The Second Best Bible Story (Pt. I)

Everyone knows John 3:16~ for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  Most know that Jesus' death on a cross is the highest revelation of God's love for mankind.  We know that God loves us so dearly that he gave over his perfect son to an unspeakably grim death for imperfect us.  There is no greater action in the history of time that shows the love of the Father for his children.  But what if I were to ask you where I could read the second best demonstration of God's love in the Bible (specifically outside the life of Christ)?  I would like to submit to you that it is a story found in the pages between the Psalms and the gospels.  That least explored area of the Bible called prophecy where God's stories are removed from the confines of time, and reality is illustrated with curious imagery~ it's no wonder why prophecy is a challenge for any Bible reader.  But if you overlook these stories, you may have overlooked the second greatest story of God's love of all time.

He was a man of God.  She was raised secular.  They were wed and became parents to a little boy.  God named the boy "scattered".  She came to expect another baby, perhaps by someone other than her husband.  This time it was a girl God named "not loved".  A third pregnancy shrouded in unknown paternity led to the birth of a second boy.  God called him "not mine".  The marriage was put to the test, but the man of God loved his wife and the children she bore.

One day the man of God came home to find the children unattended.  Their mother had left with no indication of where she was going or when she'd return.  The man of God had an idea where she'd be-- off seeking satisfaction outside of their marriage.  She had left before but this time she wasn't coming back.  The reality of her departure solidified her rejection of her husband and children.  She exchanged it for fancy dinners and gifts from the company of untold numbers of men.  The man of God still loved his wife; what aching pain he must have felt trying to explain to his children that their family was "scattered, not loved, or not mine" to their mother.  What shame he must have felt as his friends began to realize how fitting his children's names were.  His grief must have weighed heavily on him.

Across town, the unfaithful wife was beginning to lose her charm.  Lovers lost interest and dismissed her.  She searched desperately for anyone who would just share a scrap of food in exchange for a place in their bed.  Her moral poverty became true poverty.

One day, the man of God heard how his wife was struggling.  He risked being rebuffed by her current paramour to take her some food, water, and clothes.  Confused by the husband's presence, this lousy lover gladly took the provisions only to pass them off as his own gifts to the wife.  And how she praised her lover wrongfully for this kindness as her husband listened in.  The true love of the husband had not reached the wife, and he returned home leaving her to her deluded and destructive ways.

The wife soon became so unlucky in love that she could find no man to take her in.  As she attempted to just forestall starvation, her debts began to mount.  This prodigal wife reflected on how much better off she was in her husband's home saying she will return to him.  But for some reason, she doesn't go.  Maybe she feels too much guilt.  Maybe she can't imagine how she's supposed to go back to being a full-time mother after living only for herself for so long.  Maybe she considers that they are better off without her.  She stayed put, and her indebtedness reached its nadir.

Her lenders had had enough; something must be done.  It was determined that she would be sold as a slave to try to recoup some of their losses.  She was taken to the center of the capital, lined up at the auction block with actual slaves, stripped naked, and offered to the highest bidder.  Except there was no highest bidder.  No old flames came to rescue their damsel in distress.  Her utter worthlessness was on full display-- until from out of the crowd she heard a familiar voice.  Her husband had come offering fifteen coins and a sack of animal feed for his bride.  She was valued at half the price of a common slave.  Legally her husband's purchase made him her master and her his property.

How foolish the man of God must have appeared.  More degrading that being cheated on and used as a meal ticket by his wife's lovers, he publicly paid for what was already rightfully his.  His friends must have thought it a terrible waste of money; after all, she had not indicated that she desired to turn from her wild ways.  Yet there he was, ready to love her and rescue her.

