A Master Prophet

"This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea, son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.

When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”  So Hosea went and married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.” Hosea 1:1-3 (NIV)

Have you ever considered how difficult it must have been to have been a prophet of God 4000 years ago?  Pity this man Hosea.  He was a father to children of a prostitute.  He must have been the laughingstock of Israel.  His family was about as profane and out of step with proper Jewish law as possible.  But think of the other faithful and devout men of God in the Bible.  Some got swallowed alive by fish, another was required to live for months naked by a city wall, others were left alone for weeks and weeks in the desert with not a soul to talk to, others stood by helplessly as everyone, and all things they loved got carried off into permanent captivity.

But right now, think about how great a prophet—and how faithful a man—Hosea was. The man’s life was, as far as I can tell, flawless. Yet God asked him to an unimaginable thing: marry a prostitute—and thus make a bold point to the Kingdom of Israel.  He used a good man and, from a pious perspective, ruined his life and reputation to make a point. The nation of Israel was unfaithful to God, and He wanted to make a dramatic statement about how awful things were. So He told a righteous man, one of His favorites, Hosea, to do something quite unthinkable: He required Hosea to have intimate, marital relations with a woman who became his wife, whose entire adult vocation had been dedicated to offering sex for money! It was a sin for Hosea to even associate with her, and here’s God telling him to be intimate with her,  marry her and treat her like a good wife should have been treated. There’s no suggestion that this woman loved Hosea, or that she was grateful, or even that she was beautiful or desirable. Those considerations were of no interest to God—He only wanted Hosea’s marriage to her to bring a bring light to the monstrous sin of Israel.

There’s no doubt that God loved Hosea, but God calls those servants He loves —superheroes like Hosea and the common man—to do unusual and seemingly insane things at times.  Can you imagine, for instance,  a father asking his son to go to Las Vegas, find a prostitute, and marry her, to make a point to our Congress??  Yet Hosea did not demur or protest; he allowed God to use 

him for a greater purpose. Something within Hosea saw what God did with his life as more important than his own “religious spotlessness” or reputation; he surrendered his need to keep himself respected by others or unsullied by the sins of others. He was prepared to do whatever he was called to do to please God. He is referred to as a “minor prophet” because of the length of his book in the Old Testament, but any man who would choose to be used by God and live the life he did in such an unheard-of way is a masterpiece of a prophet, in my opinion. 

Most men deny the call is from God,  or would have ignored the call, but fathers like Hosea, Amos, Moses, Joshua, Abraham, and other giants of the Bible paid attention and faithfully executed the assigned tasks.

But in pushing the lesson to Israel even further, listen to what happened next: “Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and offer raisin cakes to idols.”   So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.  Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.” Hosea 3:1-3, NIV

So after Hosea married this woman, Gomer, and removed her from prostitution and made her into his wife, she left him, got back into prostitution, and eventually lost her ability to cause men to pay to have sex with her, and had to sell herself into slavery to survive.  Most of us would say, “serves you right”, or “good riddance”.  She was not a woman of honor, good taste,  or much intelligence, it appears. And yet, for the purpose of showing Israel an example of how foolish and evil they were in terms of committing spiritual adultery with idols, He told Hosea to marry her again! He had to first purchase her—and note that she was sold at a bargain price—and then restore her as his wife.   Such is God’s redeeming love for us!  Such was Hosea’s love and obedience to God….

What a remarkable man Hosea was!!!

But think about how Hosea’s obedience clashes with the immaturity of Jesus’s 12 disciples. They argued, were childish, and disobedient. Yet they were transformed into the very pillars of the largest religion the world has ever seen. They became martyrs, exiled saints, and heroes to billions of other Christians. Again, what happened to these men to allow them to live such extraordinary and incredibly obedient lives?  They knew something the vast majority of Christians don’t know.

So why did the prophets and early Christians so willfully become outcasts and martyrs? What makes a man submit to marry a harlot, then watch her run away and go back into prostitution, and then obey God and marry her again—after he purchased her out of slavery? Gomer did not love Hosea—but he loved her because God gave him the command to love her—and with that command came the capacity to do what was required.  Regardless of Hosea’s belief in God, how could he hold on for so long and not run away from what God asked him to do?!

