Hosea: Cuckold or Crusader?

Lord, did I hear you right? Do you have any idea what my family, my friends will say if I marry her?
​What have I done that you would punish me so?

“Go, marry a prostitute who has had children as a result of her prostitution. Do this because the people in this country have acted like prostitutes—they have been unfaithful to the Lord.”
Hosea 1:2 ERV

Lord, is there no end to this torment? As it is, I slink into the back of the Temple, hoping no one will see me. And you want me to do what? My children and I will never be received in our village again if I have to keep chasing after that woman.

“Go, and get your wife again and bring her back to you and love her, even though she loves adultery. For the Lord still loves Israel though she has turned to other gods and offered them choice gifts.”
​Hosea 3:1 TLB

Lord, are you paying attention? Don't you see the insanity going on down here? That woman you forced me to take is only a speck in the filth of sin that is overtaking your people. Do you care, Lord?

“When Israel was a child, I loved him as a son and brought him out of Egypt. 2 But the more I called to him, the more he rebelled, sacrificing to Baal and burning incense to idols. 3 I trained him from infancy, I taught him to walk, I held him in my arms. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who raised him..."
​Hosea 11: 1-3 TLB

Lord, I'm so tired. Where can I go for respite? There is no hope left in my breast.

8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man-- the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.
When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows,
 from Assyria, fluttering like doves.I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
Hosea 11: 8-11 NIV

*************************

Dear Reader, have you ever found your heart in shreds over a loved one stepping off the path of righteousness? Who hasn't, right?

God knows how you feel! Even as His heart breaks with yours, He still loves your loved one, probably more than you can imagine.

​'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Dear Reader!