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Hosea--The Pleading Prophet

CONNIE: Is it possible to hurt God? Or is He so far above us that He's beyond our reach? Join us as we consider the book of Hosea, and the story of a God who has been deeply wounded by His people. Giving God's trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I'm Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I'm Lonnie Melashenko. Connie, we're beginning to dig deeply into the section of the Bible known as the Minor Prophets now, in our book-by-book journey through the Bible. Hosea is probably one of the better-known minor prophets, because most Bible readers remember the story of his involvement with the harlot named Gomer, whom he actually married, and who became a source of constant trouble--heart trouble I guess you could say--in his life.

CONNIE: Well, and the amazing thing is that God actually instructed Hosea to enter into that painful relationship.

LONNIE: There was something he was to learn from it, but more than that, there was something God's whole nation of Israel was supposed to learn from this heart-rending experience. It stood as a parable of God's own disappointing relationship with His people.

CONNIE: Human relationships can teach us a lot about our relationship to God, as Ken Wade and marriage counselor Bob Peach point out in our interview segment today.

KEN: Bob Peach I want to thank you for joining us today. Bob is the director of the Kettering Clergy Care Center, at Kettering Medical Center in Ohio and Bob you're dealing a lot with interpersonal relationships there, aren't you?

BOB: Indeed I am.

KEN: A lot of marriage counseling, working with relationships and that sort of thing.

BOB: Yes, my emphasis is helping people deal with relational issues and problems.

KEN: Well Bob, I called on you because I was, I guess I would almost use the word flabbergasted, by the book of Hosea as I got into it this time and just delving into it in greater depth because of the level of the intensity of the emotions expressed there.

BOB: It certainly is. You feel a raw edge that is almost uncomfortable. You look like you're peeking into the private business of Hosea.

KEN: You sure do! I think, you know, you read through the Bible and you give it the once over lightly, but when you go back and start reading this book over and over again; as I always do when I'm preparing material for a program, it just began to really bother me a bit I guess you could say. It was like Hosea at one point would be saying for God, "You know, I don't even care about you people anymore. Just get lost, get out of here," and then almost the very next verse he's saying, "Oh, but how can I let you go? Do you ever see that sort of thing in human relationships"?

BOB: Well one of the things that I see with some frequency, especially in clients that are struggling with marital infidelity is that there is a horrible emotional swing. It's very typical for clients to say, "Oh it was great, it was wonderful, we've got things together. We've decided to stay together and this was wonderful," and they come in next week and they're just in the pit of despair because of the situation and the emotions can really be up and down in that situation.

KEN: Well that's what finally jumped out at me, because it had only been a few months earlier that I had been dealing with a couple who was going through that very thing, Bob. There had been an infidelity situation, and it was wrenching to deal with and I don't deal with it as much as you do, but one day we'd be talking to the man, and he'd say, "You know, we're going to make this thing work, I can't give her up," and then find out something, or something would happen in their relationship and he'd say, "I never want to see her again," you know, and I began to sense that that's the relationship that God is going through with His people here in Hosea.

BOB: Well this kind of relationship, dysfunction and pain, strike I think really at the heart of the emotional identity of people. It's not peripheral at all. It's just central to who people are and so they're most vulnerable there, and so their pain is most unprotected there, and it's all over the place.

KEN: Yeah, and so as I read the book then, I began to say, "Oh yeah, alright. This is God who feels jilted." He feels like He's been put aside, and it began to teach me something about the heart of God, for one thing, and also I think you learn from human experience about God, but on the other hand you learn something from God about His relationship to people, don't you?

BOB: Yes, as I read over the book recently it struck me, just the willingness, the fact that God uses this imagery. It seems very clear that He wants human beings to grasp somehow His heart and how painful this is, and this is one of the most powerful images that God could have selected to teach people about how deeply He cares about us, and how much our infidelities to Him, wound Him.

KEN: Do you find that you use the book of Hosea sometimes in counseling situations?

BOB: I would say not typically, but there have been times when the situation just seemed to leap out and the identification with Hosea was very powerful for a particular couple.

KEN: In Hosea 2:14, "Therefore I am now going to allure her, I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." Such love manifested there in the words of God, and yet such raw emotional reaction to people's unfaithfulness. I guess God really does care about us.
BOB: Yes.

KEN: You don't get that sort of emotion in a relationship where the person doesn't really care, do you?

BOB: No, the closeness and the vulnerability of that kind of intimate relationship means that people have the access and capacity to hurt each other terribly.

KEN: And to react very strongly. Well thank you very much Dr. Bob Peach for speaking with us, and I think that Hosea has a lot to teach us about ourselves, and about God, doesn't it?

BOB: Indeed it does.

CONNIE: Thank God that there is a wideness in His mercy, and in His love, that continues to accept us and try to woo us back, even when we've messed up.

