel that my challenges are really small compared to his.
Just imagine. God called him to be a prophet to speak His message to the people. On that, God wanted Hosea to marry a prostitute in order to relay to the people that they had prostituted themselves by forsaking the Lord. When his first child was born, God wanted Hosea to name the child Jezreel; a place in the Bible which did not have very nice memories.
It was the place where Jezreel's rulers killed Ahab's 70 sons, put their heads in baskets and brought them to Jehu. It was also at Jezreel that the evil queen Jezebel murdered Naboth for his vineyard.Then when Hosea's daughter was born, he was to name her "No Mercy". When Hosea's third child was born, he was to be called "Not My People".
I cannot imagine the kind and amount of mockery that this poor family suffered. Name calling, verbal persecution and even hatred. Yet Hosea remained obedient. He did exactly what God was telling him to do. Hosea believed that God's message was more important than his own well being. After all, that was his life calling. Being a messenger for God.
Relate
When we look at passages like this, we might misunderstand that God is a uncaring Master. He did not seem to care for Hosea's family as the children would have been mocked for their names.
Yet, if anybody was to be blamed, it would be the people of Israel. There was not a need for God to resort to such a form of messaging when His earlier messages had gotten through their hardened hearts.
I believe God still care for Hosea's family and protected them. His call for the prophet and his family was unique and it was indeed a very challenging one. Yet, perhaps to Hosea, if what he did can change the hearts of his people, it was all worth it.
In fact, as we read on, we will discover Hosea's acute dilemma. On the one hand, he had to preach messages of doom and warning to Israel. On the other hand, he hoped Israel would heed God's warnings and repent. So when they failed to do so, he must be heart broken. Yet God lifted him up by promises of future hope.
Through that dilemma, Hosea learned about being faithful to God just as he was to be faithful to his wife. For God was ever so faithful to Israel and was prepared to renew their covenant with Him if they should repent.
Hosea's obedience and faithfulness to God and his love for the people are Christ-like values we can learn to apply in the Christian community. The more we learn how to do this, the more people will know that we are Jesus's disciples. And then by God's grace, we pray that more people will come to know Him.
Rest
Lord, grant us grace to take our faith seriously like Hosea. Help us to be a beacon of light to the people around us and may Your light bring more into Your embrace. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Jason
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