Hosea 3:2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.

The story of Hosea and Gomer is a heart-wrenching one, but it expresses a very important spiritual truth. We belong to God by reason of creation, but we have given our love and allegiance to a wide variety of other things, effectively becoming their slaves. Jesus said explicitly, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34) Gomer had gone after sensual pleasure, and had literally become a slave in the process. We see that today in girls who go into pornography, both for the money and for the sensual thrill of it, only to discover that they have ruined all their hopes for eventual happiness in life, because what man is going to want such “damaged goods” for a wife? However, God had prepared Hosea for Gomer, and he literally purchased his wife back from the mess she had gotten herself into. The rest of the book explains that this is what God has done for His people, even though Hosea didn’t know that the ultimate purchase price would be the Son of God Himself. Paul put it this way: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) God paid much more for us than Hosea did for Gomer! We need to live as those who belong to Him.

I have always been moved by the story of Hosea and Gomer, and have been more than grateful that God didn’t call me to act as Hosea did. Next month will mark 55 years of our marriage, and my wife has never given me the slightest reason to doubt her complete faithfulness. Conversely, the devil has tempted me with mental games, but I am deeply grateful that I have never acted on such. However, I need to recognize that I have not been totally faithful to God. I have let other things take priority more times than I could count. I have been adept at excusing myself, but that is a sham and an illusion. Repentance means owning up to what I have done and then stopping doing it. However, I have experienced that God’s forgiveness is real and effective, freeing and cleansing me from whatever I have stepped in. As a pastor, I have the privilege of sharing with others that such forgiveness is available to them as well, and that by God’s grace we can grow into the faithfulness that He desires.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You indeed for Your overflowing grace toward me. May I be an effective channel of that grace to others, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!