CHAPTER ONE – A WIFE
“Sir, I wish to marry your daughter.”
Diblaim’s eyebrows went up as he tipped his head to the side and gave the young man a look. Hosea hadn’t seen that look very often, but he was pretty sure that it meant something like ‘are you mentally deficient?’
“Sit down, son. Talk to me. You want to marry my daughter? Tell me about yourself. And tell me why you want to marry my daughter. Are you sure you weren’t thinking of Judith?”
“Uh, no, sir. Not Judith, Gomer.”
Hosea followed Diblaim when the man turned. Just finished with his training in the school of the prophets, Hosea had been so focused on his studies that he hadn’t even considered marriage.
Then just three nights ago the LORD had spoken to Hosea in a dream, telling him to get married. That in itself was a shocker. But when the LORD went on to tell him exactly who to marry, and a little about his prospective bride? He knew he was supposed to obey the Word of the LORD, but really? Her?
Hosea woke in a cold sweat. He was committed to following the LORD. The LORD was the only one he could trust. No one else could do what the LORD had done. But this? “LORD, you are my Lord, so I will do what you said to do. Forgive me, LORD, but please let me play the ‘Gideon’ here. I’m going to fast for… let’s see today is Thursday. Friday, Sabbath, Sunday, three days. Okay, LORD, please don’t be angry with me. I will fast and pray until sunrise on Sunday. Please, LORD, please tell me before Sunday if this is the wrong thing to do. You told me to marry her. Her, LORD? Of all the girls in town, her, LORD?
The girl flirted with anything that had a beard. All the guys in town, and several guys who didn’t live in town knew it. Put the woman in a group of men, and she was like a sheep dog, darting from one sheep to the next, making sure they knew she was the one running the show.
One minute she would be clutching the arm of the first man, deliberately pressing her breast against him, the next she was beside another guy, rubbing her leg against his. A couple of the other students in the prophet’s school said to keep away from her. The woman was bad news with a capital ‘bad.’ One even said that she had walked up behind him and grabbed his backside.
So, just before King Uzziah died, about the same time that one of the other prophets, Isaiah, had seen a vision of the glory of the LORD in the Holy of Holies, at the beginning of his ministry, Hosea— at the LORD’s request, married Gomer, Diblaim’s daughter. They had a son, and the LORD told Hosea to name the boy ‘Jezreel.’
Not long after that, Gomer had a daughter. Hosea wondered if the child was his until the LORD removed all doubt. The LORD told Hosea to name the girl, ‘Lo-Ruhamah,’ which means, ‘Not Loved.’
When Lo-Ruhamah was about three, Gomer had another son. Once again, Hosea questioned whether his wife was pregnant with some other man’s baby. And once again the LORD answered Hosea’s question by giving Hosea the name for the child. This time the child’s name was ‘Lo-Ammi,’ which means ‘Not My People.’
Gomer wasn’t a bad wife. She did all the things any wife would do. She just had ‘desires.’ She loved men.
And she was a good mother. She hated it when the children would come running home in tears. It wasn’t so bad with Jezzy, he handled the razzing pretty well. But when her daughter, Lo-Ruhamah, (it was Jezzy who nicknamed her ‘Lo-Ru,’) came home sobbing after playing with the neighbor children, and then when her baby boy was teased because his nickname, Lo-Am, was like his sister’s, that Gomer lost it.
She was glad to be a wife and mother. She had three beautiful children. It might have been nice if dear old ‘hubby’ had let her name them. Gomer would grit her teeth every time she recalled that night when she snuggled up against Hosea in bed and told him she was pregnant. She told him the name she had picked out for their firstborn, but Hosea shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Gomer. The LORD chose me to be a prophet to our people. He told me the child’s name must be—”
There was no talking to him when he said that. Gomer hated those words: the LORD told me this, the LORD said that, or, the LORD spoke to me… She cried herself to sleep so many nights! Why— if the LORD himself was going to name her children— couldn’t he have chosen normal names?
Jezreel? The LORD named her firstborn ‘Jezreel’? And when she asked why, Hosea said that the boy was going to be a living sign that the LORD was going to lower the boom on Jehu, King of Israel, for the massacre he instigated at Jezreel.
Every time a government official heard about Jezreel’s name and why he got it, Gomer cringed. It would be just like some of those politicians to arrest, or worse yet, kill, her son because of the implications in the child’s name.