The man of God began to restore his wife.  At her purchase he clothed her as his wife-- not in the rags a slave would wear.  He told her that he was hers and she was his.  She must not seek any man besides him anymore.  Without condemning her, he required her to turn from her old life and live with him.  This is the story of a woman named "complete" who lived in complete depravity before she was made complete in love by her husband.  This is also the story of God's man, "the Lord saves", who lived up to the foolishly persistent and pursuing love of God in order to save the one he loved most.

Engraving of Hosea and Gomer by Matthäus Merian [source]

I received a tremendous amount of help from the following resources:
NIV Scofield Study Bible
Believer's Bible Commentary by William MacDonald
The Minor Prophets, Volume 1 by James Montgomery Boice
The Amazing Collection, Set 6: The Early Minor Prophets

Afternoons & Evenings

Any parent will tell you that having kids is a full-time job.  Aside from a few times of day when the children are sleeping, every waking moment requires readiness to meet their needs.  Long gone are the days of leisurely sleeping in on weekends or enjoying a quiet stroll to Starbucks to read a book.  In this season of life with two under age three, my time is rarely my own.

So how greedily do I long for naptimes and bedtimes?  How wistfully do I bid my husband farewell in the morning when he heads to work?  I never know what any given day will hold-- meltdowns, disastrous diapers, boo boos that make me want to cry, or simply animated children who desire a lot of hands-on play.  I hardly ever believe I'm equipped to face the variety of activities and responsibilities caring for two little ones requires.  So when miraculously the stars have aligned and simultaneous naps occur, the house is quiet.  And my mind fills with all the things I'm finally free to do.  I declare this "ME time" and covet every glorious minute I get.  As soon as the first cry comes from a nursery, I get that same sensation as when one's alarm clock goes off-- the dream is over, now back to it.  I regularly sigh and dolefully reflect that even the alarm clock has built in grace for the weary sleeper with its generous snooze button...

Lately; however, God has been speaking to me about my quiet time not being my own.  I am quick to assert, "But Lord, don't you see I'm serving these little ones all day?  Aren't I entitled to veg out for a bit to unwind?"  God has said "No Leah.  I know you are tired, but this is kingdom time."

James 4:2-6 reads:

  You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?  But he gives more grace.

So maybe I'm tired or two days behind on taking a shower.  Maybe my eyes are burning because the baby woke up 4 times in the evening.  But dispensing my time on frivolous things not only leaves little time for me to spend alone with God.  It actually makes the gap between us greater.  It communicates to my Maker that he doesn't really get how I feel or what I need.  Has there ever been a more ludicrous predication?  No wonder James says I'm acting like God's enemy; it's like walking the opposite direction from a water source in my greatest thirst.

Kingdom time.  Well, it is different everyday.  Sort of like the station activities from Kindergarten.  Sometimes it's reading devotions or reviewing notes from my Bible study class.  Sometimes it's writing in my prayer journal.  Sometimes it's reading a stack of updates from the ministries we support financially and with prayer.  Sometimes it's writing notes to a few special people God has given me to care for.  Sometimes it's listening to sermons on a podcast.  Today it's blogging (my favorite station, if I had to pick one).  Most days I have God's word with me to read and reflect in the hopes that my time is inline with His word.

Only this past week have I really thought, "wow, this is the part of the kingdom He's given me today."  To be entrusted with any spiritual charge is quite humbling.  Even more so when I reflect on the knowledge that He "yearns jealously" to be with me like the Spirit who indwells me.  How could I resist that kind of loving attention from the Father?

Perhaps this is my own personal interpretation or application of the phrase, "but he gives more grace", but I can testify that when I do dedicate time to him in my afternoons while the children sleep, he renews me.  He gives me a better attitude as I face the challenges of the rest of the day.  He gives me glimpses of glory where I truly see and experience how precious this time is with my tiny ones.  He reminds me of his presence when things go all wrong and I turn into a monster mom-- and he forgives me when I repent and restores the loving connection with my children that I break.  God is truly gracious to me.

And with all this said (so to speak), I hear the cry of one ushering in the time for late afternoon play...