Hosea 6:1-3, 10:12 Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and the former rain unto the earth. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
	We have the voice of the Lord given through the prophet Hosea to the Children of Israel. God’s own people, set in their wantonness before Him. Displaying all the loyalty of an adulterous prostitute unto her husband. The nation of Israel had disintegrated before the Lord. It had taken unto itself idols, heathen practices, child sacrifices, temple prostitutes, and anything other than what was pleasing to God. Seeking its place in the world, the people of God sought after the putrid snares of the world, rather than the pleasure of serving God. 
	There were the remnants of those loyal to God for all that He had done to prove Himself over and over again. There were those who kept to the Lord in remembrance of His deliverance from the slavery of Egypt, and the giving of His Law, and the protection and provision of God in the Wilderness. They cherished the stories of God’s leading into the Promised Land of milk and honey. They retained the glory of King David in their hearts, a king and a man after the heart of God. And they kept the promise of God to Abraham in their bosoms, that the number of the Children of God would exceed the stars and the sand; that out of the kingly lineage would come a Savior, a Messiah, to redeem the people unto God. All this was in the hearts of those seemingly few faithful, as they watched the disintegration of the once proud and prosperous nation, separate from the nations of the world, declining once again into the slavery of this realm. 
	Oh, it must have been torture for those prophets of God, for Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and Malachai, along with the few remaining faithful to watch the perversion and the apostasy of their people lost in all the licentiousness that was so abhorrent to the Most Holy and Just God. In the midst of the depravity of such a faithless people, the voice of the Lord rang out from these prophets, only to be seemly lost and ignored and derided by a people shattered and abused by their own malicious choices. These prophets, these few were faithful to God on behalf of a people who didn’t care, who chose to ignore and to abandon all that God had proven and shown for generation after generation. 
	Hosea, as but one example, was so faithful to God and to His people, that he took upon himself the burden appointed by God. He took the wife that God commanded, and loved her with all his heart. He became the prophetic example of all that God had in His heart for His own people. Through the love that Hosea had for Gomer, and through the pain of her complete rejection, Hosea’s heart brought forth a bit of what God was to express in fullness in Jesus Christ. As Hosea endlessly sought after his beloved wife, who sold herself to all who would pay for her favors, so God has sought after us with all His Heart. As Gomer was purchased by Hosea from the slave block, so have we been purchased by the Love of God, in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
	The words of Hosea echo in the hearts of those who desire after all that God has to offer in Jesus Christ. They were words born of sorrow and of grief; of anguish and of humiliation; of torment and of strife in the midst of utter hopelessness. Yet, in them, we see the very heart of God opened in a manner without parallel. The heart of God is bare before us in the writing of this prophet of God. Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 
	Remember, remember, oh beloved ones, beloved of God and of the brethren, remember what it means to return to God. We see the picture of the prodigal son, returning to the arms of the father. We see the devastated one restored to the full glory of his place in the heart of the father. No matter what had gone before, no matter how vile the separation, the father’s heart was fully open to receive and to restore the one who was lost, but now is found. 
	That heart is the same as that of Hosea toward his wife, Gomer. While the law permitted the putting of her away in divorce, while the nation would decry that as the appropriate response for the wayward wife, who had mocked her vows of marriage and her covenant with her husband, that was not the heart of Hosea. He loved his wife, he loved Gomer with a heart that restored her to the completeness of being his beloved. 
	There is much in even her name, Gomer, to consider at this point. Gomer means completeness. Consider that she was complete in her rejection of Hosea. She did not leave him for another man, she left him for a complete change in everything that had been part of her married life. She sold herself completely over to the lusts of the flesh in prostitution. She completely forsook all that marriage entailed in order to satisfy her sense and her urges completely. It was to the point that she completely abandoned even her place as a human, and was being sold into slavery, to work at whoredom for the complete benefit of another. Yes, there was complete wantonness in Gomer, a complete loss of all things deemed proper in a wife. 
	Yet, Hosea loved her completely. He sought after her. He endlessly looked in all the dives and the depravity of the fleshpots, seeking to find his beloved wife. He never gave into the urgings to forget her, to abandon her, to divorce her. Rather, he earnestly strove to find her and to return with her at his side. He finally found her on that auction block, being sold like an animal without a soul. He paid the price, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, he paid the price, whatever the cost, to redeem her unto himself. Then, rather than holding ought against her, rather than filling her with his righteous indignation, rather than whipping her with the cruelty of her behavior, he loved her unto himself. He restored all that had been forsaken. He called her unto himself, his beloved and placed her back into the warmth of his love for her. Knowledge of what had been was set aside in order for all to recognize them as husband and wife. He was true to her, even in her faithlessness, he was faithful to his beloved wife. Her deceit, her treachery, her abandonment meant nothing in the light of his eyes of love for her.
