I am a Jesus pusher!!! God used the Old Testament prophets to accuse Israel of being a harlot. The prophecy of Hosea is based on this imagery. God selected Hosea. Over several years God trained Hosea in the school of practical ministry. Hosea married a prostitute, they began a family, and she led Hosea through years of heartache involving betrayal and unfaithfulness. Hosea experienced through his sexual union the same unfaithfulness that God was having with Israel. This experience enabled Hosea to stand before Israel and tearfully speak the words of God. “My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they have played the harlot against their God” (Hosea 4:12). This language is repeated often throughout the Old Testament.
John wrote, “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife'” (Revelation 21:9). Jesus used this imagery in parables (Matthew 22:1-14; 25:1-13). He did not give physical illustrations to express spiritual realities but to show the connection between the sexuality of husband and wife and the spiritual realm of oneness with Jesus. It is a mystery. The extreme intimacy experienced between husband and wife in the pillow talk at night is mere imagery of my intimacy with Jesus in a moment-by-moment lifestyle. He wants to merge with me beyond what can be described by my experience. I am a Jesus pusher!!!