Hosea Chapter 2. When's the last time you committed Adultery?
Just like in chapter one, God compares his relationship with Israel as if they are a woman who commits adultery against her husband.
I don't think we realize how much God truly loves us and wants to lavish his love on us, and when we lose focus of God and his love for us then our relationship becomes like an adulterous woman.
We cheat on God when we love other things in the world or other people. We cheat on God when our love and time spent with God is replaced with love and time spent on other things or other people or other loves. We cheat on God when we put our trust in our job for money rather than thank God for our job and money.
When this happens, then out of love, God pursues us. He lets our pursuit of other loves fail. He steps back and sees if such love really brings long term satisfaction and fulfillment. He lets us fall, not because he hates us, but because he loves us. He wants a restored relationship with us.
When we talk about an adulterous woman we abhor such a person. We think how could she be so unfaithful to her husband? Perhaps we should put ourselves into her shoes and ask ourselves that same question as it relates to our relationship with God. How could we be unfaithful to God? Really, what in this world is greater than God? What in this world is capable of meeting our every needs? What in this world can bring eternal fulfillment? Nothing! Fulfillment found on Earth is very temporal and very destructive.
A pastor friend of mine left the ministry and pursued a singing career in a band. As a result he ended up going down a slippery slope. He got caught up in a love that, at first, was great, but later found him lost and empty. After 5 years, he has now returned to Ministry. That's called RESTORATION and that's what God wants with us because he loves us. He wants to forgive us and restore us. He wants to love us. He wants to call us his people.
AND God longs to hear us say, “You are my God!”
Can you say that?