Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna |Tuesday, June 12, 2018 | Topic: Conscience 43
Scripture: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6
Note: The birth of a second child, fathered by one of the numerous lovers of Gomer, marked a significant shift in the already damaged marital relationship between Hosea, a prophet and Gomer, a former prostitute. This shift in their marriage marked the summary of a checkered marriage that had several trails of the unsavoury, the ugly, the nasty, the disrespect, the disobedience, the numerous bouts of adultery underlined by a constant factor; a stiff necked and stubborn wife who was bent on going down the road to destruction.
Gomer and her children mirrored the ugly nature of the troubled spiritual marriage between Yahweh and Israel, caused by Israel’s affection for her numerous lovers. The birth of Loruhamah, which means “I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel”, demonstrated God’s anger and frustrations at blatant and persistent disobedience from Israel. God was now ready to allow Israel’s enemy, the Assyrians, to carry them away into exile. The price for disobedience was going to be the loss of liberty and independence, a life of suffering in slavery and in bondage under wicked rulers who shall not exercise the luxury of mercy as Yahweh did.
Hosea’s famed durability for tolerance and longsuffering had seen enough of misery, pain and agony. He had lost his clout as a prophet at home. His words to his wife were now virtually worthless. The praying and preaching man, known for his calm demeanour and ability to tolerate the worst of human disobedience and affront to his authority as a leader at home, had now seen and experienced enough trouble and controversies to last a lifetime. Just as Yahweh said, “I will no more have mercy”, Hosea’s soul was resonating with the same vibes in sync with what God had said of Israel.
The decision to curtail his fatherly covering for his wife and child, staying under his roof must have seemed like a travesty of justice to the child who knew nothing about her origin. The loss of mercy carried deeper implications for both child and mother. The father’s love for the baby was not to be expected or guaranteed. A loveless relationship meant that both mum and child lived under the same roof without any guarantee of pity from the dad who was actually more of a surrogate dad. This awkward position of Hosea was created by a wife who had refused to give a listening ear to her husband.
Food for thought: The price for blatant and persistent disobedience to God’s word is a wandering experience in the school of discipline.
Declaration: Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 1Sam 15:22
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
