What’s the Story?
My third biblical novel, Love in a Broken Vessel (Revell, March 1, 2013), tells the story of the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, who was called by the LORD to marry a prostitute named, Gomer.
Who Needs Prophets?
Today, we’ll take a peek at the folks who surrounded the tempestuous couple. The prophets of the Bible focused mainly on two nations Israel and Judah–two nations that had once been united under David and Solomon. They now chaffed and scuffled like cantankerous siblings.
Israel worshiped a Canaanite-skewed version of Yahweh, calling him “El,” and including him in the pantheon of pagan gods. Those who claimed to be faithful worshiped El in the form of a Golden Calf idol in temples at Bethel and Dan.
Judah, though led by a righteous king, refused to remove the high places. They worshiped Yahweh at His Holy Temple in Jerusalem but continued to offer sacrifices on the Canaanite high places in direct disobedience to God’s command:
“Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.” Deuteronomy 12:2
Let the Prophets Begin…
In Scripture, Amos was called to prophesy to Israel, and in Love in a Broken Vessel, Amos introduces a “famine of God’s Word” in the northern nation, establishing a prophets’ training camp on his fig-farm in Judah.
Jonah, though born in Israel, prophesied years before to the city of Nineveh in the hostile nation of Assyria. In our story, he is an elder statesman and becomes the leading teacher at Amos’s prophets’ camp.
Hosea is born in Israel but taken to Judah’s prophets’ camp when he’s very young to learn of Yahweh. Hence, the reason he’s mistrusted and mistreated in Israel…how would you like a “defector” to return home and preach at you?
Isaiah and Micah are Judean youths in our story, in training at the camp and dreaming of Yahweh’s call on their lives. Each becomes intimately involved in God’s plan–not only for Hosea and Gomer, but for Yahweh’s people and for eternity.
Next Week We’ll Talk About Kings!
But for now…
Do you have questions or comments about the prophets that touched Hosea’s and Gomer’s lives?
