Scandalous Grace
A few days ago, I started reading the book of Hosea. This Old Testament book is scandalous, intriguing and graphic. It reminds me of those novels my friends and I were were not supposed to read in high school!

The story of Hosea is an interwoven tale between God and his unfaithful people as well as Prophet Hosea and his prostitute wife Gomer. For the sake of this devotional, I don’t intend to do an exposition of the book. There are many excellent expositions from well seasoned theologians like John Piper. Instead, I would like to share some thoughts about my understanding of God’s scandalous grace for his people, as portrayed in the book of Hosea

Unimaginable Grace:
From the moment God tells the prophet Hosea to go and marry a prostitute, I know this is not going to end well. First of all, I want to object to the whole idea. Why would God want a respectable godly prophet to go and marry a promiscuous woman? Because this poor man is about to demonstrate through his own life, the drama of unfaithful Israel. The pronouncements of judgment that follow the woman’s inevitable infidelity are expected. I knew it. God is so upset with His people, He creates a "lifetime movie" like life for His prophet, so His people would understand the depth of their sin .

Gomer has had affair upon affair. She takes the provisions that her husband blesses her with and claims that her lovers gave them to her. Her unfaithfulness is completely open and shameless. She is in the mess so deep, she ends up being sold as a slave. This would be a perfect time for any self- respecting husband to walk away, but no. Hosea is going after her because God tells him to buy her back. Instead of dumping her, he redeems her.

Allured to the Desert:
He is going to allure, bait, entice, draw and attract this prostitute wife, into the wilderness.

Why allure her to the desert? In my view, the desert is a place of barrenness where things go to die. I also know that the consequences for adultery in those days were very severe.She could be stoned to death. So I wonder what this husband is about to do to his unfaithful wife, in this desolate wilderness. I’m waiting for it with eyes half closed … “I will allure her”…..

Yes, he is baiting her into coming with him to the wilderness to show her how bad she's been now…. wait for it….and then, he tenderly speaks to her” Wait, what?!

Let’s read that part closely:

“Therefore, look! I will now allure her.
I will make her go out to the wilderness,
and will speak to her heart.
There I will restore her vineyards to her,
and the Valley of Achor will become a doorway to hope.
There she will respond as she did in her youth,
when she came up from Egypt.”

Hosea 2:14-15

How is this possible? In the middle of this mess, the husband is making beautiful poetry to draw his wife’s heart back to himself? What kind of love is this? Doesn’t he feel betrayed? He didn’t bring her to the desert to hurt her? No, he brought her here, away from the distractions, to bring her to her senses. To show her how valuable and loved she is. He want’s her to remember how and when she first fell in love with him . He is looking for her heart. He promises her restoration , provision and security. Everything a woman desires.

A Door of Hope:
Wow! Who does that? God, that’s who. And I realize now that’s the whole point of the story. God extending His love, forgiveness, mercy to an unfaithful people. God lavishing us with grace, that ultimate undeserved mercy, even though we, like Gomer allow our hearts to stray from the path that He has so graciously set us on. When we worship Idols (what ever we fancy more than we love God) or get distracted by the allure of what our flesh desires, we too are unfaithful to our first love.

In His abounding mercy, God allures us to desert like periods, not to harm us but to woo us and love on us . He reminds us that He is our first and only true love. What more, he turns our barren deserts into rivers of hope! He floods us with grace until we begin to love and hope again.

Are you feeling lonely and barren today? Are you going through a desert like season? God could be using that to allure, woo, bait or entice you to a much deeper love relationship with Him. Submit and watch Him turn this desolate desert into a door to acres of hope.