An Unloved WIfe

Used with permission by Dr. Carolyn A. Roth www.CarolynRothMinistry.com Hosea lived in the Northern Kingdom of Israel about the middle of the 8th century before Christ. From the time the Norther Kingdom separated from Judah, the people worshiped idols.  Hosea was God’s prophet. When God told Hosea to marry an idolatrous woman, he married Gomer.  She had three children. Possibly, Hosea was the father of only the first son, or none of the children were his. The Bible recorded that Gomer’s children were children of adultery and conceived in disgrace. Unfaithful during her marriage to Hosea, Gomer had few qualms about leaving him. She believed she could have a better life with various lovers than with Hosea. Gomer left the three children with Hosea; after all, children would only curtail her wanton lifestyle. After leaving Hosea, Gomer took lovers and prostituted herself.  Eventually, living as a prostitute stopped being glamorous.  As Gomer aged, she lost some of her beauty. Men ceased clamoring for her attention.  They wanted someone younger and fresher. Gomer realized that what she left behind with Hosea was better than what she had now. Unthinking or uncaring that she hurt or embarrassed Hosea; Gomer asked Hosea if she could return. His answer was “No way.” He didn’t want Gomer back in either his home or in his bed if she was going to continue her wanton behavior.  Hosea's refusal to take Gomer back must have been okay with God. The Bible provided no indication that God gave Hosea any direction at that point. Destitute, Gomer had no option but to sell herself into slavery so she had food to eat.  We don’t know what she did as a slave. Hopefully, Gomer’s slavery was household or even field work, rather than acting as a sex slave to many men.      What a really sad story for both Hosea and Gomer. Let’s drill down into their relationship to try to make sense of what was happening to both spouses. First, Hosea and Gomer had little affection for each other. Hosea married Gomer because God told him to marry a prostitute. Likely, he had some other type of woman in mind for marriage. Conceivably, Gomer wanted out of her family’s home and the freedom allowed a married woman in society. Perhaps, she was pregnant and needed a husband to cover her shame.  When God told Hosea to marry an adulterous woman, he didn’t direct Hosea to love the woman. In ancient Israel, kinship regulated marriage. Possibly, Gomer was Hosea’s cousin or second cousin. Relative or not, marriage to a harlot brought great shame on Hosea’s entire family. Shame multiplied when the family learned that Gomer was unfaithful and left Hosea. Hosea’s primary relationship was with God. To Hosea it was important to obey God, even if that meant he had an unfaithful wife and humiliated kinsmen.  In Hosea 3:1, God told Hosea not only to redeem Gomer from slavery but to love her. Only at this point did God require Hosea to engage his emotions – he must love a woman who left him for other men. Loving Gomer was harder for Hosea than marrying Gomer. After Hosea purchased Gomer from slavery, he set clear boundaries for their life together: Gomer must not prostitute herself or belong to another man. Hosea would act the same toward Gomer until she has proven her loyalty to him. Only then, would marital relations be resumed. Apparently, Hosea wasn't about resuming sexual relations with Gomer until she proved her loyalty to him; but, he was willing to also be loyal to her in the interim. God gave Israel the same direction for being wed to him as Hosea gave Gomer. The Israelites must stop worshiping other gods. Before God accepted them back into full fellowship, they must repent. If Israel complied, God would restore a full marital relationship between the Israelites and himself. We don’t know if Hosea and Gomer’s husband-wife relationship was ever restored; however, we know that a short time later the Israelites were conquered by the Assyrians and dispersed throughout the Assyrian empire. The Northern Kingdom of Israel didn’t comply with God’s requirements to be a faithful wife.

A Balanced Woman of God

quote from Chuck Swindoll

Ladies, after my scriptural search, I came to three conclusions regarding this matter of being a balanced woman of God.  Each will require a good deal of your time and each will call for a fair amount of effort if you hope to put it into action personally.

A balanced woman of God sees Scripture as God's vital and relevant Word worth her attention, devotion, and application.

I learned this principle from Timothy's mother Eunice and his maternal grandmother Lois.

