Whoring

I read: Hosea 1-4

I mentioned Hosea a couple of posts back ("Playing the Field" ) and my fascination with this story I hadn't yet read. Here's the basic idea: God calls a prophet, Hosea, marry a whore and then start a family. Her name is Gomer (her parents must have hated her). Tigers don't change their stripes very easily so it isn't long after marrying Hosea that Gomer goes back to being a whore (Pretty Woman this ain't). This unfaithful relationship is pure analogy: Hosea:Gomer::God:Israel. It's a very beautiful analogy though and it plays off a favorite and recurring theme for me lately, understanding Christianity as a relationship, not as a religion. So, I have been eager to jump into Hosea to say the least.

However, jumping in proved that the water is a bit murkier than it looks from the surface. I'm always fascinated at the depth of God's analogies, whether it's the symbolic acts God perpetrated with the Israelites or Jesus' parables. There's always layer upon layer to peel away and look deeper. So, it shouldn't have surprised me to start reading Hosea and found those same layers here as well.

The first thing we see in the first chapter is Hosea following orders, marrying Gomer and then starting a family. And boy does he start a family: three kids in so many years. The children are named Jezreel (a good Hebrew name), No-Mercy (what?!), and Nobody (and you thought Gomer was bad). I'm going to admit, I don't really get this. The names are symbolic but I'm finding that Hosea is probably more about Israel and God than about us today and God. However, there is definite application that goes both ways. I am going to have to do some research.

So, that's some fun for today. Not many thoughts, just me trying to make sense of Hosea's thoughts :)