Hosea, part 2

I mentioned in an earlier post that our LIFE Group at church has embarked on a study of Hosea. In our first week, we discussed how God called Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman and why.

Before I began studying for last week’s lesson, I had some preconceived notions about what was coming next. I suppose I thought the story would transition nicely into how Hosea loved Gomer so much that he went back after her, even when she left for other lovers. And the parallel is nice, isn’t it? God loves us so much, that he pursues us and desires us to come back to him, even when we drift, fail, and are unfaithful to him. Yep, God is loving and compassionate and is always standing ready to make our relationship with Him right again.

But that’s not quite the transition we find in chapter 2.

First, God speaks some pretty harsh words of judgment. You should read Hosea 2:2-13 for yourself – from a reputable translation. But here’s my shorthand…

“Kids rebuke your mom. I no longer consider her my wife. I am no longer her husband. She has exposed herself to other lovers, so I will expose her to the rest of the world for the unfaithful woman she is. I will shame her. I will leave her helpless. I will punish her. Chasing after other lovers is bad enough, but what hurts the most is that she forgot me. And for that, she will pay.”

If that seems a bit too much, consider what God could have done. He was the one who gave this Mosaic law regarding unfaithfulness in Deut. 22:22, “If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man's wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die.”

Unfaithfulness isn’t just an inconvenience to a relationship. It has dire consequences. How quickly I forget that my sin and unfaithfulness to my Lord requires the harshest of judgments. I gloss over my own wickedness because I know God loves me and will forgive me.

God’s love and compassion do indeed come in the second half of chapter 2. God romances Israel back to himself and it is a beautiful picture. But God’s compassion, love, and pursuit of those He loves are most meaningful only after we recognize the judgment we deserve.

I wonder how Christian counseling would be different if for some clients we stressed judgment before we moved to love and forgiveness.

And I wonder how my own life would be different.