Adulterous Love

[LightningClap0002]

Until a few months ago I wasn't very familiar with the story of Hosea. It is certainly not a children's Bible story, but I don't know that I've ever really heard a sermon on it either. In the end, I'm left with some questions. Hosea was told to marry and adulterer; she continued in her ways and yet he bought her back. It's a powerful metaphor for our relationship to God; is that all its intended for? It's certainly not a comfortable idea. In an attempt to protect our brothers and sisters, we have so often, and so quickly, discouraged people on these forums from embracing relationships with people for a number of reasons. And yet, here God gives us a very clear example of a man, taking a wife, knowing she was broken.

I wonder, if someone asked Hosea as he was travelling "what do you want in a mate?" I doubt he would have answered "Well, ya know I've always really wanted to marry a wayward woman." But that is what happened, and not by accident. But very intentionally and specifically. With examples like this, is it at all meaningful to spend time thinking and compiling a list of what we want? As a christian, we are called to seek His will. For me at least, it is far easier to not even consider my own will but rather to give myself completely over to His will. To think about His will for my future mate (or His will for there not to be one as it were).

But I'm still left with questions. Probably a multitude of threads worth of questions. So, I'll pose one more before ending this thread. Is it a different situation for a christian woman to commit to a 'player' like Hosea committed to an adulterer, if told to by God?

 

[Jullianna]

Is it meaningful to consider what we might desire in a mate? Is desire a wrong thing (Genesis 3:16)? Is it meaningful to ponder whether we will marry at all? Or where we will live, married or not? Or whether we will attend college or not or which one? Or which church we will attend? Or whether we would like to have children or what they might be like? Or what type of career we might like to have? Or work toward any of those things? Is having a dream a good thing or a bad thing? Is having goals a good thing or a bad thing? Should we not ponder the future at all or give thought to anything or anyone who may or may not enter our lives?

Can God bring good from evil or bad choices or bad situations or in the lives of those who are not presently following Him? Of course He can and has. Approximately half of all marriages, Christian or not, end in divorce; but that also means that 50% of marriages do not result in divorce.

Of those that don't result in divorce are all of them happy? Did all of the people in those marriages make the right choice? Did they consult God at all in the decision? Are they happy? Are they fulfilling their obligations anyway? Would they make the same choice again? Were they believers? Did they become believers after they married? Is God using those who have become believers to lead the other to Him or vice versa? Are they just toughing it out and/or making the best of a bad situation? We probably all know people who fit into every single one of those situations, don't we?

We can't know all of the answers or all of the whys. But we do know that God works ALL things together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus. All means all, even the bad stuff. We also know that God is the author of all wisdom and our Creator. He gave us those gifts for a reason and would surely expect us to use them, otherwise, what value would they have?

All are certainly things worth pondering, but doing so seems to lead to more questions than answers... and no one answer is going to fit all of us anymore than God had the same answer to everyone's marital situations in scripture.

 

[Donkeyfish07]

Assuming God would actually command a woman to be marry a player.....I don't know of any examples in the bible where God commanded a woman to marry anybody.....let alone a man with that criteria. I can't claim to know the mind of the Lord but I seriously doubt that he would give such a command. My first guess would be that the woman just desires the man very badly and is looking for a way to justify it to herself (And women do that all the time......although not usually using that reason)....that's the most likely scenario.

 

[Ringer]

One thing I always remember when reading Hosea is that....

Hosea gave up his life for God.
If God commands you to jump off a cliff because it would cause many to be saved if you did so, would you?
By being with the wayward woman, Hosea helped change her.
There are people in this world who only need someone to be there for them and they will change.

And there are also people in this world that will never change.
God knows what's in our hearts, He will guide us to those who need our help and what we do after that is of our own free will, do we listen to God or do we listen to our heads?

 

[Mammachickadee]

Consider the possibility that Hosea's story was a personal example of what God does with believers and unbelievers, Jews and Gentiles every day since the fall of man. Israel was called an adulterous nation because they continually left their first love in pursuit of ungodly lusts.
There are multiple places in the Bible that describe the qualities of a desirable mate. Those are what you should judge your future spouse by... but learn from Hosea's tail that you as a human, Christian, and man are responsible for your wife and family.

