Thursday 24 January 2013

Background

Yesterday's passage finished with hope ofreconciliation between Hosea and Gomer; today's passage begins withthe realisation that this hope may yet be disappointed. For theLord says to Hosea again that he is to "Go love a woman who has alover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people ofIsrael, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes' (v.1).

Once again the link between her adultery and the faithlessnessof Israel is made explicit, with the reference to "raisin cakes"suggestive of the kind of food offerings brought before culticidols in Canaanite worship. But now Hosea takes decisive action tobring his wife back, buying her out of the prostitution (temple orotherwise) in which she was engaged "for fifteen shekels of silverand a homer of barley and a measure of wine" (v. 2).

On return home, there is to be a period of restraint betweenthem: "You must remain as mine for many days … you shall not haveintercourse with a man, nor I with you" (v. 3). This may be a timeof purifying abstinence after all that's happened, or it may bepart of what one scholar has called the 'necessary discipline ofcommitment'.

In any event this period in Hosea's marital life parallels thesituation of the northern kingdom of Israel. It too will be without"king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod orteraphim" that is without political leadership or religiousworship, equally "for many days" (v. 4). However, and as Hoseacontinues to hope for this wife, this period of abstinence isintended to prepare for a loving return: "Afterwards the Israelitesshall return and seek the Lord their God". Moreover, this return isnot just to God, but also to "David their king" (v. 5), for it isnoticeable that a return to the Davidic line is held to be a symbolof Israel's returning faithfulness.

To Ponder

• Hosea's experience of love is so often one of disappointmentand loss; is that true of your experience?

• Hosea seeks to makes sense of this disappointment through hisfaith; to what extent do you find your faith helps you to overcomesimilar experiences?

• It's sometimes said that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder',can this be true also of our longing for God? Why?