Hosea 2 & 3:

• God’s language of love in the context of betrayal is heartbreaking! God does not merely want obedience! He wants to be wanted! He wants to be loved! (NOTE: I did not say that He “needs…”) We are His bride, but we pursue others. (2:2&5) Not only this, but we credit other “gods” with gifts that He gave us! (2:8-13)
• What are those gods today? It’s our sense of security. (“I built this fortress!”) It’s our education. (“I planned this success.”) It’s our finances. (“I own my kingdom.”) It’s US! This will not go well for us when we meet the true source of all these things! (2:8)
• Still, even in our rebellion, the LORD loves His Bride. So much so, that He purchases Her (3:2), though He already had legal (covenant) rights to Her. Hosea is playing out this living metaphor via his own marriage. How heartbreaking must this have been for Hosea! How much more heartbreaking must this have been for Hosea when he realized that this is how the LORD felt about him (and his people, Israel)? This is how much he hurt God…this is how much he was loved!

LORD, I can barely comprehend why You would love me with such an everlasting love. Why You would allow Yourself to be hurt by me, then to pursue me anyway, at great cost to Yourself; this is beyond me! I can only respond with “Thank you!”