“I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.” ~Hosea 2:19-20

“I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.” ~Hosea 2:19-20

Who is Hosea? Often we only know his name because we’ve memorized the books of the Old Testament. It certainly isn’t a book often picked for sermons or Sunday School lessons - the main story could lead difficult discussions. However, nothing shows the heart-tear of God for His people more than this.

Hosea was told by God to marry a prostitute named Gomer and have children. He fell in love, but she cheated on him and went back to the life of whoredom. God told Hosea to go and buy her back to be his wife again. Think of the shame! Everyone would have known about this, “How can you forgive her?” “Forget about her!” “She makes you look like a fool!”

Well, Hosea represents God and His people were Gomer. WE are Gomer. The “other men” were false idols, anything that takes first place in our lives, sin. The buyback price is Jesus. Wow. Read Hosea’s story again (Hosea 1-3) and really FEEL God’s anguish and love for us. But the best part is the restoration! As sure as the sun rising, is this reunion. Check out Hosea 6:6 - God says, “I want loyalty and love, not works. I want you to KNOW me”.

God loves us. He loves YOU. There isn’t anything that can separate us from that love. It goes beyond the physical world we see. It transcends the spiritual realm we cannot see. God loves us SO much that He gave Himself. When we believe that, we start living in eternity now. Our perspective shifts and we see new endless horizons. How great is our God!

Written by: Bonnie Chovanec, 2026