The worst names were the ones the LORD gave her daughter and baby boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so the ‘baby boy’ is 13. He’s still my baby.
Jezzy’s doing good. His wife Rebecca— Grr! Why couldn’t the LORD have given Lo-Ruhamah that name?— is expecting. I’ll bet he picks good names for their children. Yikes! I’m going to be someone’s grandma very soon!
Poor Lo-Ruhamah! Every one suspects that I was unfaithful to my husband! “Not-loved?” Her name is ‘Not-Loved’? No! That’s not true, Lo-Ru is loved. I’m her mom, and I love her deeply. I hate to see her in tears all the time. I’ve heard them taunting her, ‘boo-hoo-hoo, boo-hoo-hoo, nobody loves Lo-Ru, boo-hoo!’ No child should have to tolerate that!
The straw that broke the camel’s back was naming my baby boy ‘Lo-Ammi.’ When Hosea told everyone at the circumcision ceremony that his name was going to be ‘Lo-Ammi,’ which means, ‘not-my-people,’ I swear I saw half a dozen people giving me the eye. Like I was running around on my man! I could barely stand there, pretending to smile. I’ve never been so mortified in my entire life. Yeah, maybe I have strayed a couple times, but, hey, doesn’t everyone?
Then, after the circumcision ceremony, the Rabbi’s son, Ezekiel, had the gall to whisper to me that he thought that I was beautiful. His words were laced with sexual implications. The man thought I was looking around for something better than Hosea.
That pushed me over the edge. A week later I was gone.
“She’s gone, Dad. Mom’s gone!
The two younger children, Lo-Ru and Lo-Ammi were standing behind their older brother in the corner, both of them in tears. Jezzy had frustration written all over his face. “Dad, the housekeeper, Naomi, came over and told Becca that Mom had fired her. She told Rebecca that mom said she had to go some where and the Lo’s were going to be home alone until you got home.”
Hosea’s face fell. Almost stumbling, he gripped his oldest son’s arm, “Jezzy, would you please take your brother and sister to your place? I’m going to need some time. I think I know what’s going on, but I need some time to— I need some time, son.”
Lo-Ru and Lo-Ammi loved going to Jez and Becca’s place, but as they went out the door, they looked like they were going to a funeral.
Hosea closed the bedroom door and immediately dropped to his knees. Burying his face in his hands, he moaned to the LORD, “Eternal God, what am I supposed to do now? I’ve got two kids left here alone to raise! And my wife is gone? LORD, they left here crying.
CHAPTER TWO – FIVE YEARS LATER
“Daniel, how many times have I told you? Do not open that door unless your father or I is standing right there. It’s not safe.” Rebecca was beside the cooking fire, watching the housekeeper/cook finish the meal preparations while she was feeding Khava.
Hearing voices at the street, Rebecca stage-whispered to her servant, “Hannah, take the baby, please, I need to get the door.”
Rebecca’s voice broke off as she heard the conversation her five year old son was having with a woman at the door. “Hello, I’m Daniel. Who are you?”
“Well, hello Daniel. My, but aren’t you the grown up little gentleman. My name is Gomer. What is your daddy’s name?”
“His father’s name is of no consequence to you. Please leave. You are not welcome here.”
Straightening to face her daughter-in-law, Gomer offered a tight smile, “Ah, Rebecca. It’s good to see you, too. I assume Jezzy is at the market? Does your father-in-law still live here?”
“Mommy, who is Gomer?” Then turning to the woman who was a stranger to him, Daniel asked, “How do you know my father? You called him Jezzy. No one but family is allowed to call him Jezzy. And mommy doesn’t let me call him that. I just know his name because mommy calls him that all the time, except for when she calls him—”
“That’s enough, Daniel. Remember how I told you that some things should only be said in the house with the door closed? Run and find Hannah. Help her with your sister.” When the boy hesitated, Rebecca gave him that ‘Mommy’ glare and Daniel darted for the kitchen.
“Gomer, why are you here? Lo-Ru and Lo-Ammi are almost back to normal. You should go. Go, and never come back.”
“Please, Rebecca! I’m so sorry that I was such trouble for all of you. I finally realize that there is no one for me but Hosea. I want to apologize to him and beg him to take me back.”
“You broke his heart, Gomer. You should leave. Now. Before the neighbors see you and create a scene.”
“Mommy, Hannah says that that lady is my gramma. Why do you want my gramma to go away? I don’t want my gramma to go away. Can she stay, Mommy? Please?” Daniel was halfway between the kitchen and the front door with his bottom lip protruding slightly.
