The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. Hosea 1:1
What is the most difficult thing you have had to do as a Christian being obedient to your Lord? Many Christians have had to change or abandon career paths that would have compromised their testimony. Many have had to part ways with longtime friends and associates, and even prospective marital partners because of obvious conflicts of interest (and obedience to the Scriptures). Some have had to leave home or take up residence in undesirable places. Many have had to make huge sacrifices or accept difficult challenges of all types. But few if any have had to do what the prophet Hosea was called to do.
Hosea was a good and godly man whose life was entirely devoted to serving his God. He not only obeyed the Scriptures day by day, but he also was open to receiving direct messages from God, messages that he obeyed himself and passed on to the nations of Judah and Israel. He must have a been shocked and dismayed by the command that God gave him, because it went contrary to what his hopes for a happy family life would have been. Expecting a life partner who loved the Lord and His commandments as much as he did, Hosea receives a command to find and marry a prostitute, a woman whose life was totally given to the sin of adultery. He was to marry her, and he was to love her. He was to be faithful to her and to long for her to be faithful to him. God had a reason for such a drastic expectation from Hosea.
Hosea did as God commanded. He found and married Gomer. They had three children together, and Hosea loved Gomer even though she was unfaithful to him. In their relationship, God provided Hosea with the material to illustrate the love and faithfulness of God to His earthly people and their unfaithfulness to Him. By experiencing this one-sided family relationship, Hosea could pass on his message to the nation with a genuine understanding of God’s heart.
None of us will receive such an order from God. In fact, Scripture absolutely forbids Christians from marrying unbelievers. But God can still give us directions from His Word that may clash with what we want for ourselves. If He does, He has a reason. Can we trust Him enough to obey Him? -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/WrsUHpUdJfY