Hosea used his personal experience to understand the ways of God in the world. His disastrous marriage to an unfaithful wife modeled for him God’s dealings with Israel. God chided them for their infidelity and demanded that they change their ways. Later in the book he used another experience, that of fatherhood, to help understand God’s ways. The word of the Lord: “I drew them with bonds of love … like one who raises an infant to his cheeks.” The prophet wants Israel to understand that they were called to obedience not out of fear of God’s wrath but out of love. The same is true of us. Pope Francis reminds us that we must encounter God not as a rule-giver but as a loving Father.
JULY122018
By Church Staff
