Power Read The Bible In 60 Days With Jeff Andersonಮಾದರಿ

Day 44

DIRTY WORK – DIRTY MARRIAGE

[Scheduled Reading: Hosea, Joel, Amos]

I like the minor prophets. They’re short books.  :-)

The prophet “dirty work” continues. Hosea was ordered to take a whore as a wife, and have children with her. God directs him to name their kids with names like, “No Mercy” and “You are not my People.” (Stories like these hardly seem real, but I believe them).

I am sure Hosea loved his precious babies named No Mercy and You are not My People. And perhaps that was the point. God loves His children, too. But He wanted Hosea to understand how much God detested their unfaithfulness.

And if that wasn’t enough, God had Hosea redeem a wife from adultery. (We don’t know if this is the same wife or a different one.)

Once again, God used the prophets to undertake seemingly bizarre measures to help them connect with His message.

And as an interesting observation in Amos 1:1, there’s mention of “the earthquake.” A quick Google search suggests a massive quake that affected many cities during this period. 

This was likely the type of event that today would warrant full media coverage for days, weeks, or even months. But it gets two words mention in scriptures.

History is vast. And noteworthy events have occurred all throughout history. But the bulk of the words in the Bible are devoted not to news - but to the things on the mind and heart of God.