“Um, Daniel,” Gomer leaned around Rebecca, to address the grandson she hadn’t seen before, “It’s fine, Daniel, I’m sure we will meet again sometime.” Shifting her gaze back to Becca, she bowed her head slightly, “I’m sorry, Mrs. Beeri, I’ll be going now. Sorry to have bothered you.”
As Gomer turned to leave, the morning sun beams fell on her cheek. Seeing the way the light shown on the tear running down the older woman’s face, Rebecca softly touched her mother-in-law’s arm. “Wait, Gomer. Dad will be home in,” she glanced at the position of the sun, “a little over an hour. Stay. Have a bite to eat. You know Daniel wants to meet his Gramma.”
Daniel was listening and stepped up next to his mother, gripping her robe in his fingers. “Are you really my gramma?”
Crouching down, Gomer smiled and ran her fingers over the boy’s hair. “How old are you, Daniel?”
Holding up two hands, he smiled proudly and with his fingers splayed out, he puffed out his chest and announced, “I’m five!”
“Five already? Wow, time sure goes by quickly!”
“You think time goes quickly, Gramma?” Shaking his head, he put a very cute expression on his face, that was intended to be a super serious look, “No, it took me years to get this old!”
Gomer glanced up at Rebecca. Both women were working hard to not smile.
When they entered the kitchen, Gomer was stunned to find Khava in the housekeeper’s arms.
Rebecca saw the look of defeat on Gomer’s face when she saw Hannah, and immediately set her mind at ease, “Gomer, this is our housekeeper, Hannah.”
Hannah smiled at Gomer, “Let me guess, you thought that Rebecca had a new mother-in-law?” Shaking her head, “just the housekeeper.”
They all turned when they heard a knock at the door. Rebecca raised her voice, “Dad, I’ve told you a million times, this is your house. You don’t need to knock.”
“Honey, I appreciate that, but when my wife left, and I gave the house to Jezzy, it stopped being my place. I’m just glad that you are letting me live here.”
Hosea had turned to shut the door. When he turned back around, he froze. “Hello, Hosea.”
If his eyes had been shut, he would have recognized that voice. He hadn’t heard it in five years.
“You!”
“Hosea, please, can we talk? Somewhere?”
“You want to talk? To me? That’s rich! You actually want to talk to me? Why? Did Simeon, Ruben, or Moshe, or whoever your current lover is get tired of you? What? Are you running out of sugar-daddies?”
Rebecca’s voice exploded, “Dad! Daniel is right here listening! Gomer, you should leave. Go out to the city gate. Dad, if you’re willing to talk to her, and even if you’re not willing to talk to her, go! Follow her to the gate and talk. Or, follow her to the gate to make sure she leaves town, but, please. Daniel doesn’t understand any of what’s gone on, and Jezzy and I are going to have to do some damage control. Can you stay the night with Isaiah, or one of the others?”
Hosea opened his mouth to apologize, but Gomer, as she slipped past him, heading for the door, whispered, “You’ve said enough, prophet. Even your precious LORD would tell you that this is when you should close your mouth. Follow me.”
Several heads turned as Gomer stomped along the middle of the road. One glance at her face and they all melted out of her way. There were lots of raised eyebrows, and people giving each other looks, as they watched the angry Hosea striding after his wife. Or, was she his ex-wife? With those two, it was hard to know.
Gomer stopped outside the gate, crossed her arms, and turned around to watch Hosea’s determined steps as he came up beside her. Without even slowing down, he gripped her arm, spun her around, and almost dragged her farther from the gate and out of earshot of the people near the city wall.
“Let go of me, you animal! You’re hurting my arm!”
“Oh, that’s rich! You’ve been running around the city, maybe even the country, acting like a dog in heat, and you have the gall to call me an animal? Hah!”
Gomer went silent and stopped struggling to get free of his grip. Her voice was so soft that he almost missed her words, “I’m sorry.”
“What did you say?”
“Hosea, you were right. I’ve been a terrible wife. I’m so sorry for all that I’ve put you thru.” There was a whimper in Gomer’s voice. Taking a chance, she reached out and lightly touched his arm.
LORD, what do I do now. Her hand on my arm, it feels so good. LORD, I hate what she’s done, but I love her. What should I do? I don’t think that I should trust her. Yet.
Almost immediately the LORD’s answer took shape in his mind. Do what is in your heart, Hosea.
