Life Examples: Hosea: A Longing For Intimacy (Hos ...

Life Examples: Hosea: A Longing for Intimacy (Hos 11:8-9)

Without questioning God, Hosea obeyed Him and took the prostitute Gomer to be his wife. Though she wandered and repeatedly slipped into unfaithfulness, Hosea obeyed the Lord and did not cast her way.

The moving poetry of Hosea reveals the longing of God for uninterrupted intimacy with His people. Can you feel the words of agony in the following words?

"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? . . . My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. I will not execute the fierceness of My anger . . . " (Hosea 11:8-9)

God longs for an intimate relationship with you. He will do anything to get your love—and He did. In the most dramatic display of love for all time, He provided His Son Jesus Christ as the means to make such fellowship possible. God is the passionate and faithful Lover of your soul.

-The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible