Symbolism & Prophetic Ministry

One of the issues that comes to our attention as we read Hosea 1 is how God chooses to communicate to His people. Through Isaiah and Hosea and many others we see that God will take a long time to communicate what He is doing far in advance through symbolic means. In Hosea 1 God uses a real marriage to a woman who committed an act of prostitution to illustrate how He sees it when His covenant people engage in worship through other religions. I guess we can rightfully conclude that God is not a pluralist. But it is how he makes this point to Israel that is particularly graphic and very difficult to forget. Hosea is to marry a woman who has been with another man. This act demonstrates the rawness of God's feelings when we worship other beings. Not only that, but we learn that prophets often speak to God's people with symbols. We will be looking at Hosea in depth for the month of April. If you have never studied the book of Hosea, this is a great time to check out the Vineyard! Our church site is www.vcfbn.org for more information.