“Gomer, see those sheep? Go hire yourself as a shepherdess with that sheepherder. Live with his shepherd girls, stay away from men— all of them— stay in sight of the people on the wall. I don’t trust you. You vowed to be my wife. You vowed before the LORD to be faithful to me. Well, we both know how that turned out. Hah! The entire town knows how that turned out.”
Gomer straightened, glaring at Hosea, “Sheep smell, Hosea. What are you saying? You think I’m going to remarry you and do all that again?”
“Frankly, yes. That’s exactly what I think.”
“Good bye, prophet. You know, the nicest thing about you being a prophet here, is that where I’m going to move to, won’t be anywhere near where I’ll have to listen to you talking about what the LORD tells you. If I never see you again, it will be too soon!”
After Gomer stomped off, running down the road toward a man traveling with five donkeys and two servants, Hosea stood there shaking his head. The irony of it all hit him with new force as he realized what the LORD had been doing.
Right there in front of him, was a perfect example of what Israel had been doing to the LORD. Israel had been unfaithful to the LORD. They had, to use the simile of a husband and wife, been unfaithful to the LORD and had run off to commit adultery with other gods. The LORD had been faithful to them, like Hosea had been to Gomer, but she left, wanting nothing at all to do with the LORD.
Then, when things got rough for her, for Gomer, she did what Israel did. She came back to Hosea’s house, like Israel came back to the Temple, and, also like Gomer, Israel was just playing at caring about what the LORD required. And like Gomer, when the Israelis learned that the LORD wanted real repentance and change instead of regular attendance at the synagogue, they threw a fit and left again.
One thing Hosea did see was the love of God for His people. Even when they turned away, the LORD was still ready to accept them if they repented. The people, in general, have no idea who the LORD is. His power, His majesty, His love, even His forgiveness! The LORD is amazing.
After Gomer left, chasing after some man she didn’t even know, Hosea went back to his ministry. He used the truth of the Scriptures, and in a new burst of insight, he began telling the people about the personal shame and agony he had gone thru in his relationship with Gomer, being sure to point out that it was an illustration of the way the LORD viewed their superficial religiosity.
CHAPTER THREE – SLAVE MARKET
One day, after Hosea had been preaching, Josiah Golden, an old friend from his childhood neighborhood, stepped forward to say ‘hi.’ As they talked, Josiah said he had just come from a village a days journey south of town, and he saw Gomer, dirty and bruised, standing in the slave market, with a nasty cut on her swollen lip.
Hosea shrugged, “Part of me wants to run down there and rescue her, but on the other hand, it’s a perfect example of what is ahead for us, for all of Israel, and Judah, for that matter, if we don’t turn back to the LORD.”
That night the LORD spoke to Hosea again in a dream. When he awakened in the morning, his first thought was, “LORD? You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me!”
As he walked into the kitchen area, Hannah, the housekeeper, greeted him. “Good morning, Sir. Did you have a dream last night? You were calling out in your sleep. When I went to see if you were ill, I saw that you were shaking your head and holding your arms out as if you were trying to push something away.”
“Good morning, Hannah. I did have a dream. The LORD spoke to me. He wants me to go to the town where my friend Josiah saw my wife, and I use the term loosely, in the slave market.”
“I heard that. He said that she was pretty badly beaten up.”
“Yeah. And the LORD wants me to buy her from the slave market and bring her back here.” Hosea winced, “Eww, I need to be sure if that’s alright with Jezzy and Becca. This is their home now.”
“Sir? If Becca can spare me, I could go with you and help care for her on the trip back home.”
“That would be nice, Hannah. I’d ask Lo-Ru to help but after all that Gomer had pulled, Lo-Ru wants nothing to do with her anymore.”
The next morning, Hosea, Hannah, and three mules, started off at dawn for the small town where Josiah saw Gomer. Hosea wasn’t sure what he would do if someone else had already bought her. But, then again, if the LORD told him to buy her from the slave market, then the LORD must know that she is still there in the slave market.
Evidently Josiah had walked to the village, because Hosea and Hannah arrived in the early afternoon, and the market was open. “Hannah, would you wait here with the donkeys? I’m going to ask some questions and see what I can find out about her.”
Hannah nodded, reaching for the reins of Hosea’s donkey. Patting his money belt, he stepped into the pack of the people bidding on the slaves.
