Hosea – a living example.
“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (trouble) a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
“In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ -Hosea 2:14-16
The prophet Hosea became a living example. God told him to marry Gomer, a prostitute, who was unfaithful. This relationship between Hosea and Gomer was a metaphor for the relationship between God and his chosen people. They were continually unfaithful, worshiping other gods. When Gomer had children, God told Hosea to name them: Jezreel (because God would punish the people for the massacre that happened in that city); Lo-Ruhamah (“not loved”-because God was rejecting Israel); and Lo-Ammi (“not my son”-because God was no longer the Father of Israel).
Even though these children were given names of punishment, God changed their names to “Loved” and “MY Son”. Gomer was once again embraced in love and forgiven by Hosea, just as God would once again forgive and love the people of Israel and Judah. They would once more be reunited and live in the place that “God plants” (Jezreel).
God desires to be in relationship with His people. God continues to forgive and embrace us even when we fail in sin again, and again. This New Year, how might God be calling you back into a relationship with Him? Do you remember when you first said “Yes” to following Christ? The passion of our first love, that longing to be in God’s presence, is what God calls us to this year. May we all return to God and hear His tender voice of love and grace.
Holy God, you offer yourself to us completely and call us to your life. Yet we are afraid, for your Way demands much of us. We confess that we are often quick to judge and slow to forgive. We confess that we choose that which does not satisfy, even as you offer us abundant life. When our fear overrides your call, forgive us. When we act from our own limited love rather than your expansive grace, forgive us. Reach down to us again, lift us up as a mother lifts a child to her cheek. Cast out our fear and fill us with the breath of your Spirit, that we may live the love we see in your Son, Jesus the Christ, in whose perfect name we pray. Amen.
