Simply teaching the Bible, simply

In our verse-by-verse journey through Hosea we have seen God’s call to Hosea to take a wife of whoredoms and love her despite her unfaithfulness. This was to be a sign to the Nation of Israel of God’s love for His people even though they had gone whoring after foreign gods – that were not gods at all! When Gomer, Hosea’s wife, had reached the lowest point, sold into slavery, stripped naked and put up for auction, Hosea came and purchased her, clothed her, took her home, treated her with love and affection, and promised to provide for her. This is what God has done for each of us. We had been unfaithful (loving the things of this world – the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh & the pride of life) and, as a result, lost everything. We were sold into the slavery of sin. Yet it was while we were still sinners that Christ came and died for us (Romans 5:8), paying the full price to secure our freedom, clothe us with His righteousness and promise to provide for us! However, Hosea also records that God is a God of justice, and Israel’s sin (murder, immorality, injustice, idolatry) if not repented of, would be met with His swift judgment. But even in His judgment God’s mercy is seen; for by letting Israel be overcome by the Assyrians, being taken away from their land, and taken away from her idols, Israel would inevitably come to her senses, and, just as with the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), realise all she had given up and lost in pursuit of her sin. In chapters 11-13 Israel are reminded that God had rescued them from Egypt – synonymous with the bondage and slavery of sin – and had placed them in a fruitful land. Yet they had crossed a line, judgment was now inevitable. God’s assessment of the Nation is summed up in Hosea 13:9-10 “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee[?]“.