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Day 3 Hosea 3 Hosea 3:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. For many people marriage is a piece of paper with little to no value. Divorce is high. There are also those who prefer to live together without, going from one relationship to another. God told Hosea to take his wife back. We aren’t told any details about when she went back to her lovers, but we are told he needed to buy her back, and the price he paid for her. Hosea’s marriage was a symbol to Israel of what their relationship was to God. God chose Israel to be his chosen people. He nurtured them, and raised them to love and fear him. However, Israel preferred to go after other gods, to worship them and seek the favor of those gods in the same way a harlot seeks out someone besides her husband, committing adultery before God. Yet, God always took Israel back, just as God told Hosea to take his wife back. God loves his chosen people, and did everything he could to show them his love, even promising consequences for their adultery to him. As Christians, you know God’s love for you. You know the promise he kept in sending his Son, Jesus, to be your Savior and bring you back to himself. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they fell out of favor with God, and he needed to send them away from him. People tried to find a way back to God, through any means possible, but God would only accept the sacrifice of his Son for you and me. When you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, you returned to the God who loves you so much, he would do anything to bring about reconciliation and restoration between you. God told Hosea to do the same. He told him to restore his wife and reconcile himself to her, despite the fact she played the adulteress. Sin matters to God. He hates it. However, he seeks restoration and reconciliation with his people, despite their sin, and he proved his love with the sacrifice of his Son, for the people he loves. Romans 5:8 But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Do you need to restore your relationship with God? Have you strayed from him, but don’t know the way back? The way back is easy, it’s a matter of reaching out and accepting God’s love for you, and you will be fully restored to your place in God’s love for you. Let’s pray: Father, your love for me is beyond my understanding. No matter what I’ve done, you still love me. Help me reach out to you when I stumble and fall, and find your hand and love waiting for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 17 February 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay