Extraordinary Obedience

I wonder which emotions flowed through Hosea when he heard this command from the Lord. It must have really shocked him, since he was a God-fearing man who lived to please the Lord, and marrying someone living in sin would never have been an option for him.

Jeremiah similarly received instructions from the Lord which led to him experiencing and enduring great loneliness in a culture where marriage and having children were very much the norm– Jer 16:1-2  1The word of the LORD also came to me saying, 2“You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.”

Likewise, Ezekiel’s instruction from the Lord would also have puzzled many who witnessed it. Ezekiel 24:15-17 ¹⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁶ “Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears. ¹⁷ Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Keep your turban fastened and your sandals on your feet; do not cover your mustache and beard or eat the customary food of mourners.” The very next day God took away Ezekiel’s wife, and he was instructed not to mourn for her. This would have caused quite a stir in a culture where mourning rituals were rigidly fixed and continued for a few days.

Three ordinary men, but displaying extraordinary faith and obedience to God, functioning as His prophets, and therefore speaking for God to a culture that had increasingly distanced itself from the Lord and started worshipping idols. All three men therefore were asked by God to live through the conditions that He Himself was experiencing, so that they could feel His own emotions about it as it played out in their own lives. This would keep their focus on those emotions, so that they could persevere to witness to their fellow countrymen about how deeply God was being affected by their sinful behaviour.

Hosea had to mirror the reality that God still deeply loved and cherished Israel, even though she was following after other gods and lavishing her love on them, hurting her Husband by her unfaithfulness. Jeremiah had to show that God now had to live as a Bachelor without a wife, as Israel had rejected Him. Ezekiel had to demonstrate how, even though God would desecrate His sanctuary, the people would not mourn for Him because their hearts were so far removed from Him.

Points to ponder:  To what lengths are you prepared to go to be obedient to God’s instructions? Do you evaluate those commands by comparing them to your cultural background, and only then deciding whether you will obey or not? Take to heart Jesus’ words to the Pharisees: Mark 7:7-8 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”