“Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns,
and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.” Hosea 2:6.
Even the tiniest of thorns causes discomfort. Depending on
the thorn's size, the bush, and how many times you run into it decides the amount
of pain you experience.
God told him to marry her; He said she would be unfaithful.
It must have been difficult for Hosea, but he married Gomer, a known prostitute
in obedience. And just as God said, she was unfaithful to him.
God said He would fence her in with a thorny wall. The
purpose was to block her path, to make her lose the wrong way she wanted to go.
In verse six, God is not referring to Gomer but His beloved Israel, who chose
to embrace Canaan’s false gods and lifestyle. God set up walls that caused pain
so His people would turn from their wicked ways back to Him. But His “bride” disregarded
the painful thorny pricks, continued in her rebellious unfaithfulness. God warned
His people to repent and return to His care, but they rejected His guidance and
faced defeat and destruction by the enemy and exile from their homeland.
Consequences of choosing their way.
God’s “bride” today is His Church, those who belong to His
family. Some of His children have chosen complacency, choosing to follow false
gods, embracing what the world offers rather than the One who supplies life’s every
need. If you keep running into hurtful walls, you may have chosen the direction
you wanted to go without consulting God because you knew what His response
would be on the matter. The result of your stubbornness is a repeatedly pricked
and restless spirit and difficulties God never intended you to face. Why can’t
you find an opening to escape the pain? God may have enclosed you in a hedge of
thorns, or someone concerned about you is praying God’s protection about you
for your good. That interceder carries a burden for you and knows the
discomforting thorns are nothing compared to what awaits if you continue the destructive
path you’re traveling. God wants genuine repentance from His children.
God unconditionally loves His unfaithful children as much as
the faithful ones. But He wants the wanderers to repent and return to His loving
care and protection. Are you the pricked, stubborn one or an interceder? An
interceder will continue seeking the Father’s will until He releases the prayer
to stop praying for that person or situation. Stubborn ones who keep running
into walls of pain, stop. Turn from the wrong way you’re going, back to the One
waiting to hear from you, wanting His best for you.
The Bride of Christ, God’s people, refusing to turn away from sin, selfish wants, and the world’s evil ways, back to our First Love, face dire consequences. We are already feeling thorny, painful pricks; God loves us Church, but sometimes—often—love hurts.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts.