Hosea's story is a verbal painting of the love of God. As is often the case, God lead the prophet to act out the message he wanted to deliver to Israel. This time, the message was love; not a sweet, syrupy, sentimental kind of love, but God's love, a love that changes lives.
Israel was a rebellious and spiritually adulterous nation, one that had left fidelity to the One True God and was chasing after the gods of the Canaanites. But God's grace was greater even than their infidelity. He told Hosea to illustrate that faithful love.
Hosea was sent out to marry a "promiscuous wife" (Hosea 1:2), a woman who had shamed herself with her immoral behavior. He was to take to himself a woman that most men would reject. Later, when she strayed again into her life of sin, God sent him to reclaim her and bring her back home.
Sin is never a minor thing, but God's love overcomes that. As he did with Israel, which sinned and failed repeatedly, God renews and restores us when we sin. He seeks and he saves. We are Gomer, the wayward wife, but the powerful blood of Christ cleanses every stain.
Father, I thank you that your blood washes away every stain, and that when I fail, you are there to restore me and renew me. You are a good God - better than this Gomer deserves.
No comments:
Post a Comment