Read His Words Before Ours!
Hosea 1
Hosea 2
Hosea 3
My Adonai.
I have believed You, followed You, served You, worshiped You, obeyed You.
I speak the words You have given me, even when they break my heart. Because of Your words, my people curse my name and turn their backs to me. My spirit is heavy for Israel, but I trust You.
You, the Author of Life, the one true God. You, who loved us in chains and called us to freedom. You taught us to walk. You have lifted us and healed us. Time and again you have beckoned, and time and again we run from You and find solace in others. You gave us Your Name, and clothed us in robes of righteousness. You set Your seal upon us, but we have hardened our hearts against You. Your people do not want to hear. They will not listen. They have scorned You. Trading Your tender affections and mercies for cold, lifeless idols. Ignoring Your precepts and Law, they run blindly into the arms of so many others. Forsaking the Living for the dead.
And still, You persist. I don’t understand it. What kind of love is this?
And Adonai, why did You give it to me?
Gomer is my wife. Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. I knew her family, her history, her past indiscretions. And I chose her; I made her my bride. I loved her, cared for her, provided for her. I gave her my name and companionship. I gave her children.
I knew this was coming. You told me it would, and I believed You. You told me to choose her, knowing her past. Knowing her future.
I obeyed… and I thought I was prepared.
What You didn’t tell me was how You would pour into me a love for her unlike any I could even begin to describe. Even now, when anger and rage at this betrayal should threaten to strangle me, they do not. This heaviness, this sorrow that fills me… It is not for me that I weep, but for her.
I didn’t ask for this. I don’t want it.
If there was any way for me to turn it off, I would, but I can not. I know that I should be furious. Murderous, even. But I love her more in this moment than ever before. She is broken, Adonai. And I am broken for her. Her adultery should warrant death by our law, but I can not bear the thought of even a moment without her. Even now, she is in the arms of another. I feel like I should hate him and want to kill him, but she is my only concern. She is hurting. With each breath I can feel it. My hands tremble at the thought of the pain she is inflicting upon herself.
Adonai help me, I must go to her.
I must win her back. She has forgotten the love I have for her. She doesn’t remember the way she takes my breath away, or the way she fills my thoughts and heart. I must remind her. I will draw her away from him to a beautiful place, somewhere we can be alone. I will speak words of love to her, words that will soften her heart and fill her with hope. I will bring the beautiful robes I bought for her, the fine jewelry that belongs to her as my wife. I will tell her stories of our love when it was new, and I will speak to her of our future together. I will remind her of when she took my name and promised to belong only to me, and I to her. I will bare my heart to her and convince her of my love. I must convince her!
I will go to her.
And I will bring her home with me.
Hosea’s incredible choice to obey God and love adulterous Gomer is a heartrending picture of Father’s love for a land that embraced false idols instead of Him. In Hosea’s pursuit of Gomer’s heart, we see reflected the determined passion with which God pursues us and loves us, even in our sin. So often, we feel we must change and repent in order for Father to love us and forgive us, but Hosea illustrates that couldn’t be further from the truth:
He loves us perfectly and completely, right where we are.
There is nothing we can do to earn His forgiveness and love,
because He has already given it freely.
He loves us too much to leave us in our sin,
but He will get down in the dirt and fight for us.
Once we pause long enough to recognize that pursuit, that extravagant love, we have a choice to make: Will we believe that He loves us that much? Will we trust Him with our hearts and lives, repent from our ways and follow Him?
Will you?
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A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!
Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Sketched Week Two!
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Looking for other journeys from this theme? Here’s a link to all past studies
in Sketched!
wow! this could be a great addition to my itty bitty bible studies! I love the personal nature!
Thanks for popping in Christine! The Sketched Studies are some of our favorites!