Hosea & Gomer

But the command to Hosea does not apply to anyone other than Hosea.

So you believe a Christian is NOT to walk in the love expressed in I Corinthians 13 or Ephesians 5 in regards to an erring/wayward spouse?

This account hardly makes a dent in the argument of marriage, divorce & remarriage because this marriage was very unusual and went against other express commands to the contrary. It is not normative and should not be used to develop a universal doctrine with regard to MDR.

You are not taking away from Hosea/Gomer what God wants us to see. It is GRACE (unmerited favor). That is the message………..it is about TRUE, Agape Love—–God’s kind of Love. The kind of love we are called to. It’s not just a kind of love only SOME believers are called to—-it is EXPECTED of ALL of us. I find it so sad that many Christians teach about love and forgiveness, yet they are embittered about their own spouses………….spewing things against them. Many, many times I’ve read about 2nd/3rd spouses speaking evil of the covenant spouse………even things about the children of the covenant marriage. Is this the love of Christ? I just do not think so.

Second, Hosea did not divorce Gomer. She went after her many lovers and by law, Hosea had the right to divorce her but he did not.

No, according to OT law, Hosea would have had the right to STONE HER. That would have made him a widower, free to marry again.

Cindy, you are incorrect to some degree. The death by stoning was the penalty, should it be desired to be exercised. You see Joseph had that option available to him with Mary. But it did not have to be that way. Consider the allegory of Hosea and Gomer. Was she stoned to death each time?

You are correct in that pre-marriage bed divorce must have been allowed since Joseph was pondering do such a thing.

You are also correct that Gomer did not get stoned, but that was the “law”, no? As has been stated many times before God desires MERCY. Do you think exercising what you believe is an entitlement due to sin is MERCY and ultimately is LOVE………….the same mercy and Love as is shown in Hosea, who WAITED for Gomer to stop sinning and decide to come home?

Whose children are more blessed—–those who see a parent STAND for a wayward spouse and then when that spouse finally repents, SEES the depth of TRUE love abiding in that house—-both on the part of the one who loved THROUGH sin and on the part of the one who WAS LOVED while they were in sin——or those who see their parent give up on the wayward and move on to a seemingly “happy” marriage with another? Can you imagine the depth of love a forgiven spouse would feel for that one who waited in love for them? Much like some of us who were BIG sinners and felt the depth of God’s love for us even though we were such great sinners?

Truly which reflects Jesus?

Hosea was commanded by God specifically to do what he did. That allegory serves as a demonstration of God’s patience with Israel and how Israel played the harlot. Yes in love God was patient with Israel, and Hosea was commanded to be patient with Gomer. And Hosea is singled out in the Bible as the only example of this.

Again………….I Corinthians 13 applies to ALL TRUE believers.

Hosea and Gomer are not any kind of proof that sexual sin DOES NOT break the marriage bond. Rather their marriage shows that divorce is not the only option … Like Hosea … we should always seek restoration if our spouse is willing to repent. It is however a personal choice based on the individual situation.

Where do we ever see that we are given an option to reconcile with a spouse that’s sinned? Also, where do we see a time limit concerning a spouse’s repentance before we “go on” to another person? As for Hosea and Gomer, you say that their marital bond was broken………..do you mean their ONE flesh that God joined was now dissolved?

Hosea/Gomer – I have no difficulty with this passage because I do not believe that a divorce is REQUIRED when there is adultery, but every attempt should be made to reconcile marriages even when adultery was a factor. There are times however where reconciliation is just not possible, and it is in those times that the exception applies.

When is reconciliation not possible? The only time I can see when it is not possible is when one of the spouses dies. Beyond that, reconciliation is ALWAYS a possibility. There have been many couples who have been reconciled AFTER a divorce/remarriage. Do you not believe all things are possible with God………or do you place limits on what can be done?