Hosea 1 - A Strange Request | Dunluce Christian Fellowship

Devotions in Hosea #1

"A Strange Request"

“Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.”

Hosea 1:2 (NIV)

Choosing a suitable spouse is one of the biggest and most important decisions any individual will ever have to make in their lifetime. The choice will have either positive or negative repercussions for the rest of their lives. There is no doubt that all of us have our own preferences when it comes to choosing a spouse. Personally I wanted someone who was funny, good looking (to me anyway), and someone who saw eye to eye with me in some issues that were important to me. Out of all of my little preferences prostitution was certainly not one of them.

Think about what was going through Hosea’s mind when God commanded him to throw out all of his personal preferences, religious convictions and marry a prostitute. God had a very special plan for this marriage because it would become an important object lesson to the nation of Israel concerning their spiritual adultery but it sure was a strange request. This was an exceptional request for an exceptional time in Israel’s history but we must understand that God is still in the business of making strange requests.

He may be asking you to go through a difficult circumstance right now, go somewhere or to do something which you think is strange, but like the obedient Hosea you must dig deep and trust in God and believe that He has a very special plan for what He is asking you to do. Job lost his possessions, His family and His health but he could still say with great conviction, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15 KJV).