What the prophet had to say about love

One could safely say that the recurring theme of the Bible - the story of mankind's search for God, good - is the spirit of the first commandment: there is just one God, divine Spirit, and to worship any other god or to attribute power or authority to any other is like stepping out of the sunshine where the warmth of the rays are no longer felt.

The prophet Hosea knew that playing the harlot with God - any sign of unfaithfulness - forfeits blessings.

Hosea 10: 12, 13 "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men." KJV

Hosea 10: 12, 13 "Sow righteousness, reap love. It's time to till the ready earth, it's time to dig in with God, until he arrives with righteousness ripe for harvest. But instead you plowed wicked ways, reaped a crop of evil and ate a salad of lies. You thought you could do it all on your own...." The Message (Eugene H. Peterson)

And yet, God is ever by our side, as the duplicitous Jacob discovered, and as Hosea reminds his listeners (chapter 12):

Hosea 12: 4, 12 "...[Jacob] had power over the angel, and prevailed...And Jacob fled into the country of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep. And by the prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved."

Hosea 13: 4-5 "...I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought."

And so, is repeated the lesson of God's unfailing love:

Hosea 14: 5 "I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon....They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon."

Turning to the arms of divine Love, we are nourished and we blossom.

Julie Swannell