Hosea 1:1

Hosea 1:1 says, The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.  We are not told how the word of the Lord came to Hosea, only that it did and that Hosea recognized it as God's word.  Hosea was called to be a prophet at a young age and prophesied for many years.  Verse adds, The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.  This is really not what we would expect as a way to follow God. Hosea was told by God to go and take a wife who was a prostitute, and that this would be representative of the relationship between God and His chosen people.  They were chasing other gods, and not remaining true to the One real God.  If we felt that God was leading us to do the same thing today, would we obey, knowing without a doubt that it was indeed God directing us?  Hosea had a relationship with God that was close enough for him to know God's voice, however he heard it.  We need that same closeness with God today.  Verse three continues, So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.  Hosea obeyed God, and took Gomer to be his wife, and they had a son.  Hosea was a young prophet, and could have questioned the word of God, but instead he chose to obey it.  We as followers of Christ today must be willing to carry out God's will for our lives, even if we do not understand why God directs us to do certain things.  Hosea could have thought he certainly misunderstood God's instructions, but instead simply obeyed.  I believe Hosea loved Gomer, just as God loved His people even as they were chasing other gods.  We know that Hosea and Gomer's relationship was to be representative of God and His relationship to His chosen people.  Though Hosea may have known that at first, it was only truly revealed as he lived in obedience to God's call.  We are not assured that we will always understand what God is doing through us as we follow Him in obedience to His will, but if we fail to follow, we will never understand.  Hosea obeyed God, and so must we.  Having just finished the book of Romans, we know that God's people continued to rebel against Him.  Verse four concludes, And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. God told Hosea what to name his soon and the significance of that name.  Jezreel signifies the seed of God, but also can mean the scattered of God.  Those who were the seed of God through the promise to Abraham were about to be scattered because of their disobedience to the will of God.