Have Faith And Pray

At first glance, the reading from Hosea 1:2-10 doesn't seem to make sense. Would God really ask a prophet to marry a prostitute? Well, the answer is yes he can, and yes he did. You see, this was part of God's plan, and we all know that God's ways are not our ways, and sometimes God's ways don't make sense to us because we can't see the overall plan God has for someone or something.

God wanted to teach Israel a lesson, so he told Hosea to marry Gomer the prostitute. When God used the word whoredom, he was not necessarily referring to prostitution. The word translated as whoredom is a broad term that refers to various types of sexual misconduct. It only refers to prostitution in certain cases. In the case of Hosea, it refers to a married woman being unfaithful to her husband. This was a metaphor for Israel's unfaithfulness to God. Hosea's marriage began well and ended badly, just like Israel's relationship with God began well and had become bad by the time of Hosea.

Hosea probably asked God, "Why are you doing this to me? I am a good man, I try to be a godly man. All I want to do is have a family and raise children. Why should I be married to the wrong woman? Why should I be forced to raise strange children?" God's likely answer was, "It is because you are my prophet that you are living through this situation. Who else could suffer like I suffer, grieve like I grieve, and understand what I understand? Israel abandoned me just like your wife abandoned you. You can grieve for Gomer like I grieve for Israel."

God knew that Gomer would be unfaithful and he used that knowledge to teach Israel a lesson. He used the names of her children as statements of prophecy. The first child, Jezreel, was a reflection of 1 Kings 21 where Ahab's wife Jezreel planned to murder Naboth so that Ahab could seize Naboth's vineyard. The licking of Ahab's blood by the dogs was a metaphor for God's future judgment of people who follow other gods.

The name of Gomer's second child is translated as "No Mercy". Scholars suggest that Hosea was not the father. He did not have the natural affection that a father has for his children. This was a metaphor for the lack of love that God had for Israel at this point in time.

The name of Gomer's third child is translated as "Not My People", and again scholars suggest that Hosea was not the father. It represents the breaking of the natural bond that God made with Israel at Mt. Sinai; however, this breaking of the bond did not nullify the promises God made to Abraham. Like Abraham, Israel's salvation was by grace through faith and not through works of the law. The salvation would be offered through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

God used Hosea's family to call Israel back to him and his teachings. Paul said the same thing in Colossians 2:6-19. Both the Colossians and the Israelites had been led away from God. In the case of the Colossians, they were led away by false prophets. They were deceived. They forgot that in God and Jesus they were living new lives after being forgiven of their sins. They were united with Christ and shared his power over all earthly rules and authority. The only way they had to gain spiritual maturity was to hold fast to their faith in Christ and not to the man-made rules of the Pharisees. (Pause)

The story of Hosea and Gomer is really a story about God and the covenant people. Hosea used his family struggles as a way to speak to Israel about its unfaithfulness to God. Israel paid a heavy price for its unfaithfulness. Reconciliation would not be easy, just like it was not easy for Hosea and Gomer to reconcile. Israel had to learn a hard lesson. We as Christians have to learn the same hard lesson when we forsake Christ for other worldly ambitions. Thank goodness God is stubborn and pursues us even when we turn from him in sin. This is Hosea's ultimate message: God is faithful to his promises and can't let us go. His faithfulness to us overcomes our faithlessness to him and to each other.

We as modern Christians are also called to faith in Christ as a way of gaining spiritual maturity. It is not gained by the liturgy of the church. It is not gained through hymns, prayers or the minister unless they are true expressions of faith. It is not gained through the Book of Common Prayer or the Book of Alternative Services. It is only gained through faith. Faith allows us to withstand life's challenges. Faith will guide us to the end of our life's journey. It will guide us into the time of Judgment Day when God will say "Welcome Home!" Without faith, we will quite literally go to hell.