The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.”
Hosea 1:1-9

I grew up listening to Bible stories in Sunday School, and thinking that apostles, prophets, and the like were plaster saints. And so were their families. So, I don’t remember as a child being taught much about Hosea and his wife.

For starters, the preacher Hosea had a wife named Gomer. And Gomer was a whore. (This is the Bible’s word, not mine.) And Hosea was told to love Gomer in spite of her whoredom. (I guess we could sugar-coat this with other English words, but why?) Gomer continued to be unfaithful to Hosea, even bearing children from her sins. But Hosea loved her anyway. If you haven’t read the story of this prophet recently, it is worth your time.

Thanks to Hosea, we can hear that, in the midst of our unfaithfulness (not following God’s word and law faithfully), God never stops loving us.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for Your love that never ends. As I revel in the love You have given me in Jesus, help me practice a deep and continuing love for others. Amen.