There have been times when God did (by human standards) radical things to penetrate human attention and thought. Gods love for His people is enormous! In His enormous love, at times He has to shock us to get our attention. His love does not mean we can take Him for granted!
If you are a parent and have reared a child or children past the age of eighteen, the chances are good that your enormous love for your child has resulted in unusual behavior. Gods love for His children surpasses our love for our children. In His great love for His children, He sometimes does drastic things to get His childrens attention.
The nation of Israel was the product of Gods promise. Centuries before Hosea was born, God promised a childless Abraham that through him would come a blessing that would touch all families of the earth (Genesis 12:3) through descendants that would be as uncountable as the stars that Abraham saw (Genesis 15:5, 6).
Hosea prophesied to the ten tribes of Israelites who broke away from the kingdom of Judah. From the time of their breakaway until the time of their terminal captivity in Assyria, these people were principally idolatrous. In Canaan they were governed by some notoriously wicked kings. Generation after generation, the rulers and people turned to gods that existed only in human thought as they neglected the living God. The God they neglected had delivered them from Egyptian slavery and gave them Canaan. Though God had done incredible things for them, they refused to listen to Him or give consideration to anything He said.
Hosea and his family became a living parable to the wayward people of Israel. What Hosea did at Gods instructions shocked the sensibilities of our society decades ago. However, what he did seems less and less unusual today. Even in our society, sexual involvement without marriage has gone from the unpardonable sin of a few decades ago to the ho-hum expected of today. Rapidly, in our society of today, sexual activity out of marriage is becoming an expected part of dating.
In Hoseas time, the predominant religion in Israel was Baal worship. Among other emphases, Baal often focused on fertility rites. Since Israel was principally an agricultural society, this form of idolatry had great appeal in both its objective and its low moral expectations. It was not unusual for Baal to be worshipped through human sexual rites. What Christians would call acts of adultery and fornication, Baal devotees would consider acts of worship.
Godly people regard the covenant of marriage to be an exclusive, permanent relationship in every aspect. However, Hosea (a godly man) selected for his wife a prostitute. That meant (a) she was accustomed to being used, (b) she was addicted to that lifestyle, or (c) both. Regardless of what that meant to her, (a) she did not know how to commit, (b) she lacked the ability to know when she was loved, and (c) the security of being loved meant little (maybe nothing) to her. By Hosea, she had three children. The first was named Jezreel, a symbolic name which would mean in our language something like the consequences are here; the end has come. The second child was named Lo-ruhamah which meant compassion has ended. The third was named Lo-ammi which meant You are not my people, and I am not your God.
When God first gave the Ten Commandments to Israel, He made it quite plain to the Israelites that He, and He alone, was God (Exodus 20:11-6). Long before Hosea, it was common for people to acknowledge and worship more than one god. The situation of worshipping more than one god might be true outside of Israel among people who did not know God, but it was never to be true in Israel.
However, among the Israelites to whom Hosea prophesied, it likely was unthinkable that one God would be upset because another god was worshipped. Then, to be monotheistic (worship only one god) was weird, undesirable, and offensive to existing gods. To be polytheistic (to worship multiple gods) was acceptable and common.
Hosea suffered many things because he loved and was committed to his wife, Gomer. God suffered many things because He was married to, committed to, and loved Israel. Read about the distress these people caused God in Hosea 11. See how they tore Gods heart. See how He did not wish to punish them, but they gave Him no choice.
Would God have to do something radical to gain your attention and enter your thoughts?
For Discussion and Thought
1. At times God did what? Why?
2. The nation of unified Israel, and even these breakaway Israelites, were what?
3. To whom did Hosea prophesy? Who were these people?
4. Hosea and his family became what? To whom?
5. In Hoseas time, the predominant religion among these Israelites was what? What was appeal of this religion to people?
6. At Gods direction, Hosea selected a prostitute to be his wife. What did that mean about her?
7. Discuss the effects of prostitution on her.
8. What did God make clear to Israelites in the Ten Commandments?
9. Hosea suffered many things in his marriage. What was the message about God in His relationship with these Israelites?
Link to Teacher's Guide
Lesson 4