The 10 Most Important Women of the Bible (and why they matter to you)

by Daniel Colston - Used by permission

This short list of the ten most important (and some of them, infamous) women of the Bible helps us grasp at some of the aspects of God’s plan for biblical womanhood. It’s exciting, scandalous, instructive, and real. I hope you enjoy reading these snapshot biographies of ten of the Bible’s most important women.

Eve kind of goes without saying. She’s the mother of all humanity (except Adam). She was the first woman to ever experience childbirth. She introduced the world to sin. She and Adam could literally say that they were “made for each other” (Genesis 1-3).

Sarah had Isaac when she was 90! She was the matriarch of Israel, God’s chosen people. She laughed at God’s promise at first (the name “Isaac” literally means laughter”), but then she stuck with Abraham through thick and thin. She was faithful to God (Genesis 21).

Rahab. No list is complete without a rags-to-riches story, or prostitute-to-promised land. Rahab was a ritual prostitute for the Canaanite gods in Jericho. When she discovered two Israelite spies she hid and protected them. So when Jericho came tumbling down God protected her and her family. She chose to believe in God and become an Israelite. She ended up being the grandmother of Kind David and is listed in Jesus’s genealogy in Matthew (Matthew 1:5)!

Deborah was a judge in Israel who had more courage than her captain, Barack. She feared the Lord and led her nation well, even defeating the army of Sisera (Judges 4).

Esther is known for her beauty, courage, and cunning. She risked her life in order to save her people from the hatred of Haman. Her success is celebrated every year during the Jewish feast of Purim (Esther).

Jezebel was both important and infamous. She is known in the Bible for her outspoken neglect of and rebellion against God. She was a Phoenician princess who married the spineless Israelite king Ahab. She usurped his power and promoted idol worship throughout the land, killing hundreds of God’s righteous prophets. Even Elijah was scared silly of her. The result of God’s curse was that she fell from a window and died, and dogs ate her flesh (sorry for the graphic nature—but I can’t exactly edit the Bible). Her name is used as a figure of speech to depict evil in the book of Revelation. And you’ve probably heard people use the colloquialism “that Jezebel” to describe someone they don’t like (I and II Kings).

Gomer. Isn’t that supposed to be a male name for that funny guy on the Andy Griffith show? Yes, but Gomer was also an infamous woman of the Old Testament. God commanded the prophet Hosea to marry a harlot named Gomer. Why? Well, that’s a good question for another blog post. Anyway, Hosea married her, had children with her, and was constantly emotionally torn because she cheated on him. This is a picture of God’s pursuit of us, who don’t deserve His love or blessings. We cheat on Him all the time by chasing lesser things (Hosea 1-4).

Mary, Mother of Jesus. She had such great faith at such a young age. Everyone’s heard of her. It’s hard to imagine how she could give birth to God, watch God grow, and then watch God, her Son, die, rise again, and ascend into Heaven. Her faith was so severely tested. She watched a thousand miracles before her eyes. What did she consider normal (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)?

Lydia was a God-fearing lady who lived in the city of Phillipi. She was a rich clothing designer who traveled and had a big house. She determined to host a Bible study down by the river one day when the Apostle Paul came by and converted the whole crowd. Then she invited everyone who needed to come stay at her house and she helped finance Paul’s missionary journeys and found the church at Philippi (Acts 16:14-16).

Mary, the sister of Martha, sat at the feet of Jesus and worshipped Him while her sister was too busy with the chores and hosting responsibilities. She teaches us that our time with Jesus is the most necessary aspect of our lives. Everything else will fall into place, just spend time with Jesus (Luke 10:38-42).

This list of the 10 most important women in the Bible instructs us about faith, destiny, and playing our part in writing the stories of our lives well. God has a plan for your life just like He had a plan for these women. Some of them followed well, others didn’t. What about you? Will you follow His plan for your life well?

 http://www.amazon.com/Unstoppable-Chasing-Dreams-Achieving-Finding-ebook/dp/B019UQRFIE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

Daniel Colston is a youth pastor in Roanoke, VA. He recently wrote a book that tells you how to find and chase God’s will for your life. It’s called Unstoppable: 40 Keys for Chasing your Dreams, Achieving your Goals, and Finding God’s Best for your Life. He blogs at http://www.danielcolston.com/.