Posted on 07/11/2018 9:34:21 AM PDT by Salvation
We are currently reading from the Book of the Prophet Hosea at daily Mass. The story of the Prophet Hosea’s troubled marriage is a powerful testimony to two things: our own tendency to be unfaithful to God, but also of God’s passionate love for us. We do well to recall the story, especially given the “great debate” among some in the Church today over the question of divorce and remarriage. And while there are many painful stories of what some have had to endure in difficult marriages, remember that God is in a very painful marriage with His people—yes, very painful! God knows the pain of a difficult marriage and a difficult spouse. The story of Hosea depicts some of God’s grief and what He chooses to do about it.
The precise details of Hosea’s troubled marriage are sketchy; we are left to fill in some of the details with our imagination. But here are the basic facts along with some “fill in”:
This story is both difficult and beautiful. Its purpose, as you likely know, is not merely to tell us of the troubled and painful marriage of Hosea. Its truer purpose is to show forth the troubled marriage of the Lord, who has a bride—a people—who are unfaithful to Him. We, both collectively and individually, have entered into a (marital) covenant with God. Our vows were pronounced at our baptism and we renewed them on many other occasions.
But all too often we casually “sleep with” other gods and worldly paramours. Perhaps it is money, popularity, possessions, or power. Perhaps we have forsaken God for our careers, politics, philosophies, or arts and sciences. Some have outright left God; others keep two or more beds, still speaking of their love for God but involved with many other dalliances as well. Yes, this is a troubled marriage, not on God’s part, but surely on ours.
And through it all, what does God decide to do? In the end, as Hosea’s story illustrates, God chooses to redeem, to buy back, his bride—and at quite a cost: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 3:19-20). Yes, God paid dearly to draw us back to Him. And yet still we stray and often show little appreciation of His love. An old Gospel song says, “Oh Lord I’ve sinned but you’re still calling my name.”
A deeper look into the story of Hosea reveals a view into the grieving heart of God. Reading these Old Testament passages requires a bit of sophistication. The text we are about to look at describes God as grieving, angry, and weighing out His options; but it also shows Him as loving and almost romantic. On one level, we must remember that these attributes are applied to God in an analogical and metaphorical sense. Although God is said to be like this, He is not angry the way we are angry. He does not grieve the way we do; He is not romantic the way we are. Although we see these texts in terms of analogy and metaphor, we cannot wholly set them aside as having no meaning. In some sense, God is grieving, angry, loving, and even “romantic” in response to our wanderings. Exactly how He experiences these is mysterious to us but He does choose to use these metaphors to describe Himself to us.
With this balanced caution, let’s take a look at excerpts from the second chapter of Hosea, in which God decodes the story of Hosea and applies it to us. He describes to us His grieving heart as well as His plan of action to win back His lover and bride.
Here, then, is the astonishing, undying, and pursuing love of God for His bride, the Church, and for each of us individually. After all our whoring and infidelity, we do not deserve it. But God is a passionate lover. As He commanded Hosea to buy back his adulterous wife, so too did God buy us back at a high price. Now to be sure, God did not pay Satan. Rather, the payment He rendered was an indication of the high sacrifice He had to make to win back our hearts. We had wandered far and He had to journey far and then carry us back.
I am not here to render a personal judgment on those who have struggled to save a marriage but were unable to do so. Rather, my purpose is to reach those who are currently struggling, striving to persevere, so that you realize that God knows your pain—he too experiences it from us, time and time again. Yet each day He renews His covenant with us and offers us mercy. If it helps to realize that God knows your pain, please understand that He does. In the words of the old spiritual, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows but Jesus.”
Monsignor Pope Ping!
Good piece.
For me, its important to remember that, though scripture emphasizes the symbolic elements of the situation, at the heart of it God loves *her*. Hosea loves *her*. And, for me, the symbolism is meaningless if we lose track of that, she is herself not a symbol of anything, she is a lost girl who God, and Hosea, fight for and ache over because they love *her*.
That’s just me...
Now for Christians....Jesus, God's Son, is looking for a wife for Himself. He has paid the Bride Price on the cross. He has gone to prepare a place for us so where He is, we can be also. He will return for His bride at the blowing of the Last Trump blown on a future Feast of Trumpets.
The mystery comes when Ezekiel prophesied over the Two sticks in Eze 37:15-28. God told us There were dry bones scattered and He brought them together and breathed new life into them. That was done in 1948 when Israel was formed in one day. Then in vs 15 one stick is Jacob (Israel) and the other stick is Joseph and Ephraim (Gentiles). Joseph is a type and shadow of Christ and married an Egyptian, a Gentile. Joseph's kids from this marriage are adopted into the clan of Jacob and become co inheritors with Israel. Christians are the adopted ones into the Family of God and Jesus is able to marry a Gentile Bride. Jews were not supposed to marry outside of the line of Jacob.
Hosea applies to us now. A High Priest can only marry a virgin from His home country. (Leviticus). Jesus is our High Priest forever. If we do a word search on "Ephraim" we see he didn't do too well in the beginning and is mentioned many times in Hosea.
The teaching of Hosea in the flesh should show us that a marriage approved in Heaven should be from equally yoked people. All of the marriages of the Patriarchs had women they loved, and then 2nd place and concubines. Sarah was the love of Abraham's life, but he ended up with an Egyptian slave girl due to lack of faith. Ishmael was the result of lack of faith and we got Arabs from that seed. Isaac loved Rebekah, but she produced Esau and Jacob. God said Esau I have hated and Jacob I have loved. Esau would bedevil Israel for eternity. The Pharaoh that killed all the Hebrew babies looking for Moses was an Edomite. King Herod that killed all babies in Bethlehem was called the last Edomite. IMO, The spirit of Esau will produce the Antichrist in the Last days. Who we marry is an important thing. Making our choice for anything other than God's choice for us brings disaster. Marrying for looks or money or position is always a temporary thing and will change. If we are "covenant breakers" we won't have our prayers answered.
Mal 2:13 And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, With weeping and crying; So He does not regard the offering anymore, Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
Mal 2:14 Yet you say, "For what reason?" Because the Lord has been witness Between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion And your wife by covenant.
Mal 2:15 But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
Mal 2:16 "For the Lord God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one's garment with violence," Says the Lord of hosts. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, That you do not deal treacherously."
Covenant breakers will wonder what happened to their relationship with God as they break covenant with their wife. If you will break covenant in the flesh, you will break covenant with God in His marriage with you.
We should always look at every covenant from the point of "What can I give" and not "What can I get". Do we not ask and ask God for things and give Him almost nothing? Stop serving yourself and serve God and He will give you the desires of your heart before you even ask.
The hymn is “Hosea” by Gregory Norbert. Here are the lyrics:
Come back to me with all your heart,
don’t let fear keep us apart.
Trees do bend, tho’ straight and tall;
so must we to others’ call.
Long have I waited for your coming
home to me and living deeply our new life.
The wilderness will lead you
to your heart where I will speak.
Integrity and justice
with tenderness you shall know.
Long have I waited for your coming
home to me and living deeply our new life.
You shall sleep secure with peace;
faithfulness will be your joy.
Long have I waited for your coming
home to me and living deeply our new life.
++++++++++++++++++
It was sung as the Entrance Hymn at my husband’s funeral.
Isaiah 61:3.
One of the great lessons men can learn from the book of Hosea is NEVER marry a woman named Gomer.
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