Even though God permitted divorce within the Mosaic law to accommodate the hard-heartedness of his people (Mark 10:5), God’s heart for marriage remained steadfast (Mark 10:8-9). His desire for oneness along with his people and oneness in marriage is revealed powerfully through the book of Hosea.
Hosea was a prophet tasked by God to relay a message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. God had made a covenant of affection with Israel, binding himself to them (Hosea 2:19–20). But time and time again, Israel strayed from God’s love and wanted idols (Hosea 4:12–13; 8:5–6, 11:1-2), which led to their utter depravity. God had every right to terminate the connection due to Israel’s unfaithfulness, but He loved his people an excessive amount of to allow them to go. Though God agonized over Israel’s sin—and the ensuing judgment for his or her sin—He remained faithful to His commitment of affection.
Besides giving Hosea poignant words to specific His judgment, grief, and commitment to wayward Israel, God called the prophet to change into a living example of his message. Obedient to the Lord’s instruction, Hosea married an unchaste woman named Gomer. Even though Gomer committed adultery repeatedly after they were married, Hosea demonstrated God’s unfailing love by continually pursuing, forgiving, and restoring Gomer to her place of their marriage and residential.
Hosea and Gomer’s story doesn’t suggest that Believers must remain married to adulterous spouses. Jesus himself provides a transparent exception for adultery when warning against divorce (Matthew 5:31-32). But the story does give hope to those that select the hard road of reconciliation by showing them that God can turn valleys of trouble into doors of hope (Hosea 2:14-15). More importantly, the story provides a glimpse on the astonishing depth of God’s love for us. “His love never ceases to pursue the wayward,” explains Robin Wilson and Christy Bottom of their book, Who is God Now? Hope in God after Betrayal.
The book of Hosea is considered one of many places within the Bible where God uses the image of marriage to display his relationship along with his people. The theme continues into the New Testament when Paul says: “For this reason a person will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the 2 will change into one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I’m talking about Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:30-32).
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