10.12.2025 | Hosea, Prophet to Israel
Hosea
Hosea was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel for at least forty years. God sent Hosea to tell Israel of God’s hatred toward sin and of His coming judgment. God also sent Hosea to bring a message of love—a love that never gives up.
To get the message across to the Israelites, God used Hosea’s own life to show Israel what a never-gives-up kind of love looks like. The entire book of Hosea beautifully mirrors the love Hosea showed to his unfaithful wife to the way that God loved the unfaithful Israelites.
Hosea obeyed God’s instructions to marry a woman named Gomer. Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea and ran away from him. Hosea loved Gomer as his wife, even though she wasn’t faithful. When she ran away, Hosea brought her back and even paid what she owed others.
It would have been easier for Hosea to end his marriage covenant—to throw up his hands and say, “Enough! I’m done with you!” And it would have been easier for God to end His covenant with the Israelites when they were unfaithful to Him.
But God’s love never gives up. We see His beautiful love in Hosea 11. God gave Hosea a love for his wife that compelled him to pay her debts and bring her back home. In a similar way, God sought after His unfaithful people even after all they had done. God paid a high price—the life of His Son, Jesus—to bring them back to Himself.
Israel was not faithful to God, but God was faithful to Israel, just as Hosea loved his wife even when she didn’t love him. God is faithful to save all sinners who repent and trust in Jesus.
