Thread by @glprater

#GeraldsDevotional
The Faithful Husband

In yesterday’s devotional message, we went through a high-level overview of the book of Hosea. In the first chapter, the LORD uses the life of Hosea and his family to illustrate a graphic picture of Israel and her unfaithfulness to God. But as I mentioned, it is a picture of the

entire history of the nation, including the way the Lord eventually redeems and restores His unfaithful wife.

Today we will see a glance of that restoration in our scriptures from the second half of Hosea chapter 2. Here, the LORD speaks through His prophet describing how He

will eventually get her attention and she will choose to come back to Him. She will come to her senses and give up her wayward ways. She will come to realize the true blessing that she has always had in her husband and will forsake the things that she had been doing.

What we will read in today’s scripture is an Old Testament image of what John describes in the book of Revelation when the LORD finally gets the attention of His bride and brings her home to be with Him. I often describe to others that what we see in the book Revelation is the

last chapter of the book of the ultimate love story. From Genesis to Revelation, the bible shows just how loving and longsuffering God is with His people. We will see later in this book of Hosea (just as it is in Revelation) that not all of God’s people will eventually choose to

come back to Him. But again, out of His deep love for them, He allows them to choose where they want to go and what they want to do.

Now, let’s see this picture of how God restores His bride from a life of prostitution as described in the book of Hosea chapter 2:

The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel
14 “But then I will win her back once again.
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her there.
15 I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,

as she did long ago when she was young,
when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.
16 When that day comes,” says the Lord,
“you will call me ‘my husband’
instead of ‘my master.’
17 O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,
and you will never mention them

again.
18 On that day I will make a covenant
with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky
and the animals that scurry along the ground
so they will not harm you.
I will remove all weapons of war from the land,
all swords and bows,
so you can live unafraid

in peace and safety.
19 I will make you my wife forever,
showing you righteousness and justice,
unfailing love and compassion.
20 I will be faithful to you and make you mine,
and you will finally know me as the Lord. - Hosea 2:14-20

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