". . . But He Did" (Hosea Retold)

You would be embarrassed, too . . . knowing all the things that went on in that house next door. I used to hear her ranting and raving all day long . . . that is, when she was around.  I finally tried to get on up outta there, in order to keep my own sanity, you understand . . . but I couldnt find another house to move into . . . nor anybody who wanted to buy this house.  So here I am.  When I would tell people I lived next door to Hosea and Gomer, they would look at me and say, "God bless you, Brother."  They knew what I had to deal with, day in and day out! I can remember thinking: "any other husband in his right mind would have either divorced or stoned his wife by now, with all the humiliation she put him through."   He doesn't have to forgive her . . . but he does.

As it usually happens, Gomer, Hoseas wife was off somewhere, leaving him to run the errands (from grocery shopping to cooking to cleaning the house).  I was putting the final touches on my new roof one day, when I saw Hosea leaving the house.  But, as usual, he didnt get far.  In fact, he didnt make it more than three or four feet when two fishermen stopped him dead in his tracks.  One man threw an insult at him.  He said something like: "Hey, Hosea! You must not be much of a man! Your wife came to see me last night."  Then they both laughed and started to walk off, but then the second one said, "Hey Hosea?  If you really are a prophet, then tell me who your wife will sleep with next!" Then they laughed some more and walked off . . . Hosea didnt say anything . . . he just picked his broken heart up off the ground and went on about his way.  I remember wondering where he was going . . . just before I turned to finish my roof.  It really wasnt any of my business. He was the fool.  I mean, this type of thing happened every morning, every afternoon, and every night.  They say the first cut is the deepest, but Im sure every one of those insults cut him just like it was the first time every time!

I couldn't figure it out! I mean, Gomer treated him like dirt, but he treated her like a queen.  Well, at least, most of the time.  Every once in a while, when he got so fed up that he couldnt take anymore, I could hear him yelling at her. . . . and you know, I thought Gomer was really sincere in her sorrow sometimes.  I know, you can call me crazy, but I believed that her endless apologies were usually sincere.  But, still, a week or two after her apologies, she was right back into the same old routine of being unfaithful!  He didn't have to forgive her . . . but he did.

One day they had a son . . . named him Jezreel, which means "God Scatters".  Since Hosea was a prophet, he was telling the nations leaders that since they had turned backs on God, He was gonna pass judgement on them . . . He was gonna scatter them all around.  There were also two other children born while they were married . . . but they werent Hosea's.  And even though he knew this, it didn't change his love for Gomer . . . foolish man!  He loved her regardless of what she did . . . he just . . . forgave her. . . . Didn't have to . . . he just did!

Those other two kids were named according to the way they were conceived.  There was a girl, he named her Lo-Rammah, which means "not loved".  Can you imagine?  And not long after that, she got pregnant again, and Lo-Ammi was born.  Lo-Ammi's name means"not my people".  God Himself had told Hosea what to name these kids.  And with the birth of each child, the warnings to the nation became more and more severe.  And with time, Gomer's behavior also grew more and more severe.

Her behavior finally became so severe that she ended up becoming a slave!  I was there the day Hosea bought her back. Word on the street has it that he only had to pay 15 shekels. Thats only about half of what you would normally pay for a slave.  But see, by then Gomer was nothing more than yesterday's garbage!  Nobody wanted her anymore.  Her eyes were blood-shot, and baggy, and glassy. She was a pathetic sight!  But what shocked me was Hosea's reaction when he saw her.  He walked over, held her close . . . People around were like, "What the? . . . Oh NO he didnt!"

And her?  She just gave a sigh of relief and dropped to his feet in shame!

He's had to go and get his wife from many places before . . . but this time . . . this time he had to buy her back . . . at a slave auction . . . He didn't have to forgive her . . . but he did.

As they were leaving, she had this blank stare on her face, trying to understand this forgiveness . . . this unconditional love he had for her.  What had she done good enough to deserve this?  But "nothing" was all she could come up with.  Absolutely nothing.  She figured his kindness, his desire to love her had to come from some other source.  Maybe God- it had to come from God!  While she was thinking about all that, she heard Hosea's voice say, "I will never leave you."  And you know what?  He never did.  And that promise he made gave Gomer a hope she never expected, and never deserved.  But the promise was her's!  Even though she had broken his heart a hundred times, she couldn't shake his faithfulness to her.

Many, many years later the apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to Timothy "if we are faithless, He (God) will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."

I've always wondered why I got stuck with that old house next door to Hosea and Gomer.  And I got to thinking: maybe I was supposed to be in school.  Maybe it was my classroom.  I know I learned a lot . . . living next door to Hosea and Gomer.  Like the idea that patience really is a virtue; and I learned that most of the time, people really need to mind their own business; and I also learned that occasionally, we all get a little bit like Gomer.  See, spiritually we cheat on God sometimes.  Maybe in an unkind word to somebody, or even a lustful thought.  In fact, there are many times when God plays the part of Hosea, while we play the part of Gomer.  Because were all sinners, God's grace keeps Him coming back to get us, to retrieve us, to redeem us.  He doesn't have to do it . . . He just does . . . God's grace and forgiveness covers a multitude of sins.  And as Gomer rejoiced in Hosea's compassion, we can rejoice in God's mercy.  He doesn't have to give it . . . but He does.

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