Gomer: The Lord’s Unconditional, Relentless Love for His Bride

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

    Gomer, the wife of the prophet Hosea, exemplifies the love of the Lord for His Bride, His Church.  Paul understood the richness of that love when he wrote: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

    Several years ago, Johnny Lee described the world’s fruitless search for love in the song, “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.” While the desire to be loved is universal, the search for it can lead us either into the depths of hell or into the secure love of our Lord.  God is love.  Therefore, it is in His nature, His DNA, to love us.  The story of Gomer in the book of Hosea is the story of God’s unconditional, relentless love for His bride, the Church.

    The first part of the book of Hosea contains three poems which illustrate how God’s people, time after time, prove to be unfaithful to Him.  God uses the story of Hosea the faithful husband and Gomer, his unfaithful wife to show the depth of the husband’s (God’s) love for the wife (the people of God.)

    God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer, a wife of harlotry.  After giving birth to three children whose names describe both the judgment and the redemption of God’s people, Gomer walks away from her marriage and back into her harlotry.  In her unfaithfulness, Gomer moved away from the blessing and security of her marriage into the shame and disgrace of adultery.  What a painful picture of the Christian who has walked away from the blessing of an intimate relationship with God and back into the ways of the world.

    God then commanded Hosea to take Gomer back and restore her as his wife.  The story of Gomer is a story of God’s unconditional love, His tender mercy and grace even in the face of our ingratitude, selfishness and sin.   Our sin separates us from relationship with our Lord, but not even our sin can separate us from His love.  His loving desire is to bring us into a warm relationship with Him where we can rest in His favor.  

    If you have never known the love of God, it is time to move into that relationship.  Acknowledge that your sin has separated you from God.  Romans 3:23 (NKJV) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  Know that God has made a way for you to have a relationship with Him. Romans 6:23 (NKJV) assures us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Accept that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the wages of sin for you. Romans 5:8 (NKJV) “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

    If you, like Gomer, have walked away from your relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s heart is to restore you to Himself.  1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

    No matter where we have walked in life, the desire of our Bridegroom is to restore us unto Himself.  Just as Gomer was restored to Hosea, each of us can be restored to Jesus Christ.  

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!”
--Will L. Thompson

Ruth: The Redeemed Church

Ruth:  The Redeemed Church
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

    We see in the Biblical story of Ruth a picture of the Bride of Christ as the redeemed Church, redeemed, according to the scriptures, by our kinsman Redeemer.  The kinsman redeemer was a male relative who had the privilege and/or responsibility to come to the aid of a family member in need. The Hebrew term for kinsman redeemer is go el.  A go el is a person who rescues or redeems.  Boaz is the go el, the kinsman redeemer of Ruth. Jesus Christ is go el, the kinsman Redeemer of the Church.

          Ruth was a Moabite, a descendent of Abraham’s nephew Lot.  The Moabites were often enemies of Israel.  Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi was an Israelite of the tribe of Judah.  Because of famine in Israel, years before, Naomi, her husband and two sons had moved to Moab to find a better life.  Like Naomi’s family, often we, as Christians, move away from our appointed place in the Lord and into alliances with those who do not have our best interests in mind. When we do so, we move out of the protection and blessing of God into the insecurity and uncertainty of the world.
The move to Moab brought grief and uncertainty into the lives of Naomi and her daughters-in-law.  After Naomi’s husband and sons died, Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, impoverished and without protection, returned to Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem. Arriving in Bethlehem, Naomi sent Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi to whom they appealed as their go el. Boaz agreed and after following the customs of the land, willingly married Ruth. They named their son Obed. His name means “serving or worshiping” indicating that the family had dedicated their lives and their future to serving and worshiping God.  Obed became the grandfather of King David, a man of worship, a man after God’s own heart.  David was a forefather of Jesus, the one who came as a Servant, the one who is worthy of our worship.

     Jehovah is Israel’s Redeemer, the one who promises to defend and vindicate them. He is both Father and Deliverer. Exodus 20:1-2 (NKJV)  “And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.’”
     The New Testament pictures Christ our kinsman-redeemer.  In Hebrews 2:11-12, He declares that He is not ashamed to call us His brothers.  Through His death on the Cross, He has paid the price for our sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”   As our kinsman, Jesus met the deepest need in our lives.  His sacrifice for us is our only redemption.
What a deeper story we have when we know the meanings of the names of the main characters.  “Boaz” means willingness to obey.  “Ruth” denotes friendship.  “Naomi” is lovable. “Jesus” indicates that Jehovah is our helper, our savior.  Jesus willingly obeyed His Father even to a horrific death on the Cross.  He calls us His friends and He loved us before we loved Him.  He is our Boaz, our Kinsman-Redeemer. In Him, we become Ruth and Naomi. 
We praise You, Father, for Jesus Christ, our Kinsman Redeemer.

Jael: The Resourceful Church

Jael: The Resourceful Church
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

    Continuing the series on Old Testament women who picture the Church, the Bride of Christ, we come to one of my favorites, Jael.  The story of Jael completes the story of Deborah.  When Barak and Deborah had defeated his army, Sisera fled on foot.  He was the only Canaanite soldier to survive the onslaught of the army of Israel.  Because her husband had made an alliance with the Canaanites, Sisera ran to the tent of Jael.

          “However, Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; do not fear." And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket.
    “Then he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him.  And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' you shall say, 'No.' "
    “Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went down into the ground; for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.”  Judges 4:17-21 (NKJV

    Jael’s name means “mountain goat”.  She represents those Christians who have not been “tamed” by the religious system.  She knows who she is and what she has in the Lord.  She understands the power in the gifts that God has given her.  She knows that He has more than adequately equipped her for the ministry to which He has called her.  She ignores the taunts of those who say, “You can’t do that” or “but we’ve always done it this way.”

