Cheaters suck!!

"Why does she stay with him?!"
"He needs to kick her to the curb."
"Change the locks girlfriend...change da lockz!"

Let's keep it real, the above is how you deal with a cheater. Lifetime has taught us well. Am I right? Or am I right?!

Going back to Hosea, we were at the point where basically God tells him to marry a whore. If it were me, and I was told to marry a whore...I'd have misgivings, but the voice of God carries some weight, you know? So I bet Hosea moved towards obedience, thinking: everything is going to be cool. But I have reason to believe that things started to downward spiral between Hosea and Gomer rather quickly.

All you have to do is glimpse at Hosea chapter 2 to know this: rage. Hosea's mad. God's mad. It's a situation. And it all has to do with infidelity. Gomer with other men, and Israel with other gods.

This brings me to another question: Should divinely inspired marriage be blissfully happy perfection? I mean, if God hooks me up, this has to be the best hook-up ever, right? Based on this Hosea/Gomer situation, maybe ChristianMingle needs a disclaimer about finding "the one God has for you" because her name might be Gomer. I'm just sayin', I don't know. What I do know is that God's involvement is not over:

Then God ordered me, "Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who's in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife. Love her the way I, God, love the Israelite people, even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy."  I did it. I paid good money to get her back.  Hosea 3:1-3 (The Message)

I'm wrapping up Hosea, because after the abovementioned verse, the rest of the book is the God/Israel story. But this bit of Hosea is really all I need (spiritually). These 3 verses resonate with me in a way I hadn't expected; because it sounds very familiar.

1. I'm Kind of a Hoe

Hosea does not marry a "used-to-be-hoe" or a "reformed whore". He marries someone with issues, who continued to cheat. Hosea binds himself to someone he knew was messed up. That's totally my Christian experience. While I was a sinner, God had already bound Himself to me through the covenant of Christ's blood:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

And let's not even talk about the cheating aspect...thank God for grace.

2. The Lengths to which He will go

Imagine Hosea having to go buy his wife back. She's a willful cheater, a willful slave to someone else's desire. And he went and bought her back! That's nuts. All must agree, that is humiliating beyond humiliating. Imagine the transaction: 

"Hi, ummm, that's my wife beneath you. Can I have her back. I've got like $7,532.11. I saved up..."

But that's totally my Christian experience: God told Hosea to go get his wife. And I tell you true, God told Jesus to go.get.his.wife! And it was humiliating to have to go get her: 

My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. Matthew 26:42

Hosea had to pay a price to get his wife back. Jesus had to pay a price to get his wife back. Both were willing to pay.

He's so involved.