Gomer: Unfaithful

"She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, and went after her lovers;

But Me she forgot," says the Lord. Hosea 2:13.

Gomer was unfaithful – repeatedly - that is, until she hit rock bottom. On that day, Hosea purchased her from the slave block, securing her freedom. The Bible says Hosea was prepared, able, and willing to pay the price to redeem His bride, and so He did! How merciful is our God? Enough so to redeem us! To love us unconditionally and woo us with His tender loving-kindness, just as Hosea has Gomer, even when we are shamefully unfaithful and play the harlot.

In the book of Hosea, God uses an unfaithful marriage to show Israel their sin. What sin? Their spiritual adultery about which God is serious! If you don’t know how grievous it was, you may want to review 2 Kings 17:7-18. Therein, twelve inspired verses illustrate the depth of Israel’s sin, despite God’s history of performance and His pledge of love and keeping care. To illuminate their sin, God intentionally joined His prophet, Hosea, to Gomer, a harlot – an ʾiš·šā(h) zĕnûnîm. When they were wed, don’t you know that all of Israel watched in unbelief? Then, too, at Gomer’s perpetual neglect of her husband and desire for other men even though Hosea had loved her so.

Like Israel, Gomer had good intentions but proved unfaithful – repeatedly. I’m sure no one was more surprised than Hosea when God commanded him to take an adulterous wife, knowing full well that her public unfaithfulness would continue. Perish the thought – it’s heartbreaking. And precisely, that’s what God wants you to feel. Nonetheless, Hosea obediently wed Gomer because denying God was not an option – at least for God’s prophet. So, they were married with a sense of urgency and God’s approval, and Hosea pledged to love Gomer until they were parted by death. What had God required? Let’s look at that again.

God commanded his prophet to take an adulterous wife and love her completely. What’s not disclosed is God’s enabling work to give Hosea a steadfast love for Gomer through it all. I don’t believe she could have done anything to cause Hosea to reject her. Instead, his adoring love rescued her times over. It seems he loved her all the more. As in, “where sin abounded, grace abounded more!” Although at times, he may have been wearied by her unfaithfulness, it’s not evidenced in scripture, and he never gave up. Instead, in Godly fashion, he loved her unashamedly and pursued her until he had won her heart – exclusively. What a beautiful picture of God’s love for us – sinners turned saints – wooed and saved by God’s incredible grace – despite our sin and spiritual adultery.

I found it interesting that Gomer made no effort to hide her sin. On the contrary, she said, “I am not faithful,” and then followed through. If there was one thing refreshing about the sinful aspect of her story, it’s this: Gomer was true to her nature. She was not deceptive or uninformed concerning her wayward heart. She knew it, admitted it, and then lived true to herself. I don’t believe it was premeditated, though. Her heart was icy and unregenerate – poor Gomer was lost – period – until she was found! But God can work with that.

When we think of unfaithfulness, we consider the biggies like physical adultery. So naturally, that’s where most of our minds go, but unfaithfulness can be perpetrated in other ways. At its core, it means disloyal, treacherous, or insincere and not adhering to vows, allegiance, or duty. So, believer, my question is this: Since you are saved, are you not in a covenantal relationship with God too? I think so!

What’s the takeaway? God is a jealous God who will take a second seat to no one. We are commanded to love Him first and foremost and live to that end. When a scribe asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, He said we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus concluded, “There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). There you have it, the Lord has spoken!

Prayer: Mighty and gracious Lord, keep us faithful. Woo us when we stray. Give us the strength and courage to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help us live faithful lives which declare, “My God reigns! He is everything to me, and I will worship, honor, and praise Him!” Amen and amen.