Living in the Spirit

July 18, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Hosea 1:2-10

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.’ So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, ‘Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.’

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.’

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, ‘Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.’

Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’

Hosea uses an allegory in the above scripture to describe the relationship the people of Israel had with the Lord. The original nation of Israel was split between the northern territory which took the name Israel and the southern nation which took the name, Judah. All this was accomplished and continued to Hosea’s time through war. In the story, Hosea’s instructions to go outside his faith and follow worldly ways of having children with a whore, describe the movement of Israel away from God. This chapter is the introduction to the book of Hosea which further develops this theme and its consequences.

In this reading, I was particularly struck by the line that says and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’ While God is telling Israel that they are not his people because of their actions, they continue to be perceived as being the children of God. I suppose that could be read as stating God’s intention to turn them around and return them fully to being God’s children. But, today, I read it as saying that their behavior is how other peoples and nations perceive God. It reminded me of the who-owns-God fight in our world today. I cannot imagine God being pleased being used as a battering ram to push forward political agendas in lust for power, whether inside or outside God’s agenda. That does not seem to hold true of those commanded to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we get so caught up in the world’s ways that we ignore your vision and way of being. Help us turn around and follow you more closely. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.