Unfaithfulness Creates Distance

The prophet Hosea lived in a time of political turmoil, an era when the people of his nation were more concerned to serve the gods of power and material wealth than to walk in the ways of the God of Israel. They were, in a word, unfaithful.

Hosea is the unfortunate prophet called to deliver the unwelcome message that Israel’s unfaithfulness was a great grief to God. He exemplified it in the conduct of his personal life, finding a promiscuous woman to marry and remaining faithful to her even when she continually betrayed him. What a burden to bear.

In the naming of the couple’s three children, Hosea illustrated stages of distancing that occur in the wake of ongoing unfaithfulness. The first name recalls the history when trust was broken. The second, literally, means “no mercy." The third name implies God’s total rejection, yet manages to leave the door open a crack for a potential, though unlikely, restoration.

The sequence seen here is the flip side of a principle recorded in the New Testament, which states: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

Repeated patterns of pride, unfaithfulness, and impurity inevitably create a distance between even the fondest of lovers. Hosea’s life illustrated love in the face of persistent betrayal in a way that helps us to feel God’s grief over our infidelity, his anger and withdrawal of mercy as it continues, and an eventual willingness to write us off.

And yet, that is not quite the end of the story. God actually desires that his people choose his ways. He offers countless opportunities for us to get it right. God is always capable of finding a way to span the distance that we, in our waywardness, so blithely create.

Respond in Prayer

O God, how much it hurts when the people we love the most trample on our affections and pursue other desires. How much it grieves you when we reject the wisdom of your ways and wander far from your enfolding love. Recapture our attention and incline us to draw near. Amen.

Doug Koop