Slices
Prepare
Take a moment to recall people or situations that have shown you something about the character of God. What did they teach you? As you enter prayer now, thank God for these characteristics and for revealing them to you.
Bible passage
1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel:
Hosea’s wife and children
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.’ 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.’
6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, ‘Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. 7 Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them – not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.’
8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.
10 ‘Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people”, they will be called “children of the living God”. 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.
2 ‘Say of your brothers, “My people”, and of your sisters, “My loved one”.
Explore
The Bible is full of examples of God working through people and situations that we find surprising. We often see God in places that we might not expect, seem unlikely or cause us (or the religious leaders of the day) to raise our eyebrows. Perhaps you were surprised to read that God told Hosea to ‘marry a promiscuous woman’. It doesn’t sound like the advice you might expect to hear in church.
The woman who is chosen is Gomer. She gives birth to three children and one is named Lo-Ruhamah, meaning ‘not loved’. But notice in verse 8 it says, ‘After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah…’. This little verse shows us that Gomer nursed her child, nurtured her and protected her. She loved her daughter, regardless of what was said about her. It is through Gomer that God’s purposes are brought about and we see God’s love demonstrated.
It wouldn’t be the last time that God chooses a woman in unlikely circumstances to do this. Many years later, a young woman in Nazareth would be chosen by God to carry a child to reveal God’s love.
Respond
Where do you see God at work through surprising people or situations? Pray that God would remove any prejudice and help you to be aware of and open to God at work today.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Song of Songs 5,6; 1 Timothy 5
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for children who have received copies of It’s Your Move (and Welsh version Y Cam Nesaf) as they start in secondary school. Pray that they will feel encouraged and supported and will see something of the help that Jesus can bring.