It was not my own intellect or time in reflective thought that helped me figure this out, but rather a small child that led me to understand why these heroes and martyrs obeyed God. They wanted God to be proud of them. It sounds almost childish, I know,  but several years ago I listened to my youngest son respond to me when I was disappointed with him, or when  I was angry because it took two times to get his attention; he looked at me and whispered, “I just want you to be proud of me.” And he did.  He really did want me to be proud of him—and my anger and disappointment always melted.  He proved to me that nothing dissuades him or causes him to stop dead in his tracks so much as the suggestion (from me or others) that if he did this or that, I would or might not be very proud of him.

A little boy, the one I call my son, wants me to be proud of him more than anything else in the world. It is his greatest goal and his coveted reward that His dad is proud of him. Can there be a better reason for obeying God—my Heavenly Father? Can there be any greater satisfaction than to hear Him say, “I am so proud of you!”  

And so a child has helped me understand the devotion of the great men of old,  where professors and theologians could not. “I want my father to be proud of me.” What a powerful rule to live by.

To put this in purely human, father-to-son terms, I know what my son was talking about.  As an adolescent, my friends were stunned that I worked in the afternoons and on weekends at our home in Florida to mow, pull weeds, rake pine straw, and keep the waterfront at the lake pristine. Why?  I wanted to show my dad, when he came home, what I accomplished to please him and make him proud of me.  He didn’t pay me for my labors—but he gave me his time when he came home to walk around the yard so that I could show him what I did.  I did it for him—and he knew it… That’s all I needed.  

Forty-five years later, I still feel a blessedness in knowing that, in starting my own ministry, my father was proud of me and what I accomplished in starting The Vineyard. Somehow, vicariously, my dad enjoyed what I sought to establish and expand. He was the first person I called when I was unsure of my efforts or plans—he became my best friend, confidant,  and silent partner at my camp. I trusted him because I knew that he believed in me, wanted the best for me, and that he was proud of me.  

Here’s the point to all of this. These men were able to persevere when an average man would give up, walk away, whine, or hide.  These men of God held on and pressed on because of their passion for His approval. Something within them wanted God to be pleased with them more than anything else.  And let me say it again,  I understand it a little because of some unexplainable reason to also please my father.  What compelled Hosea, Amos, Moses, Abraham, Paul, Peter, and the first martyr—Stephen?  They wanted to make Him proud, and they knew something the vast majority of Christians don’t know.  They knew His love. A lot of folks sitting in church pews today do not know the love of God.

Do you know why the men have such a compelling yearning to make Him proud?  Why this irrational determination to live like a hermit, or throw away your life, or suffer through a marriage that brought no satisfaction or joy?  Because of a transcending love from which no parallel in creation can be drawn.  These fathers experienced the oldest, first, most renowned, and profound love that exists.  It is the love that first existed: it is the love of a son for a father and a father for his son. This goes back aeons and aeons before creation! If you knew the depth of that ancient love, you would want Him to be proud of you. 

Do you?  Do you want Him to be proud of you?  This is not a question of being certain of God’s love—we have that because of the cleansing blood of Jesus.  But have you gone beyond salvation to a personal, intimate relationship with the Father?   Can you attest that there’s nothing you would not do or endure for Him? That’s what Abraham, Moses,  Hosea, and the disciples had that others do not.

God still calls His favored ones to do some things that might appear quite impossible, improbable, and unthinkable.  But they are so favored because they trust Him, love Him, and want to please Him!

Hosea purchased Gomer for a bargain—no one else wanted her.  God has also purchased you and me for a price—but not at a bargain price—a premium.  You and I are the most valuable things in the universe in God’s eyes—He gave the blood of His Son. Such is God’s redeeming love for us!  He redeemed us just like Hosea redeemed Gomer.  But for an infinitely greater price.

I trust Him because I know that He believes in me, wants the best for me, and that He is proud of me.   What about you?

Warmly,

Dean Barley

1945 Vineyard Road

Westfield, NC 27053

336 351 2070

www.vineyardcamp.com