Marry a Prostitute???

“Marry a prostitute?  Are you kidding me?”  Hosea must have thought this as God gave him the charge to do just that.  And God wasn’t kidding when He told Hosea to do this.  Furthermore, Hosea was charged with loving her despite her repeated unfaithfulness.  And if this were not enough, he was not only to remain faithful to her, but also allure her back when she was wayward. 

Why would God have him do this?  For one simple reason:  to show the kind of love He has for us, even when we are unfaithful to Him.  “Nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8).

All of us are spiritual harlots at one time or another, and yet God continues to love us, remain steadfastly committed to us, and allures us by His Spirit to come back.  How crazy is this?!  What a radical book Hosea is.  What a radical love story in the book of Hosea.  What a radical God, who has radical love for us.

To understand the book of Hosea it is crucial to know that God likens our relationship with Him to a marriage.  “For your Maker is your husband” (Isa. 54:5).  “Come and I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:5).  This reveals how close God desires to be with us.  It shows how intimate He wants our relationship to be with Him.  It also shows why He would call it whoredom if we give our love and devotion to someone or something more than to Him.  “For the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord” (Hosea 1:2).

Throughout this great story in the Bible, we will discover how God loves us despite our unfaithfulness to Him, and also how this amazing love demands a response, and that response is that we would forsake our other “lovers” and be steadfastly devoted to Him. 

May the revelation of God’s love motivate you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

For more on the book of Hosea and to hear my opening sermon on this book, go to:  http://www.livinghopeathens.org/marry-a-prostitute-really/