Devotions based on Week 1 of The Prophets: Hosea (WATCH HERE)
“The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.’” (Hosea 3:1 NIV)
It’s hard to love someone who doesn’t love you back. It’s hard to be faithful to someone who is unfaithful to you. Yet God called Hosea to be a living example of faithfulness to an unfaithful spouse.
Most prophets proclaimed God’s Word with their lips. Hosea, however, proclaimed it with his life. God called him to marry Gomer, a woman who would be unfaithful to him. Hosea’s marriage became a living reflection of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. Every betrayal, every heartbreak, every public humiliation Hosea endured was meant to mirror God’s grief over His people’s idolatry.
Most of us would resist the thought of marrying someone who will betray us. But Hosea obeyed, not because he relished the pain, but because God was showing the world what His love looks like: faithful, steadfast, pursuing even the unfaithful.
When Gomer left Hosea, it wasn’t just a broken marriage; it was a sermon acted out before Israel. Hosea’s heartbreak was God’s heartbreak. Israel had run after idols, made alliances with pagan nations, and traded covenant loyalty for fleeting pleasures.
And yet, Hosea’s story doesn’t end in despair. God commands Hosea to go again, to find his unfaithful wife, to buy her back, and to love her once more (Hosea 3:1–2). In doing so, Hosea lived out the relentless, redeeming love of God, a love that refuses to let go, even when betrayed.
Hosea’s love for Gomer points us to a bigger reality: God’s love for His people in Christ. Like Gomer, we chase after other loves such as money, approval, pleasure, or power. Spiritually, we commit adultery whenever we love something more than God.
Like Hosea, God comes after us, not to punish us, but to redeem us.
The Apostle Paul writes, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Jesus is the greater Hosea. He doesn’t just buy us back with silver and grain; He redeems us with His very blood.
Peter echoes Hosea’s message: “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10). What was true for Israel through Hosea is true for us through Christ.
We are challenged to live out the faithfulness of God. This past week has reminded us of how desperately our world needs the truth, the hope, the faithfulness of God. An innocent woman stabbed on a train, a voice of biblical truth and worldview assassinated, a remembrance of evil that struck America 24 years ago all scream to the broken unfaithfulness of the world around. Hosea’s life and message challenge us. He modeled God’s faithfulness. He kept proclaiming God’s truth in a culture that mocked it. He kept loving when it hurt. He kept obeying when it cost him. He kept his heart grounded in the love, mercy and faithfulness of our God. He modeled for us that to be God’s people means to reflect His covenant love:
- In marriage: honoring promises even when it’s hard.
- In friendships: showing up consistently, not only when convenient.
- In our walk with God: worshiping Him alone, resisting the idols that call for our hearts.
- In our world: Speaking the truth in love, without fear and without compromise.
Faithfulness isn’t easy. Hosea knew that firsthand. But he also knew the God whose faithfulness never fails. So do we.
Apply: Ask yourself: Where is God calling me to live out His faithfulness today? Is there a strained relationship that needs the first step of forgiveness? Is there a temptation pulling me away from God that I need to resist? Is God calling me to show steady love in a place where others would give up?
Prayer: Faithful God, thank You for your prophet Hosea, who lived out Your unrelenting love in the midst of heartbreak. Forgive us for the times we have been unfaithful to You. Thank You for pursuing us in Christ and making us Your people again. Help us reflect Your enduring faithfulness in our relationships, our commitments, and our daily life. Amen.