The hardest taskmaster known to man, is God Himself. This is apparent and amply demonstrated in the Scriptures, regarding the task God gave to His only Son. Romans 8:32; He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
The law of Moses concerning prostitution can be found in Deuteronomy 23:17-18; No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute. 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute (Hebrew word used here is the same as: of a dog) into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both. Furthermore, in when a man or a woman commits adultery such as the case with Prophet Hosea’s wife, the punishment stipulated in Leviticus 20:10 is death, “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbour—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. This law of Moses concerning prostitutes (stoning to death) is demonstrated in John 8:1-11. John 8:5; In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”. However, the earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.
It is no wonder that modern day leaders and founders of religious groups, who are living or lived a life of luxury and ease are or were regarded with scepticism. Most especially those who claimed to have been called by God or those who have chosen ministry as a means of livelihood, due to poverty, unemployment or in order to amass wealth or fortune. Which is contrary to the future earthly prospect picture sketched by Jesus Christ. In Luke 9:23-25; Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Furthermore, in John 15:18-21; “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. Most, if not all the disciples and early Christians died a gruesome death. In contrast to modern day religious leaders and founders of new age religious groups living a life of luxury, some of them in possession of one or more private jets that require massive amount to maintain, moving around in motorcade and so on (Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, not in horse drawn carriage made of gold, silver or bronze, as appropriate for His era. Compare to the gold gilded carriage of the Queen of England, the head of the church of England).
When God chooses His servants, or when God has task(s) for you to perform, then you know you are in for a torrid time. You may even wish you had never been born; ask Job. Another example is the context of the Jewish society and culture in the time of Prophet Hosea. This was a society in which adulteress are put to death, not to talk of the shame, loss of face or ego, experienced by the husband of an adulteress, in a male dominated society and culture. So, for God to instruct Hosea to go and marry a prostitute or adulteress, that did actually during the relationship commit adultery, is tasking this prophet with serious loss of reputation and moral standing within the society. Not to talk of loss of integrity, in the sense of a so-called Prophet of God harbouring or permitting a sinner or criminal guilty of the death penalty, to continue to live with him, thereby making himself an accomplice to the crime or sin. Mind you, this was the same Prophet who prophesied that Jesus Christ would be called out of Egypt, and that Jesus Christ would conquer death (see Hosea 11:1, and Hosea 13:14), all which were fulfilled. Given the current circumstances of corona virus, that was not predicted by the modern day crop of self-styled prophets of God, a deeper study of the book of Hosea offers lessons to all of us, of the punishment that could and are meted out by God to His children when they prostitute themselves to idols (which could be ourselves, our own abilities, our children, wealth acquisition and so on, anything or person that we honour above God). Imagine the Taskmaster that did not spare His own Son, or and those He choose, what will He do or can do to the rest of us. Repent, be remorseful, change your ways and come back to God, the hardest taskmaster known to man.
