Go, love your wife again though she is…“intimate with chocolate cake”. What?! “The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin […]
… is another man’s treasure. Israel’s is a story of a people whose once former glory is lost. They, now worn and worthless, are tossed out from the surrounding nations – yet they are treasure in the heart of their God (Deuteronomy 14:2, NIV). In their story is a parallel scenario, of a woman, Gomer – Having […]
Hosea 4 onwards, is the writing of a scribe, the voice of a prophet, telling of the offense felt by a God, a Lover, who has been wronged. As the people murmur among themselves about what could this picture of Hosea and his prostitute wife mean, You, God, send out its message. As it spreads […]
Even the priests… In relating to Hosea the offense You feel towards Israel, You lay Your complaint about the priests – those set apart for the purpose of leading the people into knowing You, but who too had become corrupt. And like Hosea, as he writes Your words down, I hear the ache of things […]
To do anything but tell this story as it is, would be to downplay the extent of offense You, God, feel from Israel’s rejection of You. Much of what You say here, is for an R-rated audience. You don’t hold back from the degradation of it all. You say it as it is. I feel […]
None of my brokenness darkens or diminishes¹ my worth. None of my brokenness is able to put an end to the unfailing love You have for me that seeks my company and my return to relationship with You. Yes, like Israel, and like Gomer, I am ruined, broken, desperate, lost, but You love me here. You understand […]
def –An intervening space that comes between two parts. A short dramatic piece, especially of a light or farcical character, formerly introduced between the parts or acts of a play. Not too long ago I found myself upset, frustrated, and out of sorts. I’m not much of one for excessive verbal expression of myself, […]
“God, Your love is not good enough!” Man. Buried deep within this story of Hosea, is where Your heart is able to finally and honestly find expression of it’s deepest pain. It comes out amongst all the offense felt. You have said things hard to hear, but true, yet here is revealed the root of Your […]
My friends made me feel good. They made me feel accepted and wanted, that I fitted there, that I belonged. Drinking this, smoking that, wearing this, and being at that were the outward evidences that I was right – I belonged there, with them. But why inwardly, was it so exhausting? Why was there the […]
A legalistic upbringing made her feel caged in. “It’s my body, my life. I can do as I want.” Told, “I wish you were never born”. “I am unwanted.” Abandoned. Left. “I am scared of being alone. I have to be with someone.” Sidelined while they fought their battles. “I mustn’t deserve love.” An alcoholic […]