Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The Bad, the Bold, and Beautiful
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The Bad, the Bold, and Beautiful
Hosea 3:1-5
According to James Boice, this is the greatest chapter in the Bible. Why would he say such a thing? Hosea, like many prophets, has a very hard—and strange—calling. He was told to go and marry a wife of whoredom. This goes against good sense and certainly doesn’t fit Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians to not be unequally yoked. So, why is he told to do this and what has this to do with our messianic hope? So much!
Hosea is told in chapter 1,
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2)
Hosea wasn’t given this command as a model for the rest of us. He was given this command as part of his prophetic role. His marriage was a living parable of God’s marriage to Israel. He is not the only prophet to have his marriage serve as a parable. If you will recall, Ezekiel’s relationship with his wife also served as a parable. On the day Jerusalem fell, Ezekiiel’s wife died. It was a sign to the people of Israel that just as the delight of Ezekiel’s eyes was taken away, so would Jerusalem be taken away. Isaiah also followed God’s command with regard to his wife that would serve in part of his prophetic message.
Back to Hosea. His marrage to a woman of whoredom was a visual lesson to the people of Israel that they might understand their own relationship with God. After all, marrage is often the image that God uses to describe his relationship to his people. For example,
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (Isaiah 54:5)
In addition, the Song of Solomon, while likely a historical account, is included in the Bible to serve as a type of the relationship that would exist between God and his people. So that’s a familiar connection.
What is not so expected, however, is the pain in such a marriage. (Ezekiel uses similar language in his prophecies, but he writes later than Hosea.)
So what do we learn about our relationship with God? As we look at this relationship, we see a depth to God’s covenant love for his bride. It is an incredible love story when we begin to see this love unfold.
So what do we see about this love?
View all episodes
By Hosea 3:1-5
According to James Boice, this is the greatest chapter in the Bible. Why would he say such a thing? Hosea, like many prophets, has a very hard—and strange—calling. He was told to go and marry a wife of whoredom. This goes against good sense and certainly doesn’t fit Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians to not be unequally yoked. So, why is he told to do this and what has this to do with our messianic hope? So much!
Hosea is told in chapter 1,
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” (Hosea 1:2)
Hosea wasn’t given this command as a model for the rest of us. He was given this command as part of his prophetic role. His marriage was a living parable of God’s marriage to Israel. He is not the only prophet to have his marriage serve as a parable. If you will recall, Ezekiel’s relationship with his wife also served as a parable. On the day Jerusalem fell, Ezekiiel’s wife died. It was a sign to the people of Israel that just as the delight of Ezekiel’s eyes was taken away, so would Jerusalem be taken away. Isaiah also followed God’s command with regard to his wife that would serve in part of his prophetic message.
Back to Hosea. His marrage to a woman of whoredom was a visual lesson to the people of Israel that they might understand their own relationship with God. After all, marrage is often the image that God uses to describe his relationship to his people. For example,
For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (Isaiah 54:5)
In addition, the Song of Solomon, while likely a historical account, is included in the Bible to serve as a type of the relationship that would exist between God and his people. So that’s a familiar connection.
What is not so expected, however, is the pain in such a marriage. (Ezekiel uses similar language in his prophecies, but he writes later than Hosea.)
So what do we learn about our relationship with God? As we look at this relationship, we see a depth to God’s covenant love for his bride. It is an incredible love story when we begin to see this love unfold.
So what do we see about this love?