LONNIE: That's really the theme of the book of Hosea--God's deep, abiding, loving concern for His people. That type of deep love is easily wounded, though, and in this book we see God responding both with great frustration at His people's rebellion, but also with great love, in trying to woo and win them back.

CONNIE: There's a lot of powerful imagery in the book that tugs at our heart strings. What we see here is a God who cares deeply about His people. And when you recognize that all the strong emotions expressed in the book spring from this deep love, how can you help but love Him back?

LONNIE: I think a lot of people have questions about the character of God--whether He really cares, why He lets so many bad things happen, if he is a God of love. Chris Blake is the author of a book called Searching for a God to Love, in which he shares his own experience of coming to understand and truly love God--coming out of an atheistic background. Chris has been a guest on our program before, and we've offered his book--for a price. But we've got some really good news for you--share it with us Connie.

CONNIE: That's right, in case you didn't order Chris's book for $12.00 when we offered it, we have good news. There's a new little book, with excerpts from the book. It's called simply Searching, and we've gotten enough copies that we can share them for free with anyone who calls in to ask for it this week.

LONNIE: Our toll-free number is 1-800-872-0055, and you can call anytime and ask for your copy of Searching.

CONNIE: We'll tell you more about this after Lonnie's message, Hosea, the Pleading Prophet.

Hosea--The Pleading Prophet

Hosea gives voice to the pleading of a broken-hearted God. He doesn't speak in abstract terms. His words pour from his own wounded soul, pleading for Israel to return to their God.
Hosea brings God to us on a very personal level.
It all began one day when Hosea heard from God.
His voice was clear. His message -- impossible to ignore! "Hosea," God said,
" 'Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD' " (Hosea 1:2, NIV).

Hosea could not be a detached messenger of the Lord, mouthing words that had not touched his own soul. God called him to live his message. To live out--on a human level--the experience of a God who had tenderly loved His people--His bride--only to have her spurn Him for the momentary pleasures of an adulterous relationship with other lovers.
Hosea experienced what God had experienced. And he spoke from a heart cut to the quick by a riven relationship.
God Himself was suffering the pain of rejection, you see. His people, Israel--the people He had rescued from slavery in Egypt--had turned their back on Him despite all the good He had done for them, despite all the love He had shown them.
Israel's relationship to God had been rocky from the start--and lately it had gotten a lot worse--literally leaving God wondering what He could do to "fix" it.
The name "Israel" in this story applies to the kingdom formed by ten northern tribes that split off from the kingdom of Judah shortly after the death of King Solomon.
Both Israel and Judah continued to worship the Lord--technically--but in different ways and at different places. Israel's first independent king, Jeroboam, built two new temples, one in Bethel at the south end of his kingdom, and one in Dan at the north end. And in each temple he placed a 24-karat gold-plated statue of a bull. (Prophets like Hosea denigrated them by calling them "calves" not bulls, but the original statues probably were bulls.)
It seems likely, based on archaeological finds in Israel, that Jeroboam never intended the bulls themselves to represent God. Their neighbors, the Canaanites, often pictured their gods standing on the back of a bull or another animal, so the king may have intended the bulls as mere pedestals or footstools for the Lord.
But it didn't take long for the people to start worshiping the bulls--or calves--themselves, just as they'd done at Mt. Sinai with the statue Aaron made.
From then on things were rocky between the Lord and Israel. Many of the people began to worship Baal and other gods of their Canaanite neighbors. The Lord sent prophets like Elijah and Elisha to call them back to faith in Him, but they met with only spotty success.
If you read the account in the biblical books of 1 and 2 Kings, you'll notice some interesting things happening in the years leading up to Hosea's ministry. Kings like Omri and Ahab seemed devoted to Baal worship, but at the same time they often listened to the Lord's prophets, taking their advice on how to conduct their wars.
And, in all honesty, it began to look like this sort of double-dipping in the divinity pool was paying off pretty well.
Ahab goes down in history as one of Israel's wickedest kings. Here's how 1 Kings describes his unfaithfulness to the Lord:

"Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him. He . . . married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria" (I Kings 16:30-32NIV).

But here's the thing most people don't realize. Ahab's unfaithfulness--his courting of Baal along with the Lord--seemed to pay big dividends. While playing both ends against the middle--listening to the Lord's advice through His prophets on the one hand, but worshiping Baal on the other--Ahab prospered greatly.
By marrying Jezebel, daughter of the Phoenician king of Sidon, he formed a trading alliance that brought immense wealth to his kingdom. Here's the testimony written about him at the end of his life:

"As for the other events of Ahab's reign, including all he did, the palace he built and inlaid with ivory, and the cities he fortified, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?" (I Kings 22:39, NIV).

