Today's Worship (and prayer request): God - the forsaken husband.

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Hosea 1:2,

 

"When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, '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.'"

 

At the end of the book that bears his name, Joshua challenged the Israelites in their commitment to the Lord, now that they had taken possession of the promised land.  He said, "... choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve..." Joshua 24:15. They responded by saying, "Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!... We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.'"

 

However, Joshua responded by saying, "You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you." Here now is Israel some 600 or so years later, in Hosea's day, and they are up to their eyeballs in idolatry, having forsaken the Lord, just as Joshua warned them.

 

Not only was Joshua insightful about what the nation of Israel would do, he was accurate on how the Lord would respond. Israel, having turned from the Lord to embrace the idolatry of the nations around them, would now face the Lord's judgment.

 

I find the Lord's perspective on his feelings toward Israel stunning. He doesn't address the nation through Hosea so much as, say, a monarch addressing a mutinous people as he does a husband with an adulterous wife on his hands. He speaks to Israel through Hosea by having him act the very part for him, to portray to the nation of Israel in a very practical way their infidelity toward him. Through other prophets he will express himself as a jilted lover, pained over the disloyalty of his loved one.

 

I find this perspective of the Lord quite moving. Given the events, it speaks to me so much of his heart.

 

My friend, Rod Cornelius, is on life support. His son, Rick, has asked us to pray for him and for the wisdom for decisions that need to be made. Thank you.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com