hosea...

a while ago i was talking to one of my good friends russ powell about some stuff and the conversation moved to discussing the book Hosea. russ gave a really interesting illustration he had seen from the text that i had never heard before. i thought it was really awesome. basically, God commands Hosea (a prophet to Israel) to marry a prostitute, Gomer, which he obediently does. Although Gomer bears 3 children throughout the course of their marriage, she is repeatedly unfaithful to Hosea. we can imagine Hosea's nauseating flux of emotions being married and faithful to a prostitute. His heart is repeatedly broken by Gomer when she is unfaithful, and then fulfilled, albeit tragically temporary, when she comes back to him.

Russ explained this to be an illustration for the church's marriage to Christ in the sense that we play the roll of Gomer. We are constantly rebelling from God, being unfaithful to him. Christ's heart is repeatedly broken by our unfaithfulness and sinful nature. However, when we come back to the lord (whether this is by our own will or not i don't know) we can only imagine the happiness, love, and fulfillment in Christ's heart. Christ is ever faithful to us, always there, always waiting for us with open arms to come to Him, no matter how unfaithful we have been.

In Hosea 2:14-23, the Lord tells of his love for unfaithful Israel...
"But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her out into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there, as seh did long ago when she was young, when i freed her from her captivity in Egypt."
"In that coming day," says the Lord," you will call me 'my husband,' instead of 'my master.' O Israel, I will cause you to forget your images of Baal; even their names you will no longer be spoken. At that time I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as Lord."
"In that day," says the Lord, "I will answer the pleading of the sky for clouds, which will pour down water on the earth in answer to its cries for rain. Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain, the grapes and the olive trees for moisture. And the whole grand chorus will sing together, 'Jezreel' - 'God plants!'
"At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself! i will show love to those i called 'Not loved.' and to those i called 'Not my people,' i will say, 'Now you are my people.' then they will reply, 'you are our God!."