Can you imagine how Hosea must have felt when God told him to marry a prostitute? God gave him the assignment to marry a prostitute in order to show that the people of Israel had turned away from God and committed spiritual adultery. The people had fallen away and begun worshiping other gods, like a prostitute who offers herself to other men. What an assignment Hosea had.
In leadership there are always situations that call for sacrifice. Whoever wants to rise must be willing to give something up. It means giving up personal options in order to show other people where they should go. Hosea modeled the Law of Sacrifice in his own life on several occasions:
- He was asked to marry a prostitute.
- He was asked to lead during a time of rebellion.
- He was given a very unpopular message to deliver.
- He was asked to raise children who were not his own.
- He was determined to keep his composure even under harsh demands.
- He was tasked with living consistently by faith, even as the situation kept changing.
Leaders lose the right to be selfish. They must take other people's lives into consideration when making decisions. They must say what people need to hear, not what they want to hear. They must lead people where they should go, not where they want to go. Could that be a reason there are so few good leaders?
Hosea 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.