THE FATHER'S HEART TOWARDS YOU!

Hosea 1:
Final thought.

Have you ever wondered what the Father’s heart is towards you? Maybe you grew up with an absent father, or perhaps you did not have a good relationship with your father growing up. And because of this, you question God’s heart towards you. If you can relate to this, then this word is for you.

First things first, God loves you with an everlasting love. His love is not only unconditional but it cannot be measured. And before we look at scriptures that will help solidify that, let us first look at the book of Hosea. Just to give a brief overview, the book of Hosea depicts God’s love for you and me. In this book, God instructs Hosea to go marry a prostitute as a depiction of how God chose us despite our sins and mistakes. Let us look at the book of Hosea in detail.

Hosea 1:

Hosea’s Wife and Children

²When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” ³So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”

⁶Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), for I will no longer show love to Israel, that I should at all forgive them. ⁷Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.”

⁸After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. ⁹Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

¹⁰“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ ¹¹The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

This chapter gives us a glimpse of God’s heart for mankind. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute and have children with her. Then later on God tells Hosea to fall in love with an unfaithful woman who had a lover and buy her back from her lover. We can agree that this is too much. I mean, Hosea could have easily gotten a woman who was faithful and who was doing everything by the book. But God had other plans for him.

The reason behind this was God wanted to show the Israelites His love for them despite their shortcomings. He wanted them to know that He still loved them and would never tire of running after them. God asked Hosea to buy back an unfaithful woman and make her his wife. It was a foreshadowing of the coming of Christ and how His death and resurrection would buy us back from the shackles of sin and death. God knew the consequences of our sins, which is why He sent Jesus. Jesus came to earth to redeem us and give us a way out.

How does this passage help you understand the Father’s heart towards you?

God’s love is unconditional

Gomer represents you and me. At times, the world puts labels that try to limit us and show us how we can never amount to anything because of our past mistakes. Gomer would likely not have had someone want to marry her because of her lifestyle, and maybe her decision to continue with that lifestyle was because she did not think she was deserving of anything good. She might have assumed that she would never have someone claim her because of her past.

However, Hosea still pursued her. God is the same way with you and me. He will pursue you despite your mistakes. His love for you is not based on your actions. Rather, His love is because He is your creator. He sees you as His masterpiece, and that is why He can never stop loving you. Look at it this way: If God’s love was conditional, would He have sent Jesus to die for our sins? Instead, He sent His Only Begotten Son to pay the price for you and my redemption. This is the father’s heart towards you.

You are never too far gone for redemption.

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

3 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”

⁴For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. ⁵Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.

Even after Gomer had run away, God still asked Hosea to pursue her. This is exactly how God is with you and me. He will never tire of pursuing us. Instead, He will chase after us because of His love for us. This goes to show that the Father’s heart towards you is that of resilience. He is persistent even when you reject Him. He still wants to win you over. And this is simply because He has pure intentions towards you.

Are there times you feel you have gone so far that God could never redeem you? Have you allowed other people’s limits and labels to define you? Have you allowed other people’s labels to define you? God has more for you and wants to give you a new identity. He knows all your past sins and mistakes and wants to give you a new clean slate.

You are not your mistakes, and what society has labeled you. Do not allow your past to determine your future. You can always start afresh and you can make that decision, even now. Jesus is waiting and is calling you. Jesus knows your potential, after all He created you. He is not trying to get you to a path and leave you alone to figure it out. He promises you He will be with you.

There is the bread which represents the revelation of who He is to you. God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute. God wanted to show us how personal He is. Yes, Jesus came for the whole of mankind but He also had your name in mind at the cross. That is why He wants to meet you where you are.

Scriptures that talk about the Father’s heart towards you.

John 3:16

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

John 15:13

No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 8:39

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Final thought.

Hosea, being asked to buy back an unfaithful woman, was for God to show us that even when we run away and hide from Him, He will still pursue us. He will not leave us in our sins. No! He will run after us until He gets us into His safe embrace where we will be secure. The father’s heart towards you is pure and full of good intentions. But yet again He needs your and my yes. Both Gomer and the unfaithful woman had to be willing to gain their new identities. Although Hosea presented them a choice, they could have said no. Have you given Jesus your yes?

I hope this short post has helped you understand the father’s heart towards you today. And my prayer is that you will use this knowledge when the enemy tries to put doubt in your mind to counteract him. Always remember that you are God’s most prized possession and He will never stop loving you. You are His and if you have received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour you have been translated into His kingdom. This means that you have a home and are a part of a family that loves you.

Are you hurting and broken within, overwhelmed by the weight of your sin? Have you come to the end of yourself? Do you thirst for a drink from the well? Leave behind your mistakes and your weight. Come today, there’s no reason to wait. Jesus is calling!
O come to the altar, the Father’s arms are open wide, forgiveness was bought with the precious Blood of Jesus Christ!
o come to the altar- elevATION WORSHIP

You are already loved, you are already chosen. He loves you more than you can imagine and He wants you to know it. Now walk in everything He has for you. You already have access to the freedom, you have already been purchased. Why would you want to walk in less than what He has for you? Why are you holding yourself back.? God has a new identity waiting for you and He wants to clothe you in His Royalty.Jesus has the price and debt at the cross!