JULY82024

I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD. The prophet Hosea used his own disasterous marriage as an image to understand the relationship between God and the people of Israel. As Hosea experienced, infidelity by one’s partner is a wrenching experience, straining the relationship to the breaking point. God’s people had abandoned the way of justice and mercy that was expected of them and that explained the sense of abandonment that permeated Hebrew society. But since marriage is not a contract — an agreement which spells out what I get out of the relationship — but a covenant — an agreement focused on what I commit myself to in the relationship, Hosea finds this the perfect metaphor for the divine/human interaction.  Despite the betrayal, God has chosen Israel and will not give up on the people of God but will “allure” them and “speak to their heart” in the effort to once again make them into the beloved community.