The Unfaithful Wife

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Gomer the Promiscuous Wife

Gomer the Promiscuous Wife

Hosea 3:3 Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. (NLT)

            Imagine being told by God that you had to marry a prostitute. Many people would be left scratching their heads as to if this was truly God speaking and yet, God did order someone to do exactly that. Hosea 1:2-3  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.” So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. (NLT) Hosea was a prophet of God who had been called to prophesy against the Children of Israel and warn them concerning their adulterous way. As a way to teach Israel a valuable lesson, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer and have children with her. God knew that Gomer would not be faithful to Hosea, but although this was a real embarrassment for him, it was symbolic of the Children of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.

            Gomer stayed true to her occupation even though she was married to Hosea. She left her home, husband and children to commit adultery with other men. Yet, God had Hosea to go get her and show her love as a sign of the love that He had for Israel even though they were unfaithful and turned their heart to other gods. Hosea 3:2 So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. (NLT) Hosea had to purchase his own wife and bring her back to their home despite her indiscretion. This was the same way God had contended with Israel over the years. Time and time again God would rescue them from the hands of their enemies only for them to return to their adulterous ways of worshiping other gods. Gomer did not appreciate the fact that she had a husband who loved her because she was too busy chasing after cheap imitations.

            We too have oftentimes been unfaithful to God. We have allowed other things to crowd God out of our lives and placed Him second when He should have been first. We frequently put value in people, jobs, money, and occupy our time with tv, games, gossip, music, and all sorts of distractions that take us away from having an intimate relationship with Him. And yet, despite our unfaithfulness, our Potter still beckons us to come and be in His presence. He is never unfaithful to us, but we are the ones who just like Gomer, seek out other gods. The Potter wants us to return to Him and the security of His home in our hearts. No other god can love us as He has by sending His son to die for our sins. Hebrews 3:15 As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." (NIV)

Eve the Mother of Grief

Eve the Mother of Grief

Genesis 3:16 Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you. (NLT)

           

God created a wonderful world for man to enjoy. There were beautiful trees, flowers, grass, animals, clean water and fresh air. Everything that He made was perfect and there was no such thing as pain, sorrow, suffering and death until man defied God by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge with good and evil. Adam and Eve’s disobedience brought about consequences far greater than what they could have ever imagined. They had to leave the garden that had been home to them and go out into a world that was different from what they could have ever known. They encountered struggles that they were not used to, but nothing compared to the pain that would be brought into their lives.

Eve had two sons – Cain and Abel. Cain was a worker of the ground and Abel tended to the flock. The Bible does not go into details, but at some point, a system of presenting offerings to God was established with Adam and Eve when they left the garden. Therefore, Cain and Abel presented their offerings to God. Cain’s offering, however, was not accepted while Abel’s was. Cain took some of his harvest from the ground to give as an offering, but Abel took some of the fat from his firstborn flock. God’s refusal to accept Cain’s offering angered him and eventually led to him killing his younger brother. Due to his wicked deed, God cursed Cain where nothing would ever grow from his hands again he was driven out from the land.

Eve must have been totally heartbroken. She lost not one but two sons – one dead and the other in exile. She never could have dreamt that the choice she made in the garden would result in her experiencing such grief and pain. She allowed the devil to deceive her and cause her to lose her home and then he entered into her oldest son and caused him to kill his brother. The tremendous grief was possibly more than what she thought was possible to bear. But God blessed her to have yet another son whom they named Seth.

We have all paid the price of the choice that Eve made in the garden and yet, the Potter has offered us Salvation through Jesus so that we would not be eternally lost. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV) Yes, we may have heartaches, pain, suffering, and grief while on this earth, but the Potter offers us the opportunity to have peace that is only found in Him. Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (ESV) Whatever grief that you may be suffering today, know that there is relief at the Potter’s House. He can heal all that afflicts you if you would place your trust in Him today. Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (NIV)