“I will punish her for all those times
when she … went out to look for her lovers
but forgot all about me,”
says the Lord.“But then I will win her back once again.”
-Hosea 2:13a,c, 14a, NIV
But God stays married to us even though we are unfaithful to Him.
Repeat after me:
Hosea is not marriage advice.
Hosea is not marriage advice.
Hosea is not marriage advice.
If it is truly marriage advice, I would like to see all those youth group seminars where pastors are encouraging young people to marry the most sexually promiscuous person they can. After all, that was the charge–more or less–given to Hosea in selecting his wife.
Who are we to question how God wants us to choose mates?
I am being sarcastic. The point is this book was never intended to teach us how to handle selecting spouses or deal with marital infidelity.
Christians who use Hosea as a proof-text like to cherry pick what they apply. They take it as marriage advice but leave the whole–how to choose your mate part–alone.
While it is true that God seeks us out even though we are unfaithful, the Bible is clear that He allows people to reject Him.
Not everyone is welcome back into His arms even though everyone of us were made by Him in His own Image.
God allows us to choose Him or wickedness. Some people choose wickedness just as many of our (now ex) spouses did.