	Yes, Gomer stands for completeness in many areas. Completeness in her depravity, completeness in her rejection of her husband, completeness in her loss of freedom, completeness in her hopeless situation. Yet, there is the positive aspect of Gomer’s completeness that must never be overlooked. Hosea loved her with the completeness of a husband with his wife. He was unwilling to throw her to the jackals of this realm, but sought after her with all his heart, completely abandoning any sense of vengeance, but completely and earnestly striving to bring her back to himself. In completeness, he purchased her out of her hopelessness and completely restored her unto himself.
	Oh the depths of the love of God just in the completeness of Hosea’s love for Gomer. There is a completeness that is seen in Gomer and Hosea, a completeness of the Love of a husband and wife. He gave himself completely for her, unto her, and after her, no matter what. Gomer returned to Hosea, not by her actions, but because he so loved her that he was willing to do whatever the cost to redeem her unto himself. His love enveloped her, in the despair of her situation, and purchased her from the slavery of her vile adultery. Used, abused, and tarnished, she was everything to him, and he completely forgave all her trespasses and paid the price required.
	So it is seen in this situation that the love of God so completely overwhelms us in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. He has sought us. He has searched through the ages for those who are His Beloved. That we prostitute ourselves to this world is abhorrent to His Holiness, but His love constrains Him to seek us and to purchase us out of our slavery of sin and death. His blood has paid the price for our redemption, and we are now restored to that completeness of being in Him.
	There are those who feel that this example of Hosea was simply for the Children of Israel. They see the work of God in Hosea as the call to the people of Israel to change their ways because they are so loved of God, that even in their vile life-styles, they are the objects of His love. Yes, in a very true sense, Hosea suffered the pangs and torments as an very real expression of the Love of God for the Children of Israel. He was the living expression of the heart of God for His people. Their lack of response was indicative of the hearts which refused to acknowledge the Love of God for them, and their utter refusal to become His people. However, Hosea does not just play the martyr for the people of his time. God’s plan with Hosea was far more involved than just the time frame of his life, as awesome as that must have been for those few who would see what the Lord was doing through the expression of Hosea’s love for Gomer. No, Hosea is an example of what God has for us, even this day. The years only serve to show the greatness of the Love of God to usward who believe upon Him. The prophecy of the gathered people of God in Hosea incorporates all of us into the nation of God’s kingship in Christ Jesus.
	Some see this truth only as it relates to our new birth in Christ Jesus. When we were lost in our sin and depravity, God called us unto Himself in Jesus Christ. Our acceptance of Christ as our Savior is the culmination of the redemptive aspects of Hosea. His death on the cross is the just payment for our freedom from the slavery of sin and death which was our due under the Law and because of our sinful nature. Our prior adulterous relationship with God is washed away in the blood of Christ, and we are now made whole and complete in Him. That is as far as some are willing to take the prophet Hosea. The course of God’s searching for us in His Love, and not punishing or holding ought against us, but rather loving us unto Himself in His salvation is definitely held within this passage and within this example of true love. 
	There are those who relate this story strictly to that of what an ideal marriage within a Christian family. Because we are Christians, we should be following the example of Hosea in dealing with our spouses. Many counseling sessions with married couples are centered around the love of God seen in Hosea’s forgiveness and redemption of his wife who so completely violated their marriage vows. There is the vital truth of the abiding love of God seen in the fact that no matter how vial the circumstances, God’s love, a husband’s love, or a wife’s love for the spouse is firmly set in Christ. The voice of Christ on the cross needs to echo throughout every marriage, ...Father forgive them, for they know not what they do... When the marriage is concentrated in Christ, that heart finds expression on every occasion, large or small. He transcends personal feelings of hurt and anger to the core of the desire that our spouse, would find a place of salvation, redemption, comfort and assurance in our loving heart. Rather than heaping fiery coals of indignation and self-righteousness upon him or her, there should be and will be evidenced that love that seeks him or her out, no matter what dive or alley they may inhabit. It is a love that will pay the price to redeem him or her, to wash the face and restore the relationship of love with which our vows were expressed. Consider this in our relationships, and see if there be any place for divorce, putting away, separation, or striving after our rights and our limited ideals of what a marriage should be. 
