THE GREAT SEDUCER

Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wilderness
and speak tenderly to her.

Hosea 2:14 (read 2:14-20) - NIV

Hosea wanted a woman who loved him, and he was instructed to marry a temple priestess, Gomar, who bore him two sons and a daughter. From the way he told the story he got only “leftovers”. The names given to children born of the union indicated that Hosea suspected that he was not their father. The marriage was dissolved, and Hosea eventually returned to the temple to buy a wife (was it Gomar again?). He invested heavily to make the woman happy and have a successful marriage. We are left in suspense and don’t know if the story had a happy ending or not.

The Prophet likened his own marital relationship with that of the relationship between God and the people of Israel. The people were always running off after other gods and putting aside the One True God.

Hosea reversed the order of popular religious belief. The people thought that they needed to do everything to please the gods and gain their favor. They were fearful of displeasing some deity, so they tried to please them all. But the prophet Hosea said that the opposite is true: it is the Lord who is doing everything to win the affections of mankind that he created. He is like the suitor who does everything to win over his beloved.

The world into which we have been born is a perfect expression of the balance of nature for sustaining life. Modern science shows that the combination of astronomical conditions, the distance between the Sun and the Earth and their relative sizes are perfect for sustaining life on this planet. A slight modification of these coordinates would be disastrous for our ecological system. The earth naturally has plenty of clean water, clean air, a perfect average temperature and rich biodiversity. It is a perfect example of Divine Seduction, and all we have to do is preserve and enjoy it.

But we human beings are the only creatures in all of the Earth that attack the creation which supports us. Besides assaulting each other we violate our environment which is our only home.

A spirituality which is worthy of praise is that which is a response to the love of Divine Seduction. This response should be expressed by love toward each other and all of creation. Hosea speaks of harmony with the wild animals, birds, reptiles and people. He speaks of the destruction of weapons of war and the elimination of armed conflict. A spirituality which creates barriers, promotes divisions, which discriminates against others, which does not forgive and which even kills in God's name is worthless and should be avoided. Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the earth and the peacemakers will be called "sons of God".

The essence of a healthy spirituality is a loving relationship with the GREAT SEDUCER, a honeymoon between creator and all creatures. It is a relationship that surpasses all legalism and is spontaneous and constant.

Our dedication to the Beloved should lead us to act like people in love. Love finds pleasure in being in the presence of the Beloved and loves everything he or she loves. It looks out for his or her interests. In this case our Lover loves all creation with all its creatures and wants justice and peace for all. Our response to the song of nature would be to correspond by returning our love to everything around us. It cannot be restricted to temples and religious meetings but should reach out to the whole planet which hosts us. The passion for life is our best response to the GREAT SEDUCER.

HOSEA 2:14-20 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

“Therefore I am now going to allure her;

    I will lead her into the wilderness

    and speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards,

    and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she will respond as in the days of her youth,

    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

    “you will call me ‘my husband’;

    you will no longer call me ‘my master.’

I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;

    no longer will their names be invoked.

In that day I will make a covenant for them

    with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky

    and the creatures that move along the ground.

Bow and sword and battle

    I will abolish from the land,

    so that all may lie down in safety.

I will betroth you to me forever;

    I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

    in love and compassion.

I will betroth you in faithfulness,

    and you will acknowledge the Lord.