– The Painful Price Of Unfaithfulness
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Hosea 2, 3 and Psalm 119:1-32 (NIV)
(Joel Choong, SGM Zone 4 Leader)
READ:
Hosea 2, 3 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
In Hosea 2:12, Hosea’s adulterous wife uses the word “wages”, indicating to me a sense of entitlement, a payment she expected from her lovers for her adultery.
But God, fed up with her unfaithfulness, destroys the source of provision. He exposes her sins in front of her lovers so that “no one shall rescue her out of my hand”(2:10). The unfaithful wife is being punished and no one can help her.
In Hosea 2:14, there is an unexpected turn of events: the Lord has a change of heart and woos back the unfaithful lover. There is a chance for redemption, and the righteous lover moves from punishing to loving his wife once more.
Chapter 3 shows God’s command to Hosea to go and pursue his wife again. The sinful woman cannot continue her adulterous life and there is a need for change. “You shall not play the whore” is a very direct command not to fall into adultery any longer. The command applies directly to Israel, who must stop worshipping other gods or masters.
APPLY:
In the context of social justice and cancel culture, I can easily understand the desire for punishment. How could a person cheat on someone so many times? Why would the faithful person stay? With worldly wisdom, , I would have recommended the faithful person to move on and find someone more appreciative.
But that’s not the case in Hosea. God is the faithful person that stays in spite of the unfaithful spouse. God is willing to punish and deal with the sin but also woos the person with love once more. This act of love is far more than I can ever imagine, and I am constantly confronted with this realisation when I receive communion.
I realise that I am the unfaithful person in my relationship with God. Israel was called out as the unfaithful lover and I am no better. In my own chasing after the things of this world, I have received my “wages” from them. If I work hard enough, the pay off is my success. But this is the same delusion that Hosea’s wife had. It is God who gives me the work to do, and it is God who provides the success.
Another realisation is that I have not received the punishment that was dealt out to Hosea’s wife. Instead, Christ who did no wrong received this punishment on my behalf. His blood was spilled instead of mine. He was faithful to God, and he went to the Cross knowing he would die for unappreciative people who did not know him yet. Christ received the painful punishment of my unfaithfulness that I deserve.
Through all this, he still woos me to follow Him. I am shown God’s blessings and provision over and over again in my life, and I have learnt so much through his profound sacrifice.
DO:
God commands that his people are not to play the whore any longer, as spoken through Hosea to his wife. I struggle to remember this for myself, as I keep turning to the “gods” of our modern day life. There are too many times where I’ve relied on self-help ideas or successful methods of the past instead of relying on God for his direction.
I choose to repent of that sin of relying on others instead of God, and I choose to turn back to him because he is more than deserving of my faithfulness to him.
When I receive communion, I remember not to take it for granted, but instead to receive it remembering the painful price Christ paid on my behalf because of my unfaithfulness. I can now turn back to God in a blessed relationship.
PRAY:
Dear God, I am so sorry for all the sins I have committed. I have constantly chosen other gods and other ways above your ways. I have turned away, and yet you have remained faithful. Thank you for making payment for my sin through Christ’s sacrifice. He did no wrong, yet he was punished for the wrong I did. Thank you Jesus for taking my place on the cross, and restoring my relationship with God. Please help me to follow you faithfully. Help me to turn to you more and more each day.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
