Spiritual Adultery

November 27

Hosea 1-3

Psalm 132:11-18

Proverbs 28:13

2 Peter 2

Spiritual Adultery

“And I will betroth you to Me forever; indeed, I with betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.  Then you will know Yahweh.”  Hosea 2:19-20 LSB

God used Hosea’s life as a symbol of the relationship between God and Israel.  The Israelites had turned to other gods and had forsaken the one true God.  God made a covenant relationship with Israel, promising to bless and protect them if they would follow Him.  Marriage was designed to be a covenant relationship between a man and a woman with a lifelong commitment to love each other faithfully.  God Instructed Hosea to marry a prostitute.  God knew that she would be unfaithful to Hosea.  He allowed Hosea to experience this heartache as a powerful picture for Israel and for believers throughout the ages of the seriousness of sin and the consequences of committing spiritual adultery.  God needed them to understand that He considered their turning to other gods and being spiritually unfaithful as vile as the ugliness of prostitution and adultery.  This was fitting because the ritual worship of Baal and many of the other gods they worshipped involved sexual sins. 

Gomer left Hosea and returned to her former life.  Even though she left him, Hosea loved her and pleaded with her to come back.  He cried out to God as he thought about what his wife was doing.  One day he found her as a slave on an auction block.  He bought her back and brought her home.  He cared for her with a love no one could understand.  This is a beautiful illustration of what Jesus did for us on the cross.  Gomer’s life represents the cycle of disobedience of Israel and in our own lives: sin followed by  punishment, followed by repentance, redemption and restoration, which was then followed by another season of sin and a repeat of the cycle.  God remained faithful and restored them every time they repented and turned back to Him.  The love described in the book of Hosea is a sacrificial love that is not based on the actions of the recipient.  Hosea treated Gomer with perfect, godly love even though she was unfaithful to him and did not deserve his love.  This is a picture of the love of God for us.  Just as adultery breaks the covenant between a husband and wife, spiritual adultery breaks our covenant with God.  The only way that we can receive forgiveness and restoration of the relationship is through the mercy of God and the blood of Jesus.  That happens by recognizing our sin, confessing it to Him and repenting, or turning from our sin.    Anything in our lives that we allow to take the place of God or that we prioritize over our relationship with God can become an idol that can lead us to commit spiritual adultery against our first love, Jesus.  Just as Hosea found Gomer, brought her home and took care of her, God is merciful and gracious to us.  We cannot go too far that He will not take us back.  He loves us!  We don’t deserve His love, but He loves us so much that He is always waiting with open arms to embrace us and nurture us back to a right relationship with Him.