In case you’re not familiar with the book of Hosea, the first two chapters has the account of God speaking to His prophet, Hosea, instructing him to go and marry a “wife of harlotries”!  Hosea 1:2 – When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, “Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the LORD.” Can you imagine? “Find a prostitute, and marry her!” Of course, as with everything God does and all that He tells us, there was purpose in this strange directive. God wanted Hosea marry a harlot in order to show the people of Israel that although spiritually speaking He was their husband, they were acting like adulterers towards Him. The Israelites were continually walking away from His love, protection and provision, and going after other gods. 

So Hosea did what the Lord told him. (Such humility!) He married Gomer (pronounced “Go-MARE”). Over time, Gomer gave birth to 3 children, but Hosea couldn’t even know for sure that they were his, given his wife’s promiscuity. Remember, God had said she would “bear illegitimate children…”. God used the situation to rebuke the people of Israel, addressing their spiritual adultery with words of contempt and judgement. Amazingly, He intermingled those harsh words with declarations of His love. God, though rejected, yet yearned for their affection, and pledged to bring them once again into His tender care.

Now 3 children and 2 chapters into this story, I found the beginning of chapter 3 at once heartbreaking and amazing:  Hosea 3:1 – The LORD said to me, “Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the LORD loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” You know what this means, don’t you? Gomer had gone off and left him! Hosea had a prodigal wife! Why would she leave? Did he a make a great prophet but a lousy husband? I think not. Since God was using Hosea and Gomer as a living object lesson to demonstrate His faithful love for his anything-but-faithful people, I have to believe that Hosea actually had been a loving husband toward Gomer. But somehow, she had no more regard for him. She spurned his love and now had someone else. Her new arrangement was satisfying enough that she wasn’t in the least inclined to return home and beg for Hosea’s forgiveness. In fact, God had said that Gomer loved her new man. And now God told Hosea to go and show her love…again!

“Mixed feelings” surely couldn’t begin to describe the hot stew of emotions simmering in Hosea’s heart: brokenness, hurt, grief, anger, rejection, loneliness, love, humiliation. (When you read through the book of Hosea, you hear these emotions expressed through God’s words to His fickle people.) 

As I came to this astounding part of the story—God telling Hosea to go again and show love to his adulterous wife—immediately Hosea’s troubles flew out of my mind as I sensed the overwhelming tenderness of God’s heart for us. All of us. Both the loyal and those with wandering hearts. For each and every one of His dear children, our Heavenly Father’s heart is to love! He wants to demonstrate His love! Lavish His love! Comfort with His love! No matter the sin that our rebellious hearts thrust us towards, God’s response is, “Come! Let me love you!” But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8 NKJV

Jesus, truly You are the lover of my soul. I will never fully comprehend Your love for me. The security that Your love offers me compels me to always remain Your faithful follower. Yet if I ever do wander, I know Your unquenchable love for me will never be anything but near. Such a wonderful, humbling truth! Thank You.