A Love Story Starring Me
from the book of Hosea

Glistening jewels reflect the torch light.
Layers of silk follow my twirls and dips.
Colorful beads woven into my hair.
My eyes flash. My smile dazzles.

Then

Dirty hands clutch torn, bloody rags.
My tangled hair holds the stink of abuse.
Violence and tears cloud my eyes.
Fleeing the sunlight, I shiver and wait.

Night comes at last.
Little light to reveal my shame.
Scrub away the dirt,
Color over the bruses,
I force the smile and step into the torch light.

Maybe this will be the night.
Damaged goods -- I'll never be chosen for wife,
But before my beauty fades I could be chosen concubine.
Perhaps I'll find a kind man, perhaps there will be a child.

My name means "complete" but I am undone.
I fear there will never be a final sale.
What waits on the other side of rejection?
Dance and smile as hope fades into dispair.

The eyes of a stranger arrest my dance.
Such gentle strength is rare in the night market.
I tremble as he leads me away from the lights.
His name means "savior". He takes me for his wife.

The God of Second Chances said to his servant, Hosea,
"Go, take a wife of harlotry
And children of harlotry,
For my people have committed spiritual adultry
By departing from the Lord."

So Hosea went into the night world
And he chose Gomer.
He made her his wife
And while she lived in his house, Gomer bore 3 children.

There was buzzing in the lady's circle
Concerning the fall of the prophet Hosea.
"Such promise and he throws it all away
For a prostitute."

God says that Hosea, named savior, loved Gomer
Just like God loves His people.
But Gomer, born to be complete, remained undone.
Her damaged heart starved in the midst of plenty.
Her clothes are in the closet. Her children are in their beds.
Her husband calls her name through an empty house.
Gomer has gone back to the torch light.

The lady's circle knew it would happen.
At their next lunch, the matchmaker will say,
"Hosea is a kind and gentle man who needs a wife
To heal his heart and love those poor children
Let me introduce you."

But Hosea is not willing to replace Gomer
And he is not willing to live without me.

At the Citywide Prophet's Association supper,
The message was clear,
"Have no association with women of the torch light.
Look at Hosea. Once he was a prophet.
Now he runs through the market place
Shining a lantern into the faces of whores
And asking other men where his so-called wife has gone.
What a waste of a good man.
Now we call this meeting to order and go on
With God's work - without Hosea
Who once was one of our workers."

They do not understand the love
God is demonstrating through Hosea.
Only God understands the love Hosea feels.
God tells Hosea, "I will have mercy
On the one who had not obtained mercy."
Hosea moves through the marketplace
Looking for the wife who rejected his love.

He asks other men if they have seen me.
"She has a beautiful smile.
Her hair shines in the sunlight.
She left in a soft white wool cloak.
Maybe you have seen my Gomer?
She's the one with the dazzling smile
And the beautiful eyes."

"Look, Hosea, there is your beloved."
There is no smile
My matted hair has no shine.
I clutch filthy rags which cannot cover my nakedness.
It is the right and duty of the betrayed
To have the harlot stoned. This is the law of God.
God's justice has spoken.

But Hosea is not looking through the eyes of justice.
Hosea is feeling through his purse
Gathering what it will take to buy me back
From where I have sold myself into.
God's love has spoken.

God said, "Hosea, go again, love a women
Who is loved by a lover and is committing adultry,
Just like the love of the Lord for His children
Who reject His love and refuse to follow His ways."
God's mercy has spoken.

Hosea speaks of Gomer,
"I bought her for myself
For fifteen shekels of silver
And one and one-half measures of barley"

He paid the price of a slave
But in love he made me once again a wife.

God says:
I draw you with gentle cords,
With bands of love,
I take the yoke from your neck
And I stoop to feed you.

God is in the marketplace
On the cross
Outside an empty tomb
Inviting ...
"Return to the Lord God,
For you have stumbled because of iniquity"

He's already paid.
He stepped out of eternity.
He walks through the streets of time.
He's looking for His beloved.
But He's not binding slaves,
He's asking me
The choice is mine.
He's asking you
The choice is yours.

I say to Him:
'Take away all my iniquity
Receive me graciously,
For I will offer the sacrifices of my lips.
(I will praise You and
Tell others of Your goodness.)
A strong government will not save me.
I cannot save myself with the work of my hands.
Only Your mercy and love can deliver me
From where I have taken myself."

Then God says to me:
"I will heal your backsliding,
I will love you freely
My anger is turned away
I will be like the dew
And you will grow like the lilly
I will give you strong deep roots
My branches will spread
And you shall be beautiful and fragrant."

And God says that
The people who come near me
Will be refreshed and revived
They will begin to grow.

So I'm saying to you:
Come, and let us return to the Lord
He will heal us
He will bind us up
He will revive us;
He will raise us up;
That we may live in his sight,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain
Washing, restoring, refreshing, nourishing

God says that
I was created for a purpose
I was intended to be complete
God wants to restore me to what I was created to be

The author of lies tells my that my place is in the market

The God of the Universe tells my that my place is in His heart

With my life, I make the choice

And with your life, you make the choice



Note: this is adapted from the book of Hosea. God gave us this story of Hosea and Gomer to show us how He loves us.