Scripture: Hosea 3:1-4:3
Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife
3 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.”
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3 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.”
4 For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. 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.
The Charge Against Israel
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites,
because the Lord has a charge to bring
against you who live in the land:
“There is no faithfulness, no love,
no acknowledgment of God in the land.
2 There is only cursing, lying and murder,
stealing and adultery;
they break all bounds,
and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
3 Because of this the land dries up,
and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea are swept away.
Observation:
Hosea is instructed to love his unfaithful wife to demonstrate how God loves the adulterous and unfaithful Israel. “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.’” (Hosea 3:1)
Application:
The nation of Israel was unfaithful to God, worshipping other gods who were not God. So too, we can be unfaithful to our God, allowing other things to crowd out our devotion to God. Yet, as the prophet Hosea demonstrated God’s unconditional love, we are reminded that God loves us even when we have not loveable. Therefore, we should be ever thankful to our God who wants us to be in a forever loving relationship with our God.
Prayer:
Lord, the truth is that we have all fallen short of your glory, yet you desire us to receive your forgiveness and grace. You desire us to grow into the grace that you have provided for us that we may also be extenders of your grace to a world that is not worthy of our grace. But, because you showed us your love and your grace, we also as forgiven and reconciled children of the Living Lord, should show love and grace to those who do not deserve it. Help us to live into your grace and love by using that grace to reach other souls to your care. Amen.