"Awake, O north wind,And come, O south!Blow upon my garden,That it's spices my flow out."- Song of Solomon 4:16
This is a new Feature at Colorimetry, specifically to share the odd & unusual thoughts I get reading the Bible every week. Most of my story ideas come from the Bible and they are anything but "normal" - but that could be because of me. *ahem* To clarify... the thoughts I'm sharing don't come from church or preaching, but I'm not trying to communicate anything negative about church or preaching.
Why Hosea? Why, indeed!
Cool, Man & I thought it would be fun to read Daniel. My Nook copy has reference links & while trying to turn a page, I ended up in Hosea. We had this weird conversation about whether or not Hosea existed and how to pronounce it... and started reading.
Spicy Thoughts
God tells this prophet (uh... Hosea) to marry a harlot... and then names their kids after the destruction he's sending to Israel & Judah. *____* I have all kinds of jumbled thoughts about this.
1) Who is going to apply for Hosea's job after him? Ugh!
2) Who is this Gomer-the-harlot? Is she nice? Is she happy to have a home and family? (And this prophet-guy for a husband?!) Is she getting dirty looks at the watering hole? Is she sneaking out at night to visit former acquaintances? Who is she?! We don't get that scoop.
3) Seriously, WHO wants these names for their kids: "No Mercy" & "Not My People." Ouch. When we named Cam, we went out of our way to find something that didn't mean "crooked nose" - 'cause who wants to wish a broken nose on their kid, you know? I can just imagine No Mercy trying to make friends at school. It'd be perfect, I suppose, if she was a bully, but... who wants their daughter to grow up to be a bully?!
Which leads me back to #1 - Hosea had it rough being a "prophet of God". You would THINK that is a cool job. It's not as if he had to question whether God was real or not, God was talking to him all the time. That's a perk, I think.
Here are some more perks. Buried in Hosea are some of the most beautiful phrases, some of these I've heard quoted before, but some are like a splash of ice water, shockingly beautiful:
"I will hedge up your way with thorns." 2:8
"I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness and speak comfort to her heart. I will give her vineyards and a door of hope; She shall sing there." 2:14,15
"I will betroth you to Me forever,
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD. 2:19,20
"I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; (No Mercy)I will say to those who were not My people,
"You are My people!"
And they shall say, "You are my God!"" 2:23
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." 4:6
"The wind has wrapped her up in its wings". 4:19Achingly beautiful.
Pictures spring to mind, like faerytales... paths covered in thorns that grow thicker as you try to break through... wandering in a daze into the wilderness, awaking lost to find gifts and a portal to hope... unexpected romance... passionate promises... the beauty & depth of MERCY... heartbroken anger... and the wind, the wind has wings!
Which of these phrases do you like best?
The last one jumped out at me the loudest. I love it. What would it be like to be wrapped up in the wings of the wind? It makes me want to write a story!
