The Other Day I re-read the love story of Hosea and Gomer, and then Bro. Bob Jennings’ exhortation in the October, 2002, Tidings, which brings out many meaningful lessons.
I am sure that on their wedding day Hosea had the highest expectations of Gomer and of his ability to satisfy her and keep her on track. But when Gomer went off to live with her outside boyfriends and ‘played the harlot,’ to use the straightforward old fashioned phrase, Hosea was devastated. The children were disgusted. We are told that she only wanted gourmet food and fancy clothes from these playboys, nothing else. Of course, her adulterous liaisons did not last. They never do. So when her lovers had had their fling, and run out of cash, they abandoned her. She chased after her lovers but did not catch them, she looked for them but did not find them.
In poor but materialistic societies like ours, ‘gold-diggers,’ like Gomer, are the norm. These days, this scenario is played out in countless shattered lives. Popular women’s newspapers, like Flair, foster this lifestyle, and assume that it is inevitable. It is considered smart.
The more I thought about it, the more I realised that Gomer’s real weakness was not sexual: it was discontent and ingratitude. As Hosea said, she has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold which they (her boasty boyfriends) used for Baal (licentious idolatry). Gomer’s dream was that elusive notion, the ‘pursuit of happiness.’ But the more you pursue happiness, the farther it recedes.
What amazes me most about this story is Hosea’s attitude: utterly unselfish and totally sacrificial. I am going to allure her, and speak tenderly to her. I will show my love to the one I called “Not my loved one.” I told her, “I will live with you.” My heart is changed within me: all my compassion is aroused. I will betroth you to me forever, in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. That is not how cheated husbands usually behave. But that is exactly the attitude which God has shown to us all, for God is love.
Yes, as Hosea says, Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One