When the auctioneer began asking for bids on Gomer, the price was much lower than he expected. Leaning toward a servant, he asked, “Why is she going for so much less than the others?”
“Oh, there’s a couple reasons. For one, she’s a woman, obviously, and then, she’s old. You can see the gray hair. For another thing, she’s mouthy. She’s been here for several days. The only reason she’s quiet today is that the master did a job on her face yesterday and the day before. She wouldn’t shut up so he shut her up. I don’t think any man in his right mind would buy her.”
“No man in his right mind? You’re probably right.” And with that, Hosea stepped forward and yelled out, “Seven pieces of silver!”
Heads all thru the crowd of bidders, turned to see what crazy person was bidding on the shrew. Hosea didn’t notice them as much as he noticed Gomer flinch. She recognized his voice. She also recognized that he was bidding at about a quarter of the price that was usually paid for a slave. The pain in her heart from Hosea’s bid price, hurt worse than the pain in her face. After a bit of give and take, Hosea paid the auctioneer and took the rope leash that was around Gomer’s neck, leading her to the donkeys and Hannah.
“Gomer, the LORD told me to come here today and buy you back from the slave market.” Hosea’s voice was low.
Gomer seemed to have lost all of her fire. Her lower lip was quivering, and tears were running down both sides of her face. The cracked lower lip was bleeding a little. “Th— tha— thank y— you, Hosea.” Then she crumpled to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Hannah, could you—” Hosea was close to tears himself. This woman had put him thru so much, and now she was hurting. Bad.
Standing about a hundred feet away from the two women, Hosea was trying not to let his crying make his shoulders shake. He was a man. Crying in front of the women was a sign of weakness. Feeling a weakness in his legs, Hosea sat down, resting his head on his knees.
The LORD’s voice, now so familiar to the prophet, spoke again in his mind. “I also weep for my people. It is a difficult task to love the sinner and hate their sin. Weep, my son. It is not a mark of weakness. It is a mark of love.”
They stayed that night in the village, nestled on blankets in the straw of a willing farmer’s barn, and arrived back home mid-afternoon.
The first Rebecca knew about their return was when Daniel burst thru the door yelling, “Mommy! Mommy! Gramma’s hurt!”
Setting little Khava in her bed, she got to the door just as Hannah was helping Gomer down off the donkey. Not giving a thought to her own status as a servant, Hannah ordered, “Quick, Rebecca, get my bed ready. She will sleep in my room. Hosea, come here, take Gomer’s other side. Her legs aren’t strong enough to support her without help. Quickly, she’s slipping!”
Rebecca and Hosea both smiled at Hannah’s demands, but they both complied easily.
Two weeks later, they weren’t smiling as much when Gomer, no longer hurting, began talking almost like her old life. The real test came when Rebecca, Hannah, Gomer, and the children went out to the market. A couple of the men who had been intimate with her before, gave her the eye. She instantly averted her eyes to Daniel and Khava as she hissed to the other women, “Keep them away from me!”
One of the men got all flirty and began ambling toward Gomer. Hannah immediately stepped in front of Gomer and pulled the fold of her outer tunic back to reveal an eight inch blade as she growled, “Get away from her. You deserve to die for touching another man’s wife!” Her voice got louder as she spoke and by the time she said the words ‘another man’s wife,’ she was loud enough for others standing nearby to hear and turn to see what was going on.
Glancing around, the man backed off, and quickly left the area.
“Hosea, I saw a man—” Gomer’s voice silenced as Hannah’s throat cleared.
“Someone tried to approach your wife in the market. Jesse and I sent him away.” Hannah’s voice had both strength and a smile.
“Jesse?” Hosea was confused.
Hannah moved the fabric that hid the huge knife. Drawing it she demonstrated her skill as she whipped the knife in patterns in the air. “This bad boy is my friend, Jesse.”
“Hannah? I need to tell Hosea something.” Hannah nodded as the others began to withdraw, intending to give Gomer and Hosea some privacy, but she stopped them. “You should all listen to what I have to say.” Turning to Hosea, she gingerly reached her hand out to him, and was thrilled that he also reached for her hand.
“My husband?” Gomer searched his eyes, rewarded by his gentle smile, “I am yours. I want no man but you. Your love, your kindness, even your discipline is wonderful to me. You are truly a demonstration of the LORD God Almighty. I don’t know how you were able to forgive me, but I will be forever grateful to you. And I will be forever grateful to the LORD God Almighty, who is not just my husband’s God, but my God as well.”
THE END