QT 09/10/2025 Thu. Hosea 3 Redeeming Love: A Picture of the Gospel 救赎之爱：福音的写照
QT 09/10/2025 Thu. Hosea 3 Redeeming Love: A Picture of the Gospel
READ http://www.esv.org/Hosea3
We learn about the redeeming love of God through Hosea’s costly act of reconciliation with his unfaithful wife in Hosea 3.
Scripture focus:
“And the LORD said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel…’” (Hosea 3:1a, ESV)
(1) Love That Pursues the Unfaithful (v. 1)
Hosea is commanded to "go again" and love Gomer, his adulterous wife. This isn’t a new marriage — it's a restoration after betrayal. Gomer has left him, sold herself to other lovers, possibly even become enslaved. Yet God says: “Go again.”
This is God’s love on display. Israel had betrayed Him by running after other gods, yet God’s heart remained faithful.
Reflection:
Have you ever turned from God, thinking you’ve gone too far to return? Hosea 3 reminds us that God’s love outpaces our failure. His love pursues, even when we’re not pursuing Him.
(2) Love That Redeems at a Cost (v. 2)
“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.”
(Hosea 3:2, ESV)
Hosea doesn’t just forgive Gomer — he buys her back. His own wife, now in slavery or captivity, must be redeemed at a price. This is a gut-wrenching picture of what grace costs the giver. The decreasing/loose denominations of the price–silver (shekels), homer, lethech perhaps point to a vigorous bidding process in the slave market by Hosea to top his bid?
This foreshadows the gospel: God didn’t just forgive us — He redeemed us with the blood of His Son. God went all out to save us.
“You were bought with a price...” (1 Corinthians 6:20)
Reflection:
God didn’t wait for you to clean up your life before loving you. He came while you were still in chains to sin — and paid the full price to make you His.
(3) Love That Restores Relationship (vv. 3–5)
“You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore... and so will I also be to you.” (v. 3)
Hosea calls Gomer to live with him again — not just physically, but relationally, faithfully. Their relationship is being rebuilt.
In the same way, God’s redemption doesn’t just save us from judgment — it restores fellowship. He brings us back into covenant relationship, marked by love, faithfulness, and worship.
Verse 5 points forward prophetically:
“Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days (v. 5).”
That “latter days” restoration points ahead to Jesus, the Son of David, who would make a way for God's people to return to Him.
(4) Conclusion: The Gospel in Hosea 3
Hosea 3 may be one of the clearest pictures of the gospel in the Old Testament:
(a) We are Gomer — unfaithful, enslaved, unable to free ourselves.
(b) God is Hosea — pursuing us, paying the price to redeem us, and restoring us to Himself.
(c) Jesus is the price — the one through whom redemption is complete and eternal.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for loving me when I was unlovable, for pursuing me when I was running, and for paying the price to redeem me. Help me respond to Your love with faithfulness, gratitude, and a desire to live for You alone. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
QT 09/10/2025 星期四. 何西阿书 3. 救赎之爱：福音的写照
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/hos/3/
我们通过何西阿书第三章中何西阿为挽回不忠妻子所付出的代价，领悟了上帝救赎之爱的真谛。
经文聚焦：
耶和华对我说：“你再去爱一个妇人，这妇人是为情人所爱，又是个淫妇，就像耶和华爱以色列人，虽然他们转去跟随别神，喜爱葡萄饼。”（何西阿书3:1）
(1) 追寻背叛者的爱（第1节）
何西阿奉命“再去”爱他的淫妇歌篾。这并非新婚——而是背叛后的修复。歌篾离弃他，出卖自己给情夫，甚至可能沦为奴隶。但神说：“再去。”
这彰显了神的爱。以色列追逐别神背叛了祂，神的心却始终忠信。
反思：
你可曾背离神，以为自己走得太远无法回头？《何西阿书》第三章提醒我们：神的爱超越我们的失败。即便我们不再追寻祂，祂的爱仍持续追寻。
(2) 付代价的救赎之爱（第2节）
“于是，我用一百七十一克银子，一百五十公斤大麦，买她回来归我。（何西阿书3:2）
何西阿不仅宽恕了歌篾——他更用重价赎回了她。身为妻子，如今沦为奴隶或囚徒的她，必须付出代价才能得救。这幅画面令人心碎，昭示着恩典对施予者代价之沉重。赎价单位的递减——先令、荷梅尔、列他克——或许暗示着何西阿在奴隶市场激烈竞价，力求压倒其他竞买者？
这预示着福音：上帝不仅赦免了我们——祂更以祂儿子的宝血救赎了我们。上帝倾尽全力拯救我们。
“你们是用重价买来的...”（哥林多前书6:20）
反思：
神未待你洁净生命才施爱。当你仍被罪捆锁时，祂便降临——并付上全价使你归属祂。
(3) 修复关系的爱（3-5节）
“我对她说：“你要给我独居多日，不要行淫，不要有别的男人，我也必不与你同房。”（第3节）
何西阿呼召歌篾重归于他——不仅是肉体上的团聚，更是关系层面的重建。他们的联结正在修复。
同理，神的救赎不仅使我们脱离审判，更恢复了团契关系。祂将我们带回立约之约，以爱、信实与敬拜为标记。
第5节预言性地指向未来：
“后来以色列人必归回，寻求耶和华他们的 神，寻求大卫他们的王。在末后的日子，他们必战战兢兢来到耶和华那里，接受他的恩惠。”
那“末后的日子”的复兴预示着耶稣——大卫之子，祂将为神的子民开辟归回之路。
(4) 结论：何西阿书第三章的福音
何西阿书第三章或许是旧约中最清晰的福音图景：
(a) 我们是歌篾——不忠、受奴役、无法自救。
(b) 神是何西阿——追寻我们，付出代价救赎我们，并将我们恢复到祂的怀中。
(c) 耶稣是救赎的代价——借着祂，救赎得以完全且永恒。
祷告：
主啊，感谢祢在我不可爱时仍爱我，在我逃离时仍追寻我，并为救赎我付上代价。求祢帮助我以忠心、感恩和唯独为祢而活的心志回应祢的爱。奉耶稣的名求。阿们。
