Relentless Pursuit
“I will betroth you to me forever.”
Hosea 2:19 (NIV)
Today’s post continues last week’s look at the book of Hosea and God’s relentless pursuit of His Bride, the Church.
There are many metaphors found in the Bible to describe our relationship with God. Made in God’s image, we know him as our Creator, and we are his creatures. Because God is the King of Kings, we are his subjects. Because God is a good, good Father, we are his children. We know him as Shepherd, and we are his sheep. Finally, throughout the Old Testament, God is pictured as a Bridegroom and his people are his Bride. He relentlessly pursues us in love and faithfulness.
All weddings begin with an engagement. We don’t find the English word “engagement” in Scripture, but we do find the word betrothal. In ancient Israel there was no courting or courtship. Jewish betrothal was a legal procedure established by a contract. A groom and his father would meet with a potential bride’s father to discuss a bride price and contract terms. On agreement, the men would drink a glass of wine sealing the bargain, but the betrothal didn’t formally exist until the groom’s bride price was fully paid. The marriage was then legally binding even though the wedding had yet to occur.
God’s promise of a forever betrothal overflows with his steadfast love and generosity. Theologian Derek Kidner writes, “It is all of grace and it clothes the new covenant in wedding garb. It makes three things very plain: the permanence of this union (2:19a), the intimacy of it (2:20b), and the fact that it owes everything to God.” God’s bride price gift includes righteousness, justice, love, compassion, and faithfulness (2:19-20). All are gifts of God’s grace and essential aspects of God’s character.
Hosea 3 is the second shortest chapter in the Bible. It contains only five verses, but James Montgomery Boice called it the greatest chapter in the Bible because it has the greatest story of the Bible. Hosea is told not only to go and get his adulterous wife again, but to love her as God loves her. Hosea must risk having his heart broken all over again.
Hosea faithfully obeyed God’s instruction and made his way to the slave market where Gomer was now on the auction block. Disgraced, destitute and derelict, there wasn’t a good thing to be seen in her nor a good thing to be said about her. In that culture slaves were stripped and sold naked so buyers could see what they were purchasing. Tim Keller in his sermon Jesus the True Bridegroom paints a vivid picture of Gomer’s sunken eyes and ravaged body. Gomer wasn’t just shop soiled or second-hand; she was a disgusting left over. Nobody wanted her, whatever the asking price, but Hosea bought her for approximately 30 shekels.
Gomer’s purchase price cost Hosea much more than money, however. He also experienced a heavy social, cultural and emotional toll as well. Pastor Tim Keller again: “Unless we understand the absolute devastation about having the person you love break your heart, you don’t understand God’s relationship with his people. Anything more important than God is our real god.”
Anything means anything: making money, our marriage, having children, having successful children, our career, or success. You can fill in the blanks with whatever gods you have or are currently pursuing. God will not accept second place. Princess Diana was right, “Three in a marriage is a bit crowded!”
Recently author Brittany Lee Allen wrote a series of articles discussing her own promiscuous sexual history prior to her salvation at age 21. Subsequently married to her virgin husband, Allen poignantly writes:
“What kind of man would take a bride who had previously lived a life of sin and idolatry? Jesus. What kind of man would be willing to take on the burden of their bride’s sin and shame? Jesus. What if Jesus would have only taken a “virgin” bride? What if he chose to only save those who were righteous by their own toil? Well, we would be doomed- every single one of us. We all “played the whore” and went after other gods. The book of Hosea is about God redeeming his people who prostituted themselves over and over again. We were all Hosea’s wife. That is our story, our past, virgin or not. But that is no longer our story. In Christ, we have been redeemed, cleansed, made new. Because Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness, it’s as if we never sinned. Because when the Lord said he made us white as snow, he really means it.”
We are relentlessly pursued!