Week 2 September 2026 – REFLECTION ON BEING ALLURED

“I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.”        Hosea 2:14

Let’s face it, “allure” is not a normal word in today’s culture. The consummate fisherman uses his most trusted bait to “lure” the fish.  They are not being allured by a frying pan to go sizzle in it. To be fair, the dictionary weighs in with this, “Allure is generally a quality, charm, or mysterious power of attraction.”  That may still  make us want to tear out our hair, but it’s cosmetically more sensible to simply ask Hosea himself.  His voice has been silent since the 8th century, but thanks to Pentecost, God is happy to speak on his behalf  in our language.  The very same God ordered the prophet to marry Gomer, a woman of ill repute.  She bears him three children, but the Lord has Hosea name them and He puts the words in his mouth. The first son is born.  “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”  Next, a daughter is born and the Lord tells Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to the House of Israel that I should all forgive them.”  Gomer has one more son and this was the clincher, “Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”

We can’t possibly fathom how low Hosea, the father, must have felt when he looked at his children.  The “Lo” attached to the names meant NOT in the worst way.  Let’s assume you have a  beautiful daughter, but you must name her Lo-Bella.  This automatically declares the exact opposite.  She has no friends because no one wants to play with the UGLY ONE. To make matters worse for Hosea, Gomer, their mother, walks out on them all to ply her trade as a prostitute.  He’s not allowed to hire a nanny, but is forced to buy her back from her pimp. To top it all for the disturbed reader, the first section of the book contains three distinctive poems.  The gist of all 14 chapters is Israel’s seemingly incurable penchant for blatant spiritual adultery.  Verse 4 in the final chapter ends on this incredibly high note, “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely!”  To that end “I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.”HH

This calls for way more than an impressed “wow.”  How does the Book of Hosea relate to us today?  Our spiritual adultery may not be as drastic, but as “incurable” sinners nevertheless, how do we proceed?  How does God allure us?  We go to church and soak in all the good vibes.  That doesn’t cut it.  There is a cross high up front in our sanctuary.  Do we perceive it as an ornamental piece only?  There must come the day when it descends low enough to pierce our heart and lay bare our truth.  On that blessed day the Lord begins to allure us into His stubborn love.  Amazingly, that makes us into the lovers this fallen world secretly groans for and needs.