 

[zaoman32]

There are several commands God makes in the bible, specifically the old testament, that have really only been given once, or at least recorded once. Abraham sacrificing Isaac was one, the story of Hosea is yet another. Not any one person is the same as the next. I could never imagine myself having the faith of Hosea. I caught my ex-wife cheating once...twice...and after the third I was done. Do I think I was wrong? No. Hosea displayed what I believe is a truly supernatural type of love. Anyone who has been cheated on knows it's not an easy thing to have to live through once, let alone constantly. The idea of a woman being asked to marry a player and actually put up with him is quite laughable. I've yet to meet a girl who would put up with it.

 

[Donkeyfish07]

There are several commands God makes in the bible, specifically the old testament, that have really only been given once, or at least recorded once. Abraham sacrificing Isaac was one, the story of Hosea is yet another. Not any one person is the same as the next. I could never imagine myself having the faith of Hosea. I caught my ex-wife cheating once...twice...and after the third I was done. Do I think I was wrong? No. Hosea displayed what I believe is a truly supernatural type of love. Anyone who has been cheated on knows it's not an easy thing to have to live through once, let alone constantly. The idea of a woman being asked to marry a player and actually put up with him is quite laughable. I've yet to meet a girl who would put up with it.

Just imagine how bad God has felt about Israel....especially during the heavy periods of idolatry.......and all of his other children off worshipping idols....all the time. He's gone through it way more than 3 or 4 times and we're the apple of his eye.

 

[zaoman32]

Just imagine how bad God has felt about Israel....especially during the heavy periods of idolatry.......and all of his other children off worshipping idols....all the time. He's gone through it way more than 3 or 4 times and we're the apple of his eye.

My point exactly...you are the epicness

 

[LightningClap0002]

Is it meaningful to consider what we might desire in a mate? Is desire a wrong thing (Genesis 3:16)? Is it meaningful to ponder whether we will marry at all? Or where we will live, married or not? Or whether we will attend college or not or which one? Or which church we will attend? Or whether we would like to have children or what they might be like? Or what type of career we might like to have? Or work toward any of those things? Is having a dream a good thing or a bad thing? Is having goals a good thing or a bad thing? Should we not ponder the future at all or give thought to anything or anyone who may or may not enter our lives?

Can God bring good from evil or bad choices or bad situations or in the lives of those who are not presently following Him? Of course He can and has. Approximately half of all marriages, Christian or not, end in divorce; but that also means that 50% of marriages do not result in divorce.

Of those that don't result in divorce are all of them happy? Did all of the people in those marriages make the right choice? Did they consult God at all in the decision? Are they happy? Are they fulfilling their obligations anyway? Would they make the same choice again? Were they believers? Did they become believers after they married? Is God using those who have become believers to lead the other to Him or vice versa? Are they just toughing it out and/or making the best of a bad situation? We probably all know people who fit into every single one of those situations, don't we?

We can't know all of the answers or all of the whys. But we do know that God works ALL things together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus. All means all, even the bad stuff. We also know that God is the author of all wisdom and our Creator. He gave us those gifts for a reason and would surely expect us to use them, otherwise, what value would they have?

All are certainly things worth pondering, but doing so seems to lead to more questions than answers... and no one answer is going to fit all of us anymore than God had the same answer to everyone's marital situations in scripture.

A lot of this is deserving of its own thread. I hope you don't mind me answering it there later.

Assuming God would actually command a woman to be marry a player.....I don't know of any examples in the bible where God commanded a woman to marry anybody.....let alone a man with that criteria. I can't claim to know the mind of the Lord but I seriously doubt that he would give such a command. My first guess would be that the woman just desires the man very badly and is looking for a way to justify it to herself (And women do that all the time......although not usually using that reason)....that's the most likely scenario.

Before Hosea, would your first guess have been that God would command a good, holy, man to marry an adulterer? I admit, the player part was a hypothetical. In truth, I was interested to see if the idea of God as a man, as the protector, in the relationship would affect the perception of the Hosea story reversed. It seems that on the forums, in particular, there are a lot more women encountering this sort of situation.

One thing I always remember when reading Hosea is that....

Hosea gave up his life for God.
If God commands you to jump off a cliff because it would cause many to be saved if you did so, would you? Absolutely. I am an absolute believer that the meaning of life is NOT to live it. The meaning of life is to wholly and completely rely on God. Heck, I would even do it without knowing that many would be saved.
By being with the wayward woman, Hosea helped change her.
There are people in this world who only need someone to be there for them and they will change.

