A Broken Marriage

Read Hosea 1-3
 
Hosea 1:1-3 The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of Beeri during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah, and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. 2 When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son.
 
MARRIAGE is God’s most holy institution. He created this intimate relationship between a man and a woman, so two could live together in harmony to love, encourage and help one another. Out of marriage would come the sons and daughters to be a family. God formed the family to bear his image into the world. Marriage is the foundation of our human existence. A culture weak in marriage commitment is a culture destined to fail because I lacks direction. God’s method to use an adulterous marriage as an illustration of Israel’s disobedience was surely a deep sorrow in God’s heart.
   Imagine this assignment. The prophetic office is always very difficult. Sinners hate hearing the truth. And then God makes it more difficult for Hosea when he tells him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution.” Yes, Hosea, you’ll have children with her, but she will be unfaithful to you. God would use this public display of infidelity to show to Israel and Judah that they have prostituted his grace. They have “sold” his love, grace and law for the sake of self-pleasure. God’s people are smitten with evil, and God’s purpose is to dramatically use Hosea to say, “Faithfully come home to me, the One who loves you.”