By Pastor John Mateos Ong
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Hosea is a minor prophet not because he is any less important than the other prophets who performed miracles and prophesied over others but because his book is short, only 14 chapters long. Do you want to be a prophet and be used by the Lord knowing what the Lord is calling you to do and be? It’s not easy to become one. God has a lot of assignments for them, great ones from God himself. But Hosea? He did not perform any miracles. He did not have to speak it. He had to live it because he was the miracle himself.
In Hosea 1, God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute. Wait, what? Prophets are supposed to be holy and godly. How can Hosea represent God if he marries a prostitute? But Hosea obeyed and married Gomer. If you were Hosea, and you were following the Lord, will you think you heard the Lord right? But Hosea and Gomer bore children namely Jezreel meaning God will sow,
Lo’Ruhamah, meaning not loved, and Lo’Ami meaning not my people. These names show God’s feelings toward Israel.
One day when Hosea woke up, Gomer was gone. She went back to her evil ways. But God asked him to go after her and woo her back, just like how God is still wooing Israel. He wanted to use Hosea to show Israel how He feels about them. When Hosea saw Gomer, he did not get angry. He bought her back for 15 pieces of silver and 150 kilos of barley for a lifetime. You probably think that Hosea was out of his mind. Why would you buy something that was yours in the first place?
Why 15 pieces of silver and 150 kilos of barley? 15 is a product of 3 and 5. When I researched, 5 means grace. Grace is something that you do not deserve. And the number 3 is divine perfection. So the number 15 is a symbol of divine grace. How heavy do you think that is? How heavy do you think the cross of Jesus is? The cross is 300 pounds, which is approximately equivalent to 150 kilos.
1 Cor. 10:26 and Psalms 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it...”
The job of the prophets is to give the people the word of God. And during this time, Israel was in “prostitution.” God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute to show them how much He loves them. The other men who wanted to “buy” Gomer wanted to use her. But Hosea wanted to buy Gomer so he could love her again. Just like Jesus Christ. God owns us, but God sent Jesus as a payment for us because we are under prostitution, bound by the ways of the world.
In this story, it’s important to see that we are Gomer. In Hosea 3:3, God says, “stay faithful to me and I will stay faithful to you.” I remember all the sins I committed in the past and realized we really do not deserve His love. Sometimes we ask, why do bad things happen to good people? And then I remember, why does God give grace even to the evil ones? Because really, who is righteous among us?
God only asks you to be faithful and He will love you and be faithful to you. How much would it take for you to say, “ Lord I commit to you, I will serve you, I will make myself pure?” Just how much?
In Hosea 3:5, it says they returned to God and to their King David.They used the name of David because during this time, it was 750 years before Jesus came. David was a stand in. Hosea saw the new era where the people would come back and see the goodness of God.
You are a Gomer. Jesus Christ is our Hosea. When you realize this, you know that:
1. There are a lot of Gomers.
2.You will appreciate what your Hosea (Jesus Christ) did for you.
3.You will start going after other Gomers.
When you are set free, you will want to share your freedom to other people. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ will shake your world and you might think twice about following Him. If God asks you to bring other Gomers to Him, will you obey?
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