Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hey there, nice people.

Once again, on this incredibly nice morning, I’m making the naive assumption that you are an incredibly nice person. The morning is so incredibly nice that I don’t mind as much the incredible pile of work upon me. It would be nice if it were all income-generating work.

Little Nicholas is here. Becki picked him up this morning early. Kaden is not here as he has started kindergarten. But he’ll be here for the weekend.

May your day be as blessed as the weather is nice.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Other Old Testament prophets were instructed by the LORD to do some wild symbolic things as illustrations of His righteousness and purposes that stood in conflict with the sins and perversions of His people. These prophets had to have enough public exposure and be generally recognized as representatives for the LORD so as to make their points publicly known and effective by visual aids and examples that went beyond just blasting them with powerful preaching. But this particular instruction given to Hosea is about as weird and wild as it gets—to go marry a prostitute. In so many words, the LORD was giving this message to Hosea: “I want you to go do something real stupid and perverse in order to illustrate in clear terms how stupid and perverse Israel has been in relationship to her Holy Sovereign Husband.”

Is there any set of Biblical concepts more vital to the development of a sound Biblical worldview than the one put forth by David in Psalm 100?—“Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:3-5. I’m quoting from the KJV since that’s the version in which my mother had me memorize this psalm when I was a little kid). Do you see where I’m going with this? Think about it. God made you and owns you—every part of you. He made your eyes. “So be careful little eyes what you see”—and be careful to use them to honor and praise their MAKER/OWNER. He made your ears. “So be careful little ears what you hear”—and be careful to use them to honor and praise their MAKER/OWNER. He made your brain. “So be careful little brain what you think” (Oops! I don’t remember a verse like that in the children’s song. But the shoe fits.)—and be careful to use your thinker to honor and praise its MAKER/OWNER. Anyway, you could work your way through every facet of your being and assign the same standard—right down to your privates—your sex parts and the whole spectrum of feelings, attractions, and emotions that drive them—all of which, of course, being foundational to still another amazing gift of the Sovereign MAKER/OWNER—the phenomenon and human relationship we call marriage—which I’ll idealistically define as the total blending of one man and one woman in holy exclusive wedlock—till death do them part. Here then is another add-on verse: “So be careful little combination of sex parts, psychology, and resulting marriages how you function—FOR THERE’S A FATHER UP ABOVE LOOKING DOWN IN TENDER LOVE”—and be careful to use all these components of your being to honor and praise their MAKER/OWNER.

Why would I be spinning off on a tangent like this at a time like this? Because the violation of this sound Biblical worldview is exactly what is presented in the example of Gomer—a woman who is blessed with divine gifts and responsibilities, yet insists on their misuse—which defines perversion. In order to get this right, please recognize a measure of yourself in the example of Gomer. And please recognize God’s AMAZING GRACE. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners (prostitutes), Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).