READING: Hosea 1-7
God loves prostitutes, and that’s a great truth since most of us — if not all of us — have been prostitutes.
I know that conclusion might sound strange, but the book of Hosea reminds us that even God’s people sometimes sleep in the beds of false gods. So often did God’s people fall into idolatry that Hosea recurrently uses the term “prostitution” to describe their sin. God had made a covenant with them, but they instead turned from Him. They consulted wooden idols, burned incense to pagan gods, and “exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful” (Hos 4:7). Even their leaders led the people deeper and deeper into rebellion. It’s no wonder God would send them into exile in judgment.
This book, however, is also a book of hope. Just as Hosea was commanded to marry a promiscuous woman to symbolize God’s commitment to His wayward people, God pointed to a day when all would be restored: “I will betroth you to me forever . . . I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord” (Hos 2:19-20). God’s love for His people echoes throughout this book, reminding us again that He is faithful to us when we aren’t always faithful to Him.
To be honest, I didn’t think much about my fickle love for God until I read these words in Hosea: “Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears” (Hos 6:4). The people of Judah and Israel “loved” God with a love that was as fleeting as the mist that evaporates as soon as the sun comes up. Sometimes my love for God seems that way, too. It's hot one moment and cold the next.
And, when my love for God decreases, it doesn’t just go away. Rather, it gets re-directed to someone or something else — and that’s prostitution.
But, I say it again, God loves prostitutes.
ACTION STEPS:
- Evaluate whether your love for God is a fleeting love. If so, confess your sin to God.
- Loving God means doing something. Because you love God today, show His love to someone else today.
PRAYER: “God, forgive me for being a prostitute some days. I praise You for Your undying love for me.”
TOMORROW¹S READING: Hosea 8-14