The message of Hosea – be reconciled
The prophet Hosea was called by God to live out his message to his people by marrying a woman who would be unfaithful to him, and so his marriage was a symbolic picture of the relationship between God and his people. Hosea was to proclaim Israel’s need for reconciliation to their faithful, loving God. The key verse is:
The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods...’ (Hosea 3: 1).
Hosea’s wife had been unfaithful and committed adultery with other men. God saw her behaviour as symbolic of the unfaithfulness of his people who were running after other gods, and being unfaithful to the covenant God had made with them. They promised to love him with all their hearts, and to have no other gods. But they had been disloyal by worshipping man-made idols. Yet God did not cast them aside, even though they had betrayed him. Although he was angry and offended by their unfaithfulness and waywardness, he invited his people to return and repent of their sin. The Lord said, ‘I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them’ (Hosea 14:4). Despite their unfaithfulness, God was merciful and offered them the hope of reconciliation.
In the same way as God acted towards faithless Israel, he directed Hosea to act towards his unfaithful wife, who was running after other men. Despite the fact that she was an adulteress, God did not tell Hosea to divorce his wife, but rather to love her again. It is clear that God wanted Hosea to restore the relationship; he wanted Hosea to be reconciled, even though his wife was an adulteress, and the law of Moses permitted him to divorce her.
There is no more explicit message in the Bible regarding God’s attitude to divorce. God hates it, and does not want a couple to divorce, even when adultery has been involved. Instead, he wants them to make every effort to be reconciled and save their marriage – yes, even to the extent of forgiving an unfaithful wife or husband. Although divorce is permitted for marital unfaithfulness, the Bible teaches that we should do all we can to achieve reconciliation. The unfaithful partner bears a terrible responsibility for they have sinned against God, against their marriage partner, against their children and against their family. They should repent of their foolish action, change their behaviour and ask for forgiveness from all concerned. Adultery is not the unforgivable sin, and God is able to restore the relationship if there is a true change of heart.
True reconciliation requires a change of behaviour on the part of the unfaithful partner, and that the one who has been sinned against should be willing to forgive and be reconciled. Although this may take a long time to achieve, and sometimes is not possible because of the unrepentant heart of the unfaithful partner, the faithful partner should aim at this rather than allowing their marriage to be broken by divorce. Even after divorce, the possibility of reconciliation should be left open, and, if at all possible, it should be sought actively and encouraged. God’s guidance for those who face the possibility of a divorce because of marital unfaithfulness is that they should do all in their power to save their marriage. They should be like Hosea and again show their love to their unfaithful partner, doing everything possible to achieve reconciliation. The example of Hosea illustrates God’s ideal in the case of a broken marriage.
6 Wenham and Heth write, ‘in the event of marital unfaithfulness we believe that Jesus would surely require the forgiveness of seventy times seven and the goal of restoration exhibited by Hos.7:1