Hosea 2:19-20 And I will take you for my wife for ever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD. (NRSV)
Once there was a woman named Gomer and a man named Hosea. And while we don’t know how they met, I imagine it went something like this.
Hosea was a serious young man who spent his time studying the scriptures. And then studying what smart people had said about the scriptures. And then studying what smart people had said about what smart people had said about the scriptures. He was not going to be just another priest. He was going to be a great priest. He was going to be the head priest. Who knows, maybe even a prophet.
But then one day, Hosea met a girl named Gomer. She was different. Gomer didn’t sit around reading or think too much about what was the right thing to do. Instead, she did whatever seemed right in the moment. When Gomer saw the man at the fruit stand throw away apples with small bruises, Gomer stole them and gave them to a few homeless women on the corner. When there was bad traffic and someone swerved right in front of her, Gomer swore. Loudly. And she didn’t even feel bad about it.
So in a way, Gomer and Hosea couldn’t have been more different. Hosea was careful and deliberate, while Gomer was impulsive and passionate. But sometimes opposites attract. And when Gomer and Hosea met, they fell in love. And while Hosea worried about Gomer’s impulsive behaviors and unpredictability, that was also what he liked about her. She was beautiful like a flower is beautiful because it only lasts a moment. It was here and now and precious because it would be gone later.
But the story of Hosea and Gomer is not about their romance. It’s about their marriage falling apart. And we don’t know much about how it happened, but here’s what I imagine. Gomer was Gomer. She was too busy going here and there to stop and make dinners, or do dishes, or clean her own clothes. And Hosea was Hosea. And so he worked and earned money, and then made food, and did dishes, and then laundry.
Gomer’s choices created a lot of problems for Hosea. Sometimes she’d show up happy and silly and flirty, and Hosea would feel swept off his feet. But other times she wouldn’t show up at all. And Hosea would eat the dinner he’d made all by himself, only to find out that Gomer was out gambling or smoking or worse.
And as time passed, Gomer showed up less and less. And Hosea ate, cleaned, worked by himself, and felt alone, abandoned, and betrayed. And he started to hate Gomer. And when she was around, she no longer looked beautiful to him at all. In fact, he thought she looked plain and a little ugly. Her nose had a weird shape. And she had bad breath and did annoying things like chewing ice. He didn’t know what he’d ever seen in her.
And Gomer was also disappointed. Hosea was totally predictable. She wanted something new, someone willing to put down his books and climb a mountain. Someone who could say something unexpected and make her laugh. She was stuck in her marriage and wanted out. There was nothing new to learn, nothing new to do, nothing for them to even talk about.
And that’s how I imagine the marriage came to the brink of destruction. Hosea wanted a divorce, and Gomer was acting as if she were divorced already. And that’s what this story is really about. It’s about a marriage that was almost over, and what happened next.
Hosea prayed to God and apologized for his shortsightedness. He should never have married someone so inconsistent, unpredictable, and selfish. He’d been bewitched by her beauty and spontaneity, but he should have known better. Beauty was so temporary. Spontaneity had big downsides. He should have married someone else, someone better.
Hosea asked God what to do about his silly, stupid mistake. Should he get a divorce? And he thought he knew what God would say: “Of course! You should never have married Gomer. Find someone else who will be truer and better. Don’t look for beauty, look for goodness and agreeability. Don’t look for romance, look for righteousness.”
But that’s not what happened. Instead, God related with Hosea. “I have been there,” God said. “And it’s hard. It hurts. It’s embarrassing and heartbreaking and tiring. And because of that, you think your love is over, you think it’s dead or dying, or never really existed in the first place. But that’s not true. It wasn’t a mirage. It was real. And though it seems dead, it is just sleeping.”
And then God made Hosea a promise. “Don’t despair because what used to feel new can feel new again, but not in the same way. You cannot get back what you had. And that’s not what you’d want anyway. You’ve already experienced love that is young. Now you have a chance to know a love that is old. Gomer is seeking a new love, but you must show her a love that can age. Not the excitement of what could be, but the reality of what is.
“Some marriages will end, but yours is not over. You can still choose each other. So go back to her. Tell her you have a surprise for her. Tell her you love her now and you will love her always. And tell her that she can travel the world if she must. But when she is ready, tell her to come home. And you will be waiting for her. You will have a warm meal cooked, the candle lit, and the table set. And when she comes, you will eat together and start a new adventure. One that never ends. One that grows older and older without dying. One that is both now and forever. A beauty that does not dim, a love that gets stronger and stronger until not even death can separate it. A love, like an arrow, that you shoot in the sky and never comes down, but goes on and on and on, until it reaches heaven.
“And I know it is possible,” God said, “because that is how I have been loving you and all of my children all along. I am here waiting. The meal is prepared, the meat is tender, and the table is set. All that is missing is you. So, when you are ready, come home. Come to me. And we will sit and eat.”
To purchase a hard copy of The Bible Storybook: The Old Testament, visit ForLittleSaints.com
To access the complete audiobook of The Bible Storybook: The Old Testament, become a Friend of Faith Matters by subscribing at FaithMatters.org/subscribe.
