Think And Let Think

Hosea’s life becomes the parable of his preaching. Gomer, Hosea’s wife, mother of his three oddly named children, whom he loves and cherishes, is not faithful to him. Her adultery is not something hidden away, it’s a known element among the whole community. And so Hosea does as the law commands, he sends her away. The prophet Hosea thus meditates on what it’s like to lose a partner, to have a promise broken. He begins to enter into God’s own pain and suffering and anguish. Hosea is what we call a minor prophet, but his book is major among the minors. Its the longest, the most detailed, and the most vivid. He speaks of bitterness, anguish, and even wrath. Not just God’s, but his own! But then, wonder of wonders, the humiliated husband, the pathetic prophet, goes out in search of the lost love of his life. And he goes not to bring retribution, but instead he brings redemption. He finds Gomer among the last, least, lost, little, and dead, he saves her from destitution, brings her back to his own home (i