Throughout the scripture, God sent prophets and His word to the people, pleading with them to turn to Him. The amazing love of God reaches out to us, in our darkest hours in spite of our sins. He sent His son to pay the price of our sin so that we might be saved. The same amazing love of God has loved me even when I ran after other idols, just as the children on Israel had. But how much am I willing to lose to cling tight to the amazing love of God. What if He requires, I lay aside everything, that I might be His voice in the world? That was the case of the prophets. Each sacrificed everything. Some more than others.
God’s prophets each presented their message in various ways to try to reach the people. Jeremiah was asked to walk away from his life and the woman he loved to preach God’s message to a people who would not listen. Ezekiel’s wife died and he was not even given a chance to mourn, because his message was too great. Daniel was taken captive by the Babylonians where he was castrated. Each one sacrificing so much to gain everything. And why? Because they understood and desired the Amazing Love of God. They saw God in all His Glory as the greatest treasure to be desired and thereby they were willing to lose everything for the sake of speaking His truth to the people.
Each prophet spoke by different means. Jonah through his own failures pointed to the people’s sin. Amos, a shepherd spoke clearly against the sins of the people. Meanwhile, Hosea spoke of God’s judgement to come, was also asked to live out an example before the people of God’s Amazing Love.
Hosea 1: (NKJV)- The Amazing Love of God Displayed
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For the land has committed great [a]harlotry
By departing from the Lord.”
Nowhere are we told if Hosea knew she was a harlot when he married her. Most likely not, rather it by the time he wrote this he knew. Yet, God had sent him to marry Gomer and put in his heart to love her unconditionally. God knew her heart and saw that her heart was like that of the people of Israel toward Him. They chased after other loves, believing in them they would find the desires of their hearts fulfilled. But the truth they failed to see.
He Did as God Commanded
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the Lord said to him:“Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 It shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel” (Hosea NKJV).
God clearly spoke of the judgement to come.
Even In Judgement the Amazing Love of God was shown
6 And she conceived again and bore a daughter. Then God said to him:
“Call her name [b]Lo-Ruhamah,
For I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel,
[c]But I will utterly take them away.
7 Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah,
Will save them by the Lord their God,
And will not save them by bow,
Nor by sword or battle,
By horses or horsemen.”
It was too late for Israel; but mercy was still extended to the house of Judah. The 10 tribes of Israel have only recently begun to return to the land after all these years. Yet, Judah did return after the Babylonian exile. Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of King David as foretold. Yet, Hosea preached on the truth, even as his heart was about to be broken. The amazing love of God sometimes breaks our hearts that we might understand the depth of His love for us.
The Amazing Love of God Proclaims Mercy After Judgement
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then God said:
“Call his name [d]Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.
10 “Yet the number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are [e]not My people,’
There it shall be said to them,
‘You are sons of the living God.’
11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!
One day they would return, that day is yet to come when God returns to reign in Jerusalem. All this plays out in the life of Hosea.
Hosea’s Wife Leaves
Gomer left to a life of prostitution, seeking gold and riches. Hosea with broken heart raised his children. All the people whispered and mocked him, as he continued to preach God’s words. Knowing the law demanded her death, Hosea continued to love Gomer with a broken heart.
This was a picture of the people of Israel and how they were harlots toward God. His Amazing love for them pursued them; yet they rejected Him to seek after worldly goods.
And after the judgement, there will be yet to come the mercy of God to Israel.
Hosea 2:
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [g]comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me [h]‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me [i]‘My Master,’
19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord.
21 “It shall come to pass in that day
That I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer [j]Jezreel.
23 Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had [k]not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were [l]not My people,
‘You are [m]My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”
This will yet be the case. Despite all the years, one day Christ will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the entire world including the Israeli nation. And as an example of the Amazing Love of God, Hosea also went to rescue Gomer once she had lost everything and was being sold as a slave. Gomer was broken, enslaved, and deserving of death. Hosea was sent to save his beloved.
Hosea 3
3 Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover[a] and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
2 So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.
So, the question is: What are you willing to lose to proclaim the Amazing Love of God to a world that is broken. What if He asked you to live a life of suffering or sacrifice that one person might be saved? Is there any suffering too great for the salvation of one soul?
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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