"Of minor prophets and prostitutes wives"

The title of this entry is ripped off from the title of a Pedro the Lion song based on the story of Hosea, a minor prophet to Old Testament Israel. It's a song I've grown to love and it has indirectly led me to a study of the book of Hosea during my devotions. The pastor of the RP church I attend here at school has just started a series of sermons on minor prophets and how they point to Christ. In the Lord's providence, the sermon this week was the first of several he will preach on Hosea.

As you can see, the story of Hosea and the faithful love of God it proclaims have been on my mind a lot lately. Below are some thoughts I've had regarding all things Hosea. Most of them aren't original ideas.

So God called Hosea to take the prostitute Gomer as his wife. This would be a hard command to obey firstly because it was so bizarre ("God, did you say what I think You just said?"). This would also be extremely hard to obey because of who Gomer was. Gomer was prostitute of all prostitutes. She was described as a woman whom all men had seen bare and defiled. Everyone knew Gomer was a whore and for Hosea, a man of God, to take her as his wife would bring shame to Hosea, not to mention make it hard for Hosea to love her.

Making a long story short (a story worth reading in detail for yourself), Gomer was repeatedly unfaithful to Hosea, continuing in prostitution (to Hosea's knowledge) even as Hosea's wife. Hosea even had to eventually buy Gomer back from slavery.

Their marriage was to be an illustration to Israel, showing the nation their unfaithfulness to God. The Israelites so frequently "prostituted" themselves to other false gods, showing scorn to their loving Jehovah. But God was forgiving and loving to the nth degree, as they say. Hosea was to be an illustation to the people of their heavenly Father, the faithful husband to them, the adulterous OT church. Powerful illustration, indeed.

To me in the new covenant, the illustration is fulfilled and perfected in Christ. I am Gomer--I am a member of the church, the bride of Christ; my heart is unfaithful; I continue old sin patterns; I break promises to God; I am spiritually adulterous. God is Hosea--He is always faithful and always always always forgives me, takes me back, and loves me unconditionally.

Something particular that my pastor pointed out in his sermon was that as the bride of Christ, the church needs to clothed in white to be worthy of her husband, Jesus Christ. But Christians are still broken sinners and come dressed with sin-stained rags. We are hopeless.

But in the eyes of God the Father, Jesus has become Gomer for us, although without sin--Jesus was made sin for me, for the church. He was humiliated, acting as both the redeemed slave and paying the price of wrath that my sins deserve with His own sinless blood. Through His blood I stand can now stand in the white bridal garments of Christ, spotless and undefiled and redeemed! me, a common whore--REDEEMED!