“Eternal Love”
“The LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” Hosea 3:1 NASBS
Dear Christian, I want to impress upon your heart at this brief moment that there is a love so deep that it travels deeper than the heart of the earth, where no foot has ever stepped; A love so vast that it runs as far as the east is from the west that cannot be contained, and a love so rich that it cannot be bought with all the gold of this world, though many have tried. This love I am speaking about can only be found in the heart of God, Who loves His people with everlasting love.
While Israel, His chosen people—were worshiping the surrounding gods of the foreign nations, their temple being a used as a house of vanity, their hearts filled with corruption—were only seeking to gratify their sensual pleasures. The scriptures tell us, “The LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” They were engaging in sexual perversion as a means of worship to pagan deities while they claimed to worship the God of Israel. The Lord said, “They delight their king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire, the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises.”
May the Holy Spirit help us understand God’s eternal, unchanging, and unconditional love He had for Israel while they kept Him on standby as they gratified their carnal pleasures.
Such a love as this can only come from an infinite, eternal God Who has the power to do whatever He wants and yet chooses to pursue and love a people who refuse to love Him. And not only this, but He cares for them in their abandonment, He sweeps them off their feet while they hate Him, He pleads for them not to sin because it will hurt them, He disciplines them in love to protect them, and He will not let them go because He knew them before the foundations of the world. If we stopped here, we could say, “What love could be compared to this?” But there is still more. You see, the eternal love that God has for His elect people is so great that He sent His Son Jesus into the world to save them from their sins. He left His heavenly abode to come to the earth. He was born of a virgin in a stable with the beast of the field. Though fully God, He learned obedience in His flesh through suffering. He was rejected, mocked, ridiculed, with no place to call His Home. He was condemned to die by lies, He bore the lash of the executioner tearing Him apart, and He was beaten beyond human conception. Finally, he was nailed to a tree to bear the wrath of God because of your sins that He may redeem you with the cost of His life.
You see, Christian, Jesus wore an earthly crown of thorns upon His head so you could wear His crown of righteousness upon yours. He allowed His hands to be pierced through with Iron so you could lift yours in holy worship. He was condemned to death so that you may have eternal life. Jesus Christ laid His life down for you, proving His love to you so that one day you would be able to love Him unconditionally in heaven.
He lived the life you were incapable of living and died the death you deserved to die. Christ redeemed you from the grave, and His love for you doesn’t depend upon your love for Him because He loved you before the world was ever made. Beloveds understand, while hanging on the tree, bearing the wrath of God, covered in the spittle of His own creation, while His life was expiring away, He said concerning your rebellion and stubborn heart, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” and then He drew you to Himself. I am so thankful for God’s eternal love for me, for, without it, I would be eternally lost. God forgive me for my love for this world! Amen.