The nation of Israel grieved God’s heart continually by chasing after other gods and withholding their devotion and adoration from Him.
The Lover of Your Soul | Reflection By Charles Stanley
Scripture Reading: Hosea 11:1–9
Key Verses: Lamentations 3:22–23
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
The nation of Israel grieved God’s heart continually by chasing after other gods and withholding their devotion and adoration from Him. To provide the errant nation with a living illustration of His righteous grief and anger, God gave the prophet Hosea an unusual command.
He told him to wed a harlot and begin a family with her. Without questioning, Hosea obeyed and took the prostitute Gomer to be his wife.
Though she wandered and continued in an unfaithful lifestyle, Hosea obeyed the Lord and did not cast her away. The book of Hosea contains God’s words to the people of Israel as revealed through Hosea’s dramatic example of steadfast love.
The moving poetry of this book also reveals the longing of God for uninterrupted intimacy with His people. Can you feel the agony of separation in these words?
How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel? . . .
My heart churns within Me, My sympathy is stirred.
I will not execute the fierceness of My anger. (Hos. 11:8–9)
God longs for the same intimate relationship with you. He would do anything to get your love—and He did. In the most radical display of all time, He provided His Son, Jesus Christ, as the means to make such fellowship possible. God is the passionate and faithful Lover of your soul.
Dear God, thank You for displaying Your love by giving Your Son, Jesus Christ, to restore my fellowship with You.