Daily EncouragementSample

This prophecy reminds many people of the parable of the prodigal son, as they think about Hosea’s prodigal wife. Certainly in both stories the heart of God is revealed. The prodigal’s father is filled with compassion as he sees him “still a long way off” (Luke 15:20). Here in this divine soliloquy we come face-to-face with the reality of which the parable is such a perfect picture: “How can I give you up, Ephraim? . . . all my compassion is aroused.” The divine love, which is revealed in the parable and in the prophecy, is love to the utterly unworthy and ungrateful, whether we think of Gomer in the slave market, the son in the far country or Israel as a rebellious child (Hos. 11:1-4).

The dilemma of God’s love is more than hinted at. “How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim?” The latter had been cities of the plain, which had been destroyed in the same righteous judgement as Sodom’s. Does not Israel; do not all men deserve similar judgement? Neither prophecy nor parable can convey a full answer to this dilemma. Only the demonstration of God’s love at Calvary does (Rom. 5:8).