Hosea 3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”
Love is not always easy. In the early days of a relationship, sure, but time and habit can make the most endearing quirks become nails-on-chalkboard annoyance. That can be hard enough, but today’s chapter takes it to another level entirely.
Hosea 3:2-3 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
Gomer is still actively involved with others. She is actively betraying her marriage vows. But God’s purpose here is for Hosea and Gomer to be a living example of God’s unfathomable love for us, of His desire for relationship with us and our ultimate redemption in Him. This lesson goes far beyond adultery into any form of betrayal.
Hosea 3:4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. What You are asking of us is incredibly difficult—to restore relationship that has been intentionally violated, to forgive and welcome back those who have betrayed our trust, those who are still actively betraying us. We encounter these relationships daily in a variety of ways. Give us the strength, the humility, the wisdom to love and forgive others in the same unfathomable way You love and forgive us. Amen.
Hosea 3:5 Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.
Have a blessed day.