Pay any price, bear any burden: Hosea 3:1-5

Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes." (2) So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley. (3) Then I said to her, "You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you." (4) For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. (5) Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

Its been a little while since I've written on this semi-regular thread of taking a tour of an obscure but amazing book from the Hebrew Scriptures. If you are curious about what went on before in this story, check the archives for Sept 25 and 29, Oct 5, 8 and 17, and Nov 11. To briefly recap, Hosea was told by God to marry Gomer. Gomer was unfaithful and strayed away. There was amazing poetic descriptions of the betrayal and desire for restoration.

Here in Chapter Three, God instructed Hosea to take back the woman who betrayed him and this text again explicitly makes the analogy that what Hosea and Gomer were experiencing is what God was experiencing with the nation of Israel.

"I bought her." Whoa?! This woman who wandered off from Hosea had to be bought back? It would appear in her waywardness from chapters one and two, she wound up a slave and Hosea had to pay to get her back. And God is telling him not only buy her back but to love her. Hosea paid the price of 15 shekels and 1.5 homers of barely. Shekels were silver coins of the day and each was about one month's wages (denarius another ancient unit of wages was I believe one day's wages) and a homer of barely was some number of bushels. Thus, the payment was not a trivial amount.

Hosea, after freeing her, asked Gomer to be faithful in verse 3. The price was paid with no assurance she would turn from her ways. We do not see any further narrative in the rest of the story indicating how Gomer responded. Chapters 4 to 14 switch exclusively to Hosea's poetic sermons to the people.

Verse 4 forecasts the fall of the nation when the Babylonians take over in 586 BC. Verse 5 was fulfilled when Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the walls and temple in 538 BC. In Christian theology, there is a debate as to whether this verse will be fulfilled again in a larger sense at some point in the future in a restored and powerful nation of Israel. I'm not a theologian but I'm told those who hold a "dispensational" view say Israel will regain a high standing. Those who hold a "covenant" theology position would view fulfillment through the church as the New Israel. I suspect the arguments on both sides are not slam dunks and clear cut which is why a diversity of opinion exists.

What can we agree upon however is this: God wants us to be free from slavery. In this individual narrative, God wanted Gomer to be free and told Hosea to buy her back and love her.

In the Christian world view, freedom is what Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Sunday is about. Christmas, the time when Jesus is born and enters this world to begin the liberation. Good Friday when Jesus died on the Cross to pay the price for sin, selfishness and all that binds us in sorrow and sadness. Easter Sunday when Jesus resurrects as a demonstration of power and proof of victory.

John Kennedy, in his inaugural speech of 1961, said of America, "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foes, to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

God has done exactly that and far more. God did it when the Jewish people were liberated from slavery in Egypt. God did it through the work of the prophets of Hebrew Scripture. God has done it in Christ and the Cross.

Is God doing it today?

Do we participate in this liberation?

First, we can be recipients of this liberation: thank God almighty, free at last!

Second, we can help set other captives free.

Hosea did in his relationship with Gomer. One man freeing one woman. Most of us won't have to do likewise to that extent. Yet, in our lives, we all have people who are part of our lives. In what way will we be instruments of God for their liberty? What price am I willing to pay? What burden will I bear?