Ahab built a splendid palace, with woodwork inlaid with imported ivory. He fortified cities and extended Israel's borders. In the year 853 BC, when a dozen kings from northern Palestine formed a coalition that beat back an Assyrian army, Ahab contributed 2000 war chariots to the effort--more than any other king.
Israel prospered--politically--under Ahab's leadership, and continued to prosper under his son Joram.
But Joram was killed by a soldier named Jehu, who had been proclaimed king by a prophet of the Lord. Jehu quickly executed all the prophets of Baal, and decreed that the people should worship the Lord only.
That was good news. But it didn't do much for Israel's political or economic prestige. A few years later, when Jehu's son was king, the country's borders had shrunk, and the army could muster only ten chariots!
Now, here's the question: If you were an Israelite living in those circumstances, is there any chance that you might be tempted to take the "pragmatic" view of your religion?
Would you be tempted to say, "Things went a lot better for us when we were worshiping Baal!"? Would you, just maybe, be among those who started going to the high places and offering sacrifices to Baal, in hopes that things would improve?
Many Israelites did that very thing.
And guess what! Things did improve!
Under Jehu's grandson and great-grandson, Israel started to prosper again.
And that's when Hosea arrives on the scene.
He looks at the situation with God-given insight, and sees that all of this prosperity, while good in the short term, will lead to disaster in the end, because the people have turned away from the Lord.
And it's his divinely-mandated mission to get this message across to the people. To convey a warning, but not just a warning--an appeal.
Now, let me pause just a moment to be sure that we have a clear picture of Hosea's circumstances. He's called to speak for God in a time of unparalleled prosperity in his country.
Everything seems to be going well.
And in many people's eyes it's not a time of apostasy at all. They still worship the Lord--with enthusiasm and joy! They've built more altars for sacrifice than ever before. Hosea testifies that:

"Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. " (Hosea 10:1, NIV).

The people see themselves as very devoted to God, and no doubt believe that it is their dual devotion to the Lord and Baal that has led to their prosperity.
But God doesn't see it that way. He's unwilling to play second fiddle to anyone. In fact, He's unwilling to play any instrument in an orchestra of gods. He alone is God, and He won't accept half-hearted worship. He must either be Israel's only God, or He won't be their God at all. Hear His message in Hosea 5:6:

"When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them."

This is such an important message, especially for our day and age, right now, when religion is very popular in America--but mainly as a sort of interesting sideline--something we do once a week for a few hours. Friend, the Lord wants to be your God. Wants to be the most important being in your life every day. When we turn aside from Him or make other things more important, we're doing much the same thing that Israel was doing in Hosea's day.
It was Hosea's job to call Israel back to true and total devotion to the Lord. And he prosecuted his task with vigor! The Lord knew how to get people's attention, and He hoped that something in Hosea's mission would not only make people think--He hoped it would change them.
And so Hosea, this humble, clean-living servant of the Lord, went down to the red light district one day. His very presence there must have raised a lot of eyebrows and started tongues wagging! When he headed home with one of the best-known prostitutes in tow, well, the gossip mill must have spun right off its foundation!
If there had been tabloids in those days, the headlines would have blazoned

"Preacher Weds Prostitute!"
And people no doubt paid attention when Hosea started naming his children. Son number 1: Jezreel--a name that proclaimed judgment for past sins. Then along came a daughter. He named her "Not pitied!" Her very name proclaiming that God would no longer pity His people. And then another son, named "Not my people"--a prophecy that God would no longer consider Israel His chosen nation.
But even while Hosea is bringing up this family of ominously-named children, his wife runs away and moves back in with her old pimp!
Hosea's heartache perfectly mirrored God's. Listen to what he did for this loose-living woman:

"The LORD said to me, 'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods.' . . .
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley" (Hosea 3:1-2, NIV).

I wish we had time to read more from this amazing, this precious prophetic message of Hosea. It's a book full of pathos. You can almost see the tears of God running down the pages as He pleads with His people--sometimes erupting in anger drawn from deep within His jilted soul, sometimes promising the most wonderful blessings if they will return, sometimes picturing the joys He wants them to have.
We don't have time to read in depth in this program, but let me close with a few verses that express God's great desire for His people, His great desire for you, and for me, and then let me encourage you to go and read the book yourself. Be prepared for some strong language--some of it shocking as God struggles with His feelings for His people. But remember as you read, these strong expressions all spring from the depth of God's love. The depth of His love for you. Here's what He says:

" 'How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? . . . My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.' "
" 'I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.' " (Hosea 11:8; 2:19-20, NIV)

Friend, that's what God wants from, and for you, and me today. He wants to bless us, but He won't play second fiddle or even first fiddle in our band. He asks us to turn away from all other things, and to worship Him and Him alone.