In the book of Hosea, God tells Hosea to go find a wife, who happened to be a woman of whoredoms. Hosea journeyed, and found Gomer, who in other words was a prostitute, living a life of sin, and took her as his wife. Gomer became pregnant, and had a son, Jezreel. Following Jezreel, Gomer gave birth to a daughter, Loruhamah, and a son, Loammi. Gomer soon began overwhelmed with the responsibilities of her new life, and began to feel like her family was holding her back. She missed her old life that consisted of doing what she wanted, a life where she didn't have to worry about what God wanted of her, or what Hosea expected of her. She soon returned to the ways of her past life, leaving Hosea to solely raise the children. Hosea deeply missed Gomer, because he had grown to love her. God soon came unto Hosea, telling him to go find Gomer, and bring her back home. Hosea did as he was told, and brought her back, and loved her just as before.
Much like the majority of the stories that we read in the Bible, the story of Hosea and Gomer has more than one lesson that can be learned.
1) God's Forgiveness/Mercy: Gomer lived a very sinful life against God, yet, God was very merciful toward her. God allowed Gomer to be the wife of a Godly man, and receive the blessing of children, something that some would love to have, but is not given from God. Even with all of the great things that God placed in Gomer's life, she did not appreciate it, and chose to return to a life of sin. Though, once again, God showed Gomer mercy. Gomer didn't necessarily deserve God's mercy, but He gave it to her, in hopes that she would better her life, and choose to live for God.
2) Following God's Love: Hosea was no doubt hurting when Gomer left him, though, instead of becoming overwhelmed with anger or dismay toward her, he mimicked God's love, and continued to care for her. Hosea did not hesitate when God told him to go bring Gomer back home. Hosea brought Gomer home, and showed her the love that he had always felt for her. Hosea was so forgiving because the love of God lived in his heart, and he followed God's mercy by giving Gomer another chance.
God's forgiveness is extraordinary. He continues to show mercy over and over again, even after we fail him daily. God wants us to mimick His love, and show mercy and forgiveness to one another. We have all sinned, and no one is above another. God has given us chance after chance to repent of our sins, and because He had done this for us, we should do this for others as well in our lives. Due to our sinful ways, God sometimes has to let us go our own ways, but he won't do this without a fight. Some people get so overwhelmed with sin that they never accept God's forgiveness. In the same way, sometimes, we can give chance after chance before it begins hurting our own relationship with God. We must figure out for ourselves when giving another chance to someone is not God's will. Living for God is all about following His footsteps, and forgiveness and mercy is a huge part of this, and we must use it to the best of our abilities.
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