Your Heart

“Go, take to yourself a wife inclined to infidelity and have children of infidelity; for the land commits flagrant infidelity, abandoning the LORD.” – Hosea 1:2 NASB

God asked Hosea to take a wife whom he knew to be a harlot. In that culture, this was perhaps the ultimate disgrace. Prostitution also was a symbol of people who were not committed to God and who worshiped idols and false gods (Exodus 34:14-16). God had warned His people not to “fall into prostitution” (Leviticus 19:29). Infidelity resulted in harsh penalties (Deuteronomy 22:13-24).

By asking Hosea to marry a harlot, God was asking him to do something he never would have considered. Why would God tell him to take “a wife inclined to infidelity”?

Hosea was asked to be a symbol, representing all God’s people had done to Him. Through his example, God would reveal His mercy, grace, and compassion despite their sins. He was also calling them to holiness, to remember His standards, and to repent from sins.

No longer to go after Israel’s lovers, the people were to return to God and recognize God had blessed them and loved them (Hosea 2:1-8).

Today many are like the people of Hosea’s time. They pursue the wrong goals. They’re in love with the wrong things. They are deceived by the world. Like them, God offers us choices as individuals and nations.

Search your heart and mind to see if you have become spiritually unfaithful. Remember that Jesus loves you so much that He died just for you. Renew your love for Him.

Reflection Question: Are you more in love with things of the world than with things of eternity?