Good morning! Last night we studied a prophet that is often ignored in among the smaller prophets in the Bible, Hosea. The unusual, very unusual, thing about Hosea is that he was told by God to marry a prostitute or adulterous woman. The modern equivalent would be for one of the mega-church pastors to be told to marry a porn star. Church organizations are very quick to fire a minister these days, perhaps thinking that they must be the perfect ideal of pastor hood. We know in our own hearts this is not true, and yet we expect it from a minister. However, back to Hosea. He had no doubts in his mind about his wife; the Lord had already told him that his wife would be unfaithful. So unfaithful that some of his kids would be fathered by other men. Imagine what Hosea might say to our daydreams of marrying some famous or promiscuous person? I suspect it would he would think us a bit daft, out of our minds, loony, and other signs of a severe mental deficiency. He married in obedience to God; we need to do the same. However, marrying a promiscuous spouse is probably not in our calling. Pastors everywhere have probably counseled a young man or woman when they thought themselves very much in love with a potential spouse and blinded to very obvious promiscuity. At any age, we can have trouble listening to advice. Advice on marriage can be critical in our lives, but obeying God is more critical than that. No, I have not been called to marry a porn star or adulterous woman; rest easy on that! I do feel called to mention obedience, both for myself and for others. Sometimes God's instructions may seem strange to us, and we must then trust in His purpose and plan for our lives. Certainly Hosea may have felt a few doubts about his instructions, and yet he obeyed to the letter, even to the naming of his children.
God bless and keep you this day,
Bucky
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