We are Whores!

² The first time God spoke to Hosea he said:

"Find a whore and marry her.

Make this whore the mother of your children.

And here's why: This whole country

has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, God."

Hosea Chapter 1 verse 2.

Having started to read Hosea it does not take long to become what we would class as offensive. The Bible is often like that it has the title The Good Book but to be honest there is so much in the Bible that if we think through properly will be more than a little offensive. Here God is basically comparing his people to prostitutes, in some translations and in this the message it has been broken down to it's lowest form whores.

The truth that God is trying to impart through his servant Hosea is one that I really don't want to confront. I would like to be able to tell everyone that I am a good Christian and that God is at the forefront of everything I do. The truth is I am exactly as God describes me here, I am a whore.

The reason God is telling Hosea to marry a whore is to give a visual symbol of how we treat God and how God treats us. Hosea is representing God. For a start if a woman has been having premarital sex in those times the punishment was death by stoning. At the very least this in those times is definitely not the girl a good Jewish boy would want to marry. We are the whores because we are sinners. It may not have been premarital sex for all of us it may be watching porn or anger or any of a multitude of sins the basic idea is that we deserve death. We certainly do not deserve the Lord of Heaven and Earth to be looking our way.

But look our way he does and rescues us when we have no right to it. Just like Hosea here marries Gomer despite her being a whore. If it stopped there I could kind of live with it but it doesn't. You see Gomer does not just settle down into wedded bliss and give up her old ways. She is soon back with her old life and unfaithful.

¹ Then God ordered me, "Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who's in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife.
Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people,
even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy."

Hosea chapter 3

It's obvious to me that the parallel between myself and Gomer is very clear. I am a whore. I was a sinner who has been given the greatest gift of redemption possible. I am set free because God sent his son Jesus to die for me and to set me free. God has purchased me at a price. A very heavy price. But the truth is despite this I am yet again in bed with other lovers. Yet again I go out and sin and go my own way. I sin whenever I put anything before God. My other God's could be the latest DVD or playing on my Xbox or the million other things I could be doing instead of reading my Bible or praying and spending time with my saviour. It could be anger or making decisions to do things my own way. It could be lying because it is easier to lie than to be truthful It could be many different ways but the truth is that yet again I sin and turn away from God.

The amazing thing is that God is calling me back just like Hosea does to Gomer while I am still sinning.

"Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who's in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife"

Even though I am just like Gomer in bed with my latest sin cheating on my loving Heavenly father he still calls me back. Still loves me and still holds on to me and will not let me go.

I honestly do not know what else to say.