Hosea 3; 14:1-4 NKJV
Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”
So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. And I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.
O Israel, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity. Receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria shall not save us. We will not ride on horses, nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy.” “I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him.
These passages reveal how strong God’s love is. He told Hosea to take a wife that was involved in prostitution and adultery. It must have been a very challenging assignment. It is generally more difficult for a man to deal with a wayward wife than the other way around. This assignment was designed to be a sign to Israel to show them how God felt about them. They had deserted Him - their true love, for other pagan gods. Yet He had not given up on them. Hosea had to pay for the woman and then ask her to stay with him and be faithful. God sent Jesus to buy our freedom when we were sinners. He did not come after us because we were lovely. We were serving the wrong god and not concerned about it when God reached out to us and was willing to buy our freedom and invite us to come and stay with Him and be faithful. Hosea 14:1-4 talks about how God waited for Israel to repent of their backsliding and He was ready to turn away His anger and love on them without hesitation. Can we appreciate the love of God for us? In 1 John 3:1, John asked us to notice the kind of love God gave to us that caused us to be called God’s children. Who would go after wicked children and adopt them as part of their family? The love of God is so marvelous. Even when we strayed away from Him and were disobedient He forgave us and drew us back to Himself. God looks at us and sees beyond what we are. He sees what we can be if we are under His care and supervision. At some point we should understand the love of God enough to make the decision to be faithful to Him only, and give our total selves to Him. If we can get a revelation of His love, it would be hard not to give Him everything and stick with Him forever.