Fiery love

Every day we’re asking four questions about part of the Bible. Today Liz Nixon answers:

What did I like about today’s passage?

This is one of my most favourite books of the Bible. It’s a book about perfect love and deep passion, scandalous betrayal, and wounding unfaithfulness.

Hosea is called to be a sign to the people – he is to be the message before he can give the message to the people. He is told to marry an unfaithful woman, reflecting God’s covenantal relationship to an unfaithful people, Israel.

There are moments of passionate anger at the continual and repeated unfaithfulness, as well as beautifully passionate moments of reminiscing by God over their “courting” days and early “marriage”. Like most of the prophets, Hosea is called into a difficult way of life to show the people in a more human, real way that they have cheated on their God.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

We tend to think of being a child of God as something that is a New Testament idea, brought in by Jesus ‘the son of God, who became man to make men sons of God’. But we see this in verse 10 “they will be called ‘sons of the living God’ “. To see this written years before Jesus is an exciting reminder that God always wanted to make us into His children. That’s His plan and His good news!

Chapter 2 contains passionate verses showing how Israel had forgotten God and “chased after her lovers”, lovers that Israel believed had provided for her. But God in His deep, gracious love says He will lead Israel back into the wilderness, the place that they first met and made promises to each other (Exodus). He will give back to her what she has lost, and she will once more respond to God, “as in the day she came up out of Egypt”.

The exodus out of Egypt is considered a highlight of Jewish history, but it seems God also treasures that same time. And understandably so, He saved them from their enemy, brought them into freedom and He taught them to rely on Him.

God talks about “betrothing you (Israel) to me for ever, . . . betrothing in justice, righteousness, love, compassion and faithfulness”. And Israel will once more intimately know “yada” (see tomorrow for more on this word) God as her husband. There’s a poignancy to these verses – God remembering back to how things were in the beginning. But this is more than sentimentality over a teenage romance – God’s love for Israel is deeper, wider, and higher, and started long before Israel started to love Him back.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

I remember the early days of coming back to God in my twenties and I want to dwell on that: asking God for His view on that time and what He treasures about it.

Who am I going to share this with?

My husband Greg, as we had chapter 2 v 14 – 23 at our wedding.