Most Gracious Lord, through the institution of marriage, You show me in the Book of Hosea Your unending love for sinful people. A wedding is a joyful celebration of love. It is a beautiful commitment of two lives that become one through a lifetime spent together. Marriage was ordained by You AND it illustrates Your relationship with Your people (You’re referenced as “the bridegroom” of the church). There is perhaps no greater human tragedy than the dissolution of a marriage. In the Book of Hosea, You instruct him to find a wife. Although she bears him children, in the end, she leaves him and commits adultery with other men. As the story unfolds, You instruct him to take her back and show her love. The story illustrates Your love for Your people. Your love is steadfast and Your commitment to me is unbroken. When I sin, I am being unfaithful and spurning Your love in favor of something else.
After Hosea’s wife’s transgressions against him, he obeys You and goes about seeking her and takes her back fully reconciled. This is a picture of Your love where forgiveness, mercy, and grace exist in a lasting way. This story reminds me of Your constant and persistent love for me even though I may fail to live up to my commitment to You. I am touched by Hosea’s submission to You disregarding his personal feelings of dejection and shame. I know that You must have grieved with Him but knew the lesson had to be illustrated for me and future generations. It is a good thing for me to renew my commitment to You each day as a sign of my faithfulness and love for You. My vows are important and I must do everything in my power to honor them. Another important lesson for me to take from this Book is, if I am a true follower of Yours, I must love others as You love me.
Just as Hosea’s wife lost interest in him, I too can lose my appreciation for our special relationship as I get embroiled in daily life or pursue aspirations and goals that do not include You. When I compromise my Christian life and adopt the ways of the world, I am being unfaithful to the vow I made to You. If I do such a thing, the yearning of Your heart is that I will return to worshiping You alone. Proclaiming ignorance will not suffice for my unfaithfulness. What You want is for me is to learn more about You and serve You willingly. The temptations of the world can be seductive, but the threat of them should drive me into an even deeper relationship with You. Disaster follows ingratitude and rebellion toward You. Instead of running from You, I must run to You as my one true refuge. I must not let prosperity diminish my love for You or success to blind me to my need for You. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Hosea 3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go show your love for you wife again, though she has loved another and been an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods.”