Day 244, or September 1. Guidance can be difficult at times. Our thoughts today are rooted in
Hosea chapter 1 verse 2. When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him,
Go, marry a promiscuous woman, and have children with her.
Now the big picture surrounding this verse. The prophet Hosea has a very special name.
It comes from the same root word meaning salvation, as two other names in the Bible—Joshua
and Jesus. He is one of only two writing prophets to the northern tribes of Israel. There were
other prophets who ministered to the north, such as Elijah and Elisha, but we have no
writings from them. Hosea lives a life in parallel to God's relationship with the people
of Israel. Hosea's wife and Israel are both unfaithful.
And now our action step for today. I know people who get their guidance from the Bible
by flicking through its pages and seeing where it flops open, and in his sovereign mercy
God sometimes guides like this. However, I am sure you have heard of the man who used
this method, and his finger landed on Matthew 27 verse 5, which ends with the words, Judas
went out and hanged himself. Whoops! So he tried again. This time he landed on Luke chapter
10 verse 37, which reads, Then Jesus said, Yes, now go and do the same.
It may be humorous, but it contains a serious lesson that we must read the Bible in context
and in the light of the overall message of Scripture. In our text today, God tells Hosea
to do something very unusual. When your sense of guidance seems hard to understand, don't
just ignore it, but make sure it's from God, and therefore doesn't contradict the major
themes of the Bible. Ponder on it and weigh it up in the light of everything else God
has said. Ask him for confirmation. Consult your church leaders. Never limit your obedience
by your ability to understand, because God never contradicts himself and has given us
detailed guidance in the Bible. However, there are times when we simply have to step out
in faith.