The Gospel of Hosea, Ch. 1: Spiritual Adultery!
The Gospel of Hosea, Ch. 1: Spiritual Adultery!
When the Lord Yahweh first spoke through Hosea, He said to him, ‘Go and take a promiscuous woman and have children who come from her unfaithfulness. This will represent how the land of Israel has abandoned Me and become a prostitute to other masters.” (Hosea 1:2).
Spiritual Adultery. But what was God’s point in this publicly visual aid? Why did God put Hosea through this strange marriage? God wanted to teach the Israelites a monumental lesson, what turned out to be a gospel lesson about His love. The Lord wanted Hosea’s marital union with Gomer to provide a graphic picture of the covenant relationship between the Lord and His people Israel. Ever since the ketubah, the marriage ceremony on Mt. Sinai, Yahweh has considered Himself to be the divine husband of Israel. But now My wife has become unfaithful to Me, says the Lord. They are prostituting themselves after other gods. As the Message puts it, “This whole country has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to Me, the Lord Yahweh!” (Hosea 1:2). My chosen people have violated our covenant of faithfulness, our sacred marriage vows, says the Lord. They have become spiritually promiscuous and are uniting themselves with other gods!
Rachem” = Another primary word for mercy used a number of times in Hosea. The word rachem is translated in Scripture as tender mercy, deep compassion, and, profoundly enough, womb. In the Hebrew mind, the womb is much more than the sacred place in a woman that enables the unborn baby to safely develop till birth. Womb also became a metaphor for mercy because of its linguistic roots. The Hebrew word rachem is intended to mean mercy-womb. God formed each of us with rachem when we were mere unborns, and we were conceived and nourished within His rachem, the mother’s mercy-womb. The baby within the woman is the ideal time to extend God’s compassion to that human being inside of her. The developing baby utterly depends on a mercy-womb. And God wants Himself to be experienced as our womb-sanctuary, our safe place in Him, our refuge and shelter. God Himself yearns to be experienced as a womb of mercy for each of us, a refuge and shelter and safe haven. The purpose of our lives is to live in God’s rachem, God’s womb of love.
The Hebrew Bible reveals a Lord of creation who established a pattern of restoring whatever He has judged. The Father would relent of His promised judgment when the people would repent. He would heal those whom were punished. His anger was not forever, and whatever punishment He meted out was intentionally redemptive. Yahweh time and again revealed Himself as a God “who does not take pleasure in the death of anyone.” (Ezekiel 18:32, 33:11). In the same breath, God would say, “Moab will be destroyed,” and then “I will restore the fortunes of Moab.” (Jer. 48:4,47); “I will bring disaster on Elam, making an end to them,” and then declaring, “I will restore the fortunes of Elam.” (Jer. 49:37); “I will strike Egypt and then I will heal them! Blessed be Egypt my people!” (Is.19:21-25); “I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and of Samaria.” (Ezek. 16:53-55). Or how about the famous complaint of Jonah after the Lord relented from destroying the Ninevites, an amazing, backhanded compliment... “Isn’t this what I said, Yahweh, when I was still at home? This is what I tried to delay when I fled to Tarshish! I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love! Yes, you are truly a God who relents from sending calamity!” (Jonah 4:2-3). Time and again in the Psalms we see that the Lord’s anger lasts only for a moment. (eg, Ps. 30:5). There is always a redemptive purpose motivating God’s punishments and judgments. Jeremiah 23:20 and 30:24 declares, “The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart.” It seems clear that the God of the Hebrew Bible will not abandon anyone forever, He ultimately doesn’t give up any anybody, and that He continues to love those whom He has judged. UR is also suggested in several psalms, including: “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him.” (Ps.22:27); “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” (Ps. 66:4); “All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” (Ps. 86:9).