Hosea 3 Devotional

Love That Pays the Price

“Then the LORD said to me, “Go show 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 to offer raisin cakes to idols.””Hosea 3:1 (BSB)

Chapter 3 is short and costly. The LORD tells Hosea to love his wife again, though she has been unfaithful, and to love her the way the LORD loves Israel even while they turn to other gods (3:1). Hosea obeys by buying her back for silver and barley (3:2). The chapter does not dwell on her failure. It shows a husband paying to bring her home and promising faithfulness as she learns faithfulness (3:3).

This is how God loves. He does not wait for his people to come to their senses before he moves toward them. Israel will live a long time without king, sacrifice, or idol, but afterward they will return, seeking the LORD and David their king, and come trembling to his goodness (3:4-5). Peter says believers were redeemed not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). You were bought back at great cost, so you can come toward his goodness rather than away from it.

To think about: How does knowing that God paid to bring you back change the way you approach him after you have wandered?