Being Unfaithful and Finding God's love

Throughout the bible as well as history, there has been unfaithfulness in relationships. Even today, you have people in relationships being unfaithful to each other, Spouses cheating on each other, coworkers cheating at the workplace, etc. Even in our relationship with God, there can be unfaithfulness. We live in a fallen world, and it's easy to lose focus on the one who made us.

There is a prime example in the bible of unfaithfulness. The book of Hosea is about the unfaithfulness of God’s people and then their delivery from their waywardness. The book is a mirror image between Hosea and his wife and the children of Israel and God. Hosea was married to Gomer, who was a prostitute. She went after other men while being married to the prophet Hosea. God was using their marriage to reflect upon the relationship with God, Himself, and the children of Israel, who were going after other gods. Hosea was a representation of God when it came to being patient and loving to their other half. (Hosea 2:14-23)

In our own lives, regardless of how long we are in a relationship with God, we can be turned away from him. All it takes is one thought, which then can manifest into something bigger than we can deem to imagine, which pulls our focus off God. Our relationship can also be hindered by just the busyness of life and placing God on the back burner.

In Hosea 2:3-7, the nation of Israel turned its back on God, the “mother” was a harlot, and Israel went after other countries and worshiped their gods, and they became weary and dry. (Hosea 2:3) When we go after our own desires, we too become weary. We don’t feel fulfilled. The only thing that makes us fulfilled is God and the love that He has for us.

So what led to the book of Hosea being written? In the book of 1st Kings, King Jeroboam led the nation of Israel on a downward spiral of idol worship and pursuing their own desires. When King Jeroboam officially became king of Israel, after God divided Israel and Judea, King Jeroboam created two cattle from gold so the Israelites can worship them in the city of Bethel and Dan. He did this for a few reasons. One reason was that the Israelites don’t go to Jerusalem, located in Judea, to offer sacrifices to God and return to Judean living. Another reason was that he didn't want to lose power and had a bad relationship with God. (1st kings 12:25-31)

Fortunately for Israel as well as us, God is a God of restoration. Jeremiah 30:17 says, “For I will restore health to you, and heal you of your wounds, says the Lord.’’ From the very beginning, when man first sinned, God had a plan to restore humankind from their sinful ways and back into a relationship with Him. Hosea 2:14-23 talks about how God will bring us back to him because of His mercy and grace for us.

In our sinfulness, God doesn’t condemn us; He entices us with what we genuinely want. Our human flesh wants to strive away from God because our flesh is sinful, but God gently pursues us with His love. Love is what everyone craves. The attention of a famed star, the loneliness of a person, the depression of a suicidal person, all of them want to be loved. Even when it comes to social media, when people post something, they check to see how many likes they have or how many followers they have. They want to know that they are seen and valued. Human’s ultimate desire is love. We are image-bearers of God made explicitly to worship Him, which is an act of love and to be loved by Him. (James 3:9, 1st John 4:4,7-11).

Once we please our own desires, we miss out on what God wants to do in our lives. When we please ourselves, at times, we feel dry. We feel very weary and don’t feel fulfilled by pursuing our desires. The only thing that we can quench that need is God (Hosea 2:3-7). If we are in a relationship with God, He will direct those desires to things that concern Him.

The rest of the book of Hosea, from chapters 4-13, talks about God’s judgment. That even though we came back to God, we will still see the punishment of sinful ways. Just like how a parent disciplines their child, God will discipline us because He loves us. From these chapters, we can take three things that the Israelites showed no faithfulness, no love, or acknowledgment to God, which states that there was no loving relationship between themselves and God.

In the last chapter of the book, God calls Israel back to Himself, and He wants to help them from stumbling on their desires. He wants to heal them and show mercy because He loves them. Isaiah 61:3 states that He will make them beautiful from their ashes. That is what God wants to do with all of us. He wants to change us from the inside out and restore us to be a new creation.

In my own personal life, God met me in areas where I didn’t think any pure being would go. He met me where I was. The times I felt like I was ashamed to go to God because of what I had done. He told me I was worthy and loved. That He sees me, even today, He tells me that I am loved when I feel I don’t matter. God sees you as well through all the mistakes and pain of this life, just like He did with the Israelites. God saw them at their lowest.

Hosea 14:8 states that “ Your fruit is found in me.” God is saying, “that your fruit, your identity is found in Me. Who you are is found in Me, not anything else. You are loved and cared for when you are in the shadows of my wings. So stay in Me, so when you stumble, I can catch you, as I did with Israel, so abide in Me. So I can abide in you so that we can walk this life together.”

So if you feel like you are in a downward spiral from your own flesh, know that when you look to God, His mercy will cover you and lift you up.