What God Says About His Love & Spiritual Adultery
Earlier this week, Bay and I met up with friends in Moab, Utah for some light hiking and sight-seeing (BTW, the pictures sprinkled throughout this blog do not do the beauty of Moab and the Canyonlands justice).
With the handiwork of God everywhere, and, recognizing He created all this for our enjoyment, I delighted in this evidence of His great love.
The Lord shows off His love for His children in splendor, yet we often ignore it.
More likely, we take it for granted…
…and, this led me to contemplate what is probably, the oddest of love stories in Scripture: that of Hosea and Gomer.
The book of Hosea is an allegory, a novel, poetry, narrative prose, and prophecy all wrapped into one short story.
It is often confusing, deeply theological, and, like the word, HESED, mysterious (it’s also a little bit off-the-charts hard to fully comprehend). I know, ’cause I’m wading through a study of Hosea right now.
Hosea, the husband in the story, represents God. In life, he’s called to be a prophet of the Most High God. He’s faithful, selfless, compassionate, and deeply in love with Gomer. Considering he represents the Lord, we are assured that Hosea is a kind, gentle, protective, generous, encouraging husband, who honors and cherishes her well.
Gomer represents Israel, God’s bride. She also represents the Church of today…thus, I (!) am (!), often (!), Gomer (!). All that Hosea is, she is not. Gomer’s whoredom leads her to a promiscuous lifestyle, turning often to other lovers. She’s faithless, self-centered, unkind, and deeply in love with her own wants and chosen-lifestyle.
Remember: this is an allegory…and, the book reminds us that while the Lord is slow-to-anger, He is still a righteous judge. He is quite jealous for His bride. He will do whatever it takes to get her back home.
I read the book and wonder over and over again, what is Gomer’s problem? She has a loving husband who adores her, three beautiful children, and a life a lot of folks might covet.
AND YET…
Look at these thoughts running through her mind:
“I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink (Hosea 2:5b).”
Hosea provides all this for Gomer. Don’t think for a moment that he held back. It’s clear throughout the book, Hosea is over-the-top-generous to his bride.
Bread and water – these things are symbolic of Gomer’s daily need for food and drink.
Wool and flax – important necessities for weaving the fabric from which she’d make her clothes (she’s kept warm, for sure, but more important to Gomer, apparently, is how she looks).
Oil and drink – from what I read these represent the things that brought pleasure and “sweetness” to life. Hosea appears to be no slave-driver-of-a-husband with unrealistic expectations.
I see two problems so far in my study on Hosea and Gomer.
1) For some reason, Gomer can’t seem to identify as a “beloved bride.” Hosea chose her, in spite of her prostitution; He loved her with his whole being, and saw her as a pure, spotless, beloved bride; He provided well for her. Yet, it would appear, Gomer only saw herself as she once was, not as she had become. So, she continued to live the same way.
We do, this, too. It’s so easy to slip back into old patterns, and, just live as the “old creation” we once were; not as “the new creation” God has redeemed us to become. It’s no wonder, the enemy does his best to obscure our identity in Christ and cause us to look inward, not upward. As we believe we are, so we live. It’s easy then to turn to other idols…
2) Gomer had a deadly case of FOMO (just like the Prodigal Son, what led her astray was a “fear of missing out”). Going back to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve planted in our DNA, the notion that there is always MORE somewhere else.
So, we take our eyes off of the good around us, the signs of the beauty of God’s great and amazing HESED, and chase after something else that will give us MORE… We are never satisfied, never truly content; and, we turn to other lovers.
I turn to other lovers.
More of all that’s good. More of all I WANT. Making my life more about ME, what I can get; and, less about the Lord and His goodness, His faithfulness, His HESED.
My self-centeredness leads me on a dead-end journey right back to me.
James, the brother of our Lord, calls this “spiritual adultery.” Here’s exactly what he says:
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your own passions. You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world, makes you an enemy of God (James 4:3-4)?
He’s talking about those things we chase after far more than we chase after the Lord.
So far, the story of Hosea and Gomer has been more convicting than anything…and, that is what is worth my pondering this week.
However, I, also, know the story has a hopeful ending.
It’s hopeful, because the beauty of HESED shown to me, all about me, reminds me that no matter what, God sees me where I am, loves me faithfully, grieves over my prone-to-wandering-heart, and will do anything to bring me home again.
Ultimately, His unfailing love (HESED) changes everything.