    Jael may not have been skilled in the strategies of warfare nor the nuances of sword fighting, but she knew how to drive a tent peg.  Her husband had made an alliance with the enemy, but she had not.  Using what the Lord had given her, she struck a blow for truth and justice.

    Years later, David did the same thing when he eschewed the ill-fitting armor of Saul, picked up his sling-shot and went after Goliath.  We too often forget that God’s ways are not our ways. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” 1 Corinthians 1:27 (NKJV). Both Jael and David went after the enemy with the weapons that the Lord had given them, not the weapons the most people would expect to use. They both fought God’s battle God’s way.

    God has equipped His saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.  (Ephesians 4:12).  We are all gifted. We do not all have the same gifts, but the gifts all have the same purpose, to advance the Kingdom of God.  As individuals, we must develop the gifts with which the Lord has blessed us. 

    We are experiencing changes in the way we have done Church in the past.  We need to be Christians with the spirit of Jael who are willing to step out of tradition and into the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians who are willing to use the gifts of the Spirit to advance the Kingdom of God by creatively using what God has given us. 

    Are you so “tamed” by the religious system that you are afraid to be a Jael, afraid to pick up your tent peg and go to battle for the Kingdom of God?  It is time to step out of fear, to step into faith and do what God has called us to do.

Mike Pyatt: The Fragility of Life

       A first time event: a feature from a guest columnist.  Mike Pyatt has shared a thoughtful word on the precarious world in which we live.  

“The Fragility of Life”

By Mike Pyatt

With the continued uncertainty of our economy, the volatility of world money markets, that rise one day mercurially, only to plummet precipitously the next day, and with our liberties further eroded by an ever intrusive federal government, we are jarred into reality when we suddenly realize that the only thing more fragile than the economic roller coaster we’re on, is life itself. One day we are the picture of health, the next day, a victim of stroke, a heart attack, or worse.

     Many maturing adults have opined, had they any idea of living so long, they would have certainly taken better care of themselves. Of course, we were all “bullet proof” in our youthful days, and most of us rebuffed advise on a healthy lifestyle and pursued our own recalcitrant ways. Then reality showed up one day.

     Other than one’s spiritual destiny, nothing is more important, or precarious, than one’s health. It may be the ravages of cancer that lurked beneath the surface, undetected for many years finally to rear its ugly head in the life of an apparently healthy, vibrant fifty year old teacher. Months later his family and friends mourn and weep over his lifeless body.

Accidentally pinned against the wall of a garage by a car driven by her best friend, a young teenager’s mangled leg is ultimately lost to a surgeon’s knife after three traumatic, painful surgeries. The human spirit is nearly indomitable. Yet, a chronic and protracted illness can reduce a once strong soul into an unrecognizable “hull” of a former “mighty vessel.”

      Some health conditions are, sadly, self-imposed. Alcoholics, drug addicts, morbid obesity, after years of over indulgence at the table, and the majority those who contracted HIV/Aids did so after a risky lifestyle of “casual sex” and behaviors that have grave consequences. Since the first “warning label” in 1965 on cigarette packs, when Congress passed the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act, hundreds of thousands have succumbed to lung cancer, COPD, emphysema, and other cardio pulmonary diseases associated largely with smoking. The FDA has resorted to more grisly, onerous labeling tactics--showing the top-half of a cadaver after surgery--to stem the tide of cigarette smoking-especially to keep “smoke free kids.” Another “scared stiff” program gone awry.

      The Psalmist captured the brevity of our life, “Man’s life is as a breath, his days are like a fleeting shadow.” Forty years ago it was a verse. At three-score and eight, it’s now reality for yours truly. Though fraught with job related perilous risks, 19 firefighting “hot shots” their families and loved ones, anticipated their return after fighting a wind-blown monster blaze in Yarnell, Arizona. They all perished. Life turned tragic for them. A costly exchange--their lives for others. Sandy Hook,Texas fertilizer explosion--ad nauseam.

     Ben Franklin once quipped, “God heals and the doctor takes the fee.” We prate of our health, yet we are at times much too cavalier about it. Gathered at a local tea house one noon, one of the Red Hat Society ladies informed the other attendees that “she just couldn’t wait to go be with the Lord,” a phrase that another member thought had become hackneyed. After a pause in the conversation, she advised the lady, “If you are in such a hurry to be with the Lord, I suggest the next time you are beset with an illness, do not bother to call the doctor!” Most of us are the grateful benefactors of advanced medical technology with a focus on preventative medicine. However, not all healing comes at the hand of a physician. There is a perfidious side to absolute reliance on medicine.

        For those who have passed, we personally have no sway over the grave. However, we can honor their memory. Alas, for the survivors of a malady, accident, self-inflicted act, or those who carry the burden of a congenital disease, we are able to offer a fervent prayer, a helping hand, or a word of encouragement fitly spoken as a balm to hasten the healing process. We may be a conduit to that process if we choose.

      They don’t need our pity. Therefore, let’s guard our lips and hold our tongues, refraining from uttering, “That poor soul.” We don’t know that. Maybe beleaguered, but not beaten. This writer watched a neighbor, who has a chronic, debilitating and painful illness, wage war against it with dignity, grace and tenacity. Once near death, he continues, though fragile, with support from his wife, family, and legions of prayer cells, to keep going. Amazing? Miraculous? Is it worth it? Most of us think so. Given the precarious nature of “fragility” and its unpredictability, it may not be a bad idea to plan ahead for eternity. No time for what Robert Nisbet warned of as “easy religion, psychiatrist’s office, and cults.” What do you think?

Mike Pyatt is a resident of Glenrock, WY. His email is roderickstj@yahoo.com