The story of Hosea and Gomer is well known. “The Lord said to Hosea, ‘Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.’ So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim” (Hos. 1:2-3).

Israel, the Northern Kingdom, was faithless and broke from Judah and Jerusalem. King Jeroboam led Israel to establish alternate sites of worship, Bethel and Dan, and to worship alternate gods—golden calves. Jeroboam established a non-Levite alternate priesthood. He also ordered the celebration of alternate feasts during the eighth month rather than in the God-ordained seventh month (1 Kings 12:25-33).

Hosea lived sometime later, during the reign of Jeroboam II. Israel was ripe for judgment because of decades of faithlessness.

Gomer, like Israel, was prone to wander. Like Israel, she led a life of harlotry and adultery (Hos. 2:2). Gomer’s adultery portrayed Israel’s spiritual harlotry and unfaithfulness. In the midst of this personal tragedy and political instability, God again spoke to Hosea. “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods” (3:1). Hosea’s mission was to publicly display God’s love for a sinful people as he continued to love his faithless wife.

Hosea 2:19-20 graphically describes God’s disposition toward Israel. “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.” God’s covenant love and compassion toward Israel comes to expression in His faithfulness. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). This is our God, the Faithful One. In like manner, Hosea was to be faithful to faithless Gomer.

The Apostle Paul also uses marriage as the type and picture of God’s relationship with His people. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). Such love requires faithfulness. In and of yourself, you too are faithless. Like Gomer and ancient Israel, you are prone to wander.

Your status before God depends on God’s faithfulness to you. And so God says to you, “I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord.” God’s faithfulness to you results in a saving knowledge of Him and of His Son, Jesus Christ. You become part of the church, the bride of Christ. You are committed to Him in faithfulness.

Again, it is not within your capacity to change your disposition from that of being prone to wander to that of being prone to faithfulness. The key is your union with Christ. You are joined to Him as part of His bride. You are joined to Him as a wild olive branch grafted into a native olive tree. You are joined to Him as a branch is part of the entire grapevine. Thus united to Christ, you are enabled to bear fruit. (See John 15:5.)

What is the fruit that is produced from this? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness” (Gal. 5:22). United to Christ, you are enabled to be faithful in every area of life. United to Christ, you bear the fruit of faithfulness.