Open-minded - #AtoZChallenge

Hosea's brother stood gaping at the woman standing with Hosea on the doorstep. He was blocking the way in, not saying a word, just staring. "Um, Jessup?" Hosea started.

Jessup's eyes never left Gomer. "Hosea -?" he drawled, dumbfounded. Hosea took a deep breath and put an arm around her. He asked acidly, "Aren't you going to invite us in, little brother?"

Finally dragging his eyes away from the gorgeous Gomer, Jessup began, "Who... I mean what is-" Obviously he recognized her. Hosea sighed. He should have expected as much. He pushed past his brother, arm firmly around Gomer's waist, tugging her along with him. "Yeah, thanks, bro," he said as he passed. Was it his imagination, or did Gomer give a smile and a wink to Jessup?

Inside the house, his mother's greeting was warmer. "Well, hi there! I didn't know you'd be joining us!" She kissed him on the cheek, then observed his companion. "And what a lovely - lady friend," a questioning tone, "you've brought along with you." She touched Gomer's exposed arm briefly before saying, "I'll just set an extra couple of places at the table."

He relaxed a little. At least his mother didn't seem to have a biased opinion of her. 

When his father arrived and sat at the head of the table, everyone followed suit. As the dishes passed, before anyone's plate had filled, Hosea spoke up. "I have an announcement to make." Everyone turned to him and he tensed. This wouldn't go well. "I, that is - we -" he held Gomer's hand above the table. " - are going to be married."

"What?!" exclaimed Jessup in horror. Their father's jaw dropped open and his eyebrows clenched together. Only his mother responded with more typical puzzlement. "This is a bit sudden." She turned to Gomer with an apologetic look, barely masking her suspicious glance down to the woman's abdomen. With a smile she told her, "We barely know you, dear."

Jessup blushed scarlet but said nothing. Hosea was about to explain but couldn't get a word out before his father exploded the silence. "The hell we don't! You may not know her, dear, but I recognize this woman as one of the -" Would he say it? He struggled for a moment, finally saying, "Gomer here is one of the 'loose women' who hang around the temple during the week." He turned accusing eyes on her. "Aren't you?" 

Hosea loved her even more for the way she took the accusation. It wasn't untrue. She raised her chin and looked his father in the eye, a soft smile on her face. For a fleeting moment, Hosea wondered if his father had ever been with her. He assumed his brother had, based on his reaction to her. "Stop," he told his dad, halting the words that were about to come from his mother. "You won't believe me, but -" he took a deep breath. "This marriage is ordained by God." He was not surprised by the uproar that statement caused. His father flung up his hands with a grunt of disgust; Jessup actually laughed out loud, and his mother covered her mouth for a moment before getting up and beginning clear the untouched dishes. "If you could just be open to hearing what I was told by the Lord!"

"Oh, stop it now!" His father said. "The Lord is speaking to you? Speaking? To you? You must take us for fools." The argument raged on. Dinner was forgotten. Gomer sat silently listening to everything. She had expected this. His high hopes that his family would be open to trust his words had not convinced her for a minute. In this world, in this climate, his claim of divine intervention would not fly. She knew. It was how it must be.

Reference: In the book of  Hosea, chapter 1, verses 1 and 2, the prophet Hosea is told by God to take "an adulterous wife" or "a wife of whoredom" or "a wife of prostitution" depending on which translation you choose. Everything that happens in the following chapters is intended as an example of how the Israelites "prostituted themselves" by worshipping other gods. Hosea had several children with Gomer, some from him, some with unknown fathers. Can you imagine? I'd like to point out here that, although sexual immorality is decried throughout the Bible, there are several examples of God using prostitutes to further his plan. So, maybe we should be a little less judgy and more loving to EVERYone?