And there are also people in this world that will never change.
God knows what's in our hearts, He will guide us to those who need our help and what we do after that is of our own free will, do we listen to God or do we listen to our heads?

That is a whole different thread too, but I won't get in to whether we actually have free will or not in this one. I'll assume for now that we do have free will. I'm seeing a disconnect between this last statement and the rest of your post. First you say that Hosea gave up his life for God. We are similarly called to give up our life (daily) for Christ. And yet, it seems like you're saying that once we've followed Christ, something changes and at that point we follow our own free will? If I'm understanding your position rightly, I'm concerned that it doesn't mesh with the Bible.

 

[LightningClap0002]

Consider the possibility that Hosea's story was a personal example of what God does with believers and unbelievers, Jews and Gentiles every day since the fall of man. Israel was called an adulterous nation because they continually left their first love in pursuit of ungodly lusts.
There are multiple places in the Bible that describe the qualities of a desirable mate. Those are what you should judge your future spouse by... but learn from Hosea's tail that you as a human, Christian, and man are responsible for your wife and family.

Mammachickadee, this was my first question. It is blatantly a metaphor for God's relationship with believers (God even says it specifically in the book). My questions stem from if it is more than that. Is there something more to be gained from it?

 

[twill]

Until a few months ago I wasn't very familiar with the story of Hosea. It is certainly not a children's Bible story, but I don't know that I've ever really heard a sermon on it either. In the end, I'm left with some questions. Hosea was told to marry and adulterer; she continued in her ways and yet he bought her back. It's a powerful metaphor for our relationship to God; is that all its intended for? It's certainly not a comfortable idea. In an attempt to protect our brothers and sisters, we have so often, and so quickly, discouraged people on these forums from embracing relationships with people for a number of reasons. And yet, here God gives us a very clear example of a man, taking a wife, knowing she was broken.

I wonder, if someone asked Hosea as he was travelling "what do you want in a mate?" I doubt he would have answered "Well, ya know I've always really wanted to marry a wayward woman." But that is what happened, and not by accident. But very intentionally and specifically. With examples like this, is it at all meaningful to spend time thinking and compiling a list of what we want? As a christian, we are called to seek His will. For me at least, it is far easier to not even consider my own will but rather to give myself completely over to His will. To think about His will for my future mate (or His will for there not to be one as it were).

But I'm still left with questions. Probably a multitude of threads worth of questions. So, I'll pose one more before ending this thread. Is it a different situation for a christian woman to commit to a 'player' like Hosea committed to an adulterer, if told to by God?

I'd just like to point out that Gomer was a harlot, not an adulteress, until AFTER she married Hosea. There's a difference.

 

[keep_on_smiling]

I personally am not at a spot where I could be as gracious, loving, and obedient as Hosea was. God wants us to love others as He loves us. He wants us to be forgiving as He forgives us. He wants us to trust Him. Hosea trusted God, He was obedient and married the woman God had for Him regardless of her issues. God knows all of our hearts including Gomer's and Hosea's. He wouldn't ask us to do something without a purpose.

It certainly is an interesting topic, but I don't think we could truly know the Lord's purpose.

Maybe Gomer needed to be shown how God loves her and there was no other way than showing her that love than through Hosea's love.

However, what we do know is that Hosea followed the ways of the Lord. We are told, that we need to forgive and that's what he did.

[SUP]21 [/SUP]Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”[SUP]22 [/SUP]Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Hosea is an example of how we should be living our lives. Though we may not understand the purpose of the Lord's ways, He will bless us for following them.

Things I've learned from Hosea- Follow the Lord's direction and ways, not the norms and feelings of this world. True love is incredible and hard to comprehend.
Things I've learned from Gomer- The Lord loves us and wants us to turn to Him. He doesn't give up on us, we give up on Him. Forgiveness is powerful.

 

[isaria]

Sometimes theres more to a story and a reason for a sin and sometimes it is understandable sin with good explanation, reason and cause.
God of course knows all and knows if it truly was a sin or maybe just looked like a sin or if it was a sin why was the sin made and maybe it was more innocent for whatever reason and they repented.
God should know who make good spouse and if God was to tell you to marry someone then God may well know better than you and you would not question God "Buuuut Goood, she is unattractive to me and horrid and a bad cook and a cheater and....." Maybe if you trust God you would see her in a diiferent light and or learn to like her cooking or decide "i will cook all meals".,. lol