Here is the first message: The Lord said to Hosea, Go and marry a girl who is a prostitute, so that some of her children will be born to you from other men. This will illustrate the way my people have been untrue to me, committing open adultery against me by worshipping other gods. So Hosea married Gomer and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said, Name the child Jezreel, for in the valley of Jezreel I am about to punish King Jehus dynasty to avenge the murders he committed; in fact, I will put an end to Israel as an independent kingdom, breaking the power of the nation in the Valley of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:2-5 TLB)
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OK. We need a little background before we can even begin to understand the horror Hosea must have felt at this second command from God. Jezreel (meaning "God plants" or "God scatters") was first a vineyard. The king wanted it, but the owner wouldn't sell. So the king had the man falsely slandered and a crowd killed him in his own vineyard. Jezreel represents greed, deception, and treachery. After the king died. One of his generals was declared king and he shot the prince in the back as he was trying to run away... in the field of Jezreel. Some eunuchs (castrated servants) then threw the former queen off a high wall... into this same vineyard. Jezreel represents regicide and murder. The former king did have seventy other sons. In order to make his throne secure this upstart general gave a command that the heads of these princes, mostly children be brought to him and piled up... in Jezreel. Jezreel was a representation of all that is wrong with humanity. And that is what I am to name my child. The only real modern equivalent is if I were to name my child Auschewitz. And this is after being ordered to marry a woman who is on the bottom of the social totem pole, knowing in advance that she's going to spurn me. I don't know how much more of this I can take. There's got to be a line drawn somewhere.
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But such extremes are necessary. Because the messages that are given are equally extreme. First, God wants the people, He wants me, to know how serious a matter my sin is. When I sin. It is not just a "mistake", an "error in judgment", or a "slip up". No. When I sin. I am committing adultery against God. I am turning myself into a whore. As a result of Israel's sin. God is abandoning them. He is in fact saying, "You are the worst humanity has to offer and I want nothing to do with you." Without extreme measures, no Israelite would believe such a message. After all, we're God's "chosen people". We're his "elect". God has set us apart as holy people, his royal nation... his people belonging to God. God would never leave us or forsake us... or would he?
