Daily Devotional for Monday, June 29

The Command

“The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord,” Hosea 1:2.
It was never an easy assignment to be one of the Lord’s prophets. God had asked his prophets to do some strange things and also go through some very hard times all in the service of the Lord. Isaiah was instructed to walk around naked and barefoot for three years. Jeremiah had to wear a yoke around his neck for a time. Ezekiel was given several symbolic acts from acting out certain prophecies to being told that his wife, whom he dearly loved, would die and that he would not be able to show any emotion in front of the children of Israel as a result of her death. All of these were to be symbolic of what God was doing or would do with the children of Israel.
Hosea was no exception when it came to the Lord asking His prophet to do a strange thing. The Lord was going to use his marriage and the children born to him as an example of the whoredoms of Israel and their departing from the Lord (Hosea 1:2). I am sure that this command to marry someone that would be unfaithful to him was a hard thing for him to understand and do. Even knowing all that would happen, it must have been hard to handle when all of these things came about. We are told to “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience” (James 5:10). The prophets, like Hosea, were special people but had the same pains, emotions, and distresses as you and me, yet remained faithful to the Lord.

REFLECTION
Would you be able to follow the Lord’s command like Hosea? “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Tim Chambers