Hosea's Image of the God of Mercy

HOSEA’S IMAGE OF THE GOD OF MERCY

Hosea lived in the eighth century BC. He was married to a woman called Gomer. She bore him three children. However, she soon grew tired of Hosea and left him with the children whilst she went off in search of other men who could fulfil her needs more adequately.

Yet, despite of her wanton infidelity, Hosea never stopped loving his wife. As far as he was concerned, he had married her, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health, to love, cherish and worship" until parted by death, to use the words of our contemporary Marriage Service.

So when Gomer eventually came to her senses, Hosea was prepared to take her back into his home.

Now when he reflected upon his own bitter experience of marriage, he saw the same pattern of behaviour taking place between God and his chosen people, Israel.

God had chosen the nation of Israel to be his marriage partner. He had rescued her from slavery in Egypt. He had courted her in the wilderness. He had married her at Mount Horeb. He had honeymooned with her in the desert. Finally, he had taken her to their new marriage home in the land of Canaan. There, for a while, Israel was happy and content, just as Gomer had originally been happy and content with her marriage to Hosea.

However, Israel soon grew tired of the marriage relationship. The settled matrimonial home soon became unstable after the death of King Jereboam in 746 BC. Suddenly its national life was thrown into political confusion as one king quickly succeeded another. So Israel began to pin its hope in the establishing of foreign alliances with Egypt and Syria, rather than place their trust in God to fulfil all their needs.

Hosea describes the marriage breakdown between God and Israel in terms of a mother leaving her children behind. "For their mother has played the whore; she who has conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers: they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink"' (Hosea 2.5)

But as you and I both know, the grass is seldom greener on the other side. This Israel had to find out for herself. Unfaithfulness inevitably involves the pain of suffering.

However, Hosea does not give up hope for Israel. He looks forward to the day when Israel would eventually come to its senses and want to return to God.

"She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them;

and she shall seek them, but shall not find them.

Then she shall say, 'I will go and return to my first husband,

for it was better for me then than now."' (Hosea 2.7)

In spite of Israel's unfaithfulness, Hosea maintained that God would never give up loving his bride and wanting her to return home.

As far as he was concerned, the marriage covenant cannot be broken. God has committed himself to Israel, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. His love for Israel remains for ever constant.

That is the key towards understanding Hosea's image of God. The Hebrew word which he uses is "chesed" which is best translated, as in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, as 'steadfast love'. A love which will not let Israel go. A love which goes on loving and loving and loving. Chesed offers a security which other loves cannot.

So Hosea looks forward to the restoration of the former relationship of Israel with God. He looks forward to putting the clock back and starting all over again.

"Therefore I will allure her

and bring her back into the wilderness,

and speak tenderly to her.

From there I will give her her vineyards,

and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she will respond as in the days of her youth,

as in the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the Lord, you will call me ' My husband"' (Hosea 2.14-16)

And so Hosea's picture of God begins to emerge. A picture which has been developed through his own matrimonial difficulties and which he now sees reflected in God's relationship with his chosen people, lsrael.

It is a picture of a God of mercy. A God who goes on loving and loving even when that love is spurned by its recipient. A love, which in the end, is able to win through and take back an unfaithful partner and start all over again.

Here indeed is a God of mercy at work. A God who refuses to keep a score of wrong. A God who is ready to forgive, provided one is prepared to acknowledge one's faults and seek his forgiveness.

Such a condition is of course necessary if one is to be open to receive the forgiveness which he has on offer.

It is the same image of God which we find revealed to us by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Here the father loved the son so much that he was prepared to give him his freedom to go off and explore the parameters of that freedom. However, he did not find what he wanted. In fact, what he wanted was already staring him in the face back home. So he decided to go back home to his father and bravely face the consequences of his foolish action. And what does he find?' He finds that his father has not stopped loving him in spite of his unfaithfulness. In fact he is standing there with open arms ready to receive his lost son in a warm embrace.

Once again we have an image of a God of mercy.

You and I have entered into a similar marriage relationship with God. We did this at our confirmation when we entered into a solemn covenant.

At that time, I am sure we were all full of good intentions.

However, those good intentions can easily become eroded through the passage of time. It is very easy just to drift along and allow that marriage to die through lack of effort on our part. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be led away by the attraction of other gods which appear to offer us instant satisfaction, only to find that they do not really satisfy us.

But the good news is that separation or divorce need not be the conclusion of our infidelity towards God.

There is always hope because we believe in a God of mercy.

He does not stop loving us, even though we may stop loving him. He still goes on loving us in spite of our infidelity.

As St Paul observes in his Letter to the Romans, nothing can separate us from the love of God. He asks:

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?"

And he concludes:

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 8.35,38,39)

It is this steadfast love of God which is the source of hope to us when we are unfaithful. It is this steadfast love of God which makes possible a fresh start to our marriage with God.

However, there is one condition, namely, that we recognise our failure in the relationship and are sorry. Then, and only then, can we experience his forgiveness and feel the warm embrace as he welcomes us back home.

In short, you and I need never feel afraid, because our God is a God of mercy. Amen.