	Too often, we are the focal points of our marriage, what we can get out of it, rather than what God has the freedom to make of our union. Our hearts seek to manifest us, to satisfy us, because we have found someone who loves us, and is there for us. We seek to have the comfort of another person to soothe our fevered brows and to say nice things about us. This is far from the view of marriage that was brought forth in Hosea. The prophet laid aside everything in order to become the expression of God’s love to his wife. He had no illusions or ideals that were to be shattered. He followed the leading of God, and bared his heart before all the people of Israel in marrying Gomer, the prostitute. Then, when she abandoned their marriage, he set out on a course that had but one outcome in his heart, to find his wife and to restore her to the only place of safety that he could offer, at his side. His heart was after her, loving her, giving up everything for her, including his standing in the sight of the people. One does not need to think very long about the voices that whispered and gossiped about the prophet of God. As vile as the people were in their sins and trespasses, their mockery of God’s fool who would marry a prostitute rang in the streets. It must have stung the very being of Hosea as he searched so diligently and relentlessly, and heard the whispers and the taunts of those Israelites. Yet, rather than stirring up a hatred of his position, a poisoning of his soul, he sought and he sought until he finally had the opportunity to redeem his beloved wife. Oh that our beings would be so unto the Lord, that we would cherish our spouses, not for our sakes, not even for their sakes, but for the Lord to be glorified in our marriages, no matter what the cost, no matter what the means used by God to establish Himself. 
	There is more, however, in the completeness of what God has accomplished and expressed in Hosea, especially as we consider our current passage. We can see that there is a call to the people of God to return unto Him. This call is after the activity of God in dealing with His people. ...he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up... This is a statement of spiritual significance. It is the fact that God will take His people to the end of themselves in order to establish that which is of utmost degree in their lives. 
	How often have we had the dealings of the Lord so actively a part of our lives in bringing about the death of ourselves, that we turn our backs on Him, that we claim it is too much? We seek after our self-preservation, rather than the complete death of our beings. God’s love transcends all the areas of our lives completely. His wondrous love saturates the pores of every fiber of our beings. The very aspects of who we are become fully immersed in Him to the point of it no longer being us that lives, but Christ who lives out from us, as we are told by the Apostle Paul in Galatians. 
	How often are we so caught up in ourselves and our rights and our positions, that we fail to see that God is no longer even a consideration. We are doing things because we want to do them or think that they should be done, without any realization that God has no part of it. We find that we are alone in our endeavors because we want to make a place for ourselves, with or without God’s blessing. This is a prostitution to self that we each must face. We are selling ourselves to the highest bidder for our time, for our energy, for our thoughts, for our desires, for our money, for our pleasure. We have turned our hearts from God and to what we can get out of life. For some of us, this is even true in terms of our salvation experience. Why did we accept Jesus into our heart? It was so that we wouldn’t face the fiery eternity of hell and damnation! We were protecting us, ourselves, much like Gomer marrying Hosea for the sake of his protection. Then, like Gomer, after a time, our self-being began craving the things that we couldn’t find in our heavenly marriage, so we sought the attention of this age as it was willing to pay us for our services. We soon found, however, that the pay of this world is a slavery to the defilement inherent in selling our souls to the enemy.
	Thank God, that He does not leave us in the cess-pools of ourselves. He has redeemed us unto Himself, no matter how faithlessly we have behaved before Him. Our mess is wiped away in the love of Jesus Christ, and our position, our highly exalted position in Him is secured by the payment of His very life-blood. We, the bride will be presented without spot or wrinkle to all the spiritual realm to the complete glory of God on high. His manifest love in us will be transparent as our hearts flow forth unto others in the great love with which He has loved us.
	Yes, we have been torn, but He will heal us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, he has smitten us, in His mighty work, yet to be evidenced to creation, but He has bound us up in Love. All those wounds are not for our undoing, but for our cleansing in Jesus Christ. He is doing a perfect work in our lives, through the perfect expression of Himself in Christ. 
	Let that be a comfort to us as we walk forth in the newness of life that is ours in Christ. let our beings be saturated with the manifest Love of God. He has sought us. He has called us unto Himself. He has redeemed us, and He has betrothed unto Himself, all in Christ. Rejoice in the fact that we are wed to Him for all of eternity, wed with bonds that cannot be broken or sundered, because they are perfect bonds of His great and glorious love.
	 Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and the former rain unto the earth. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.