上帝差遺何西阿先知(他名字的意思是「救贖)」向以色列國－－一塊淫亂氾濫的土地－－發預言。何西阿受命娶婦人歌篾為妻，上帝事先就警告他未來家庭生活的發展:他將以淫婦為妻，也收那從淫亂所生的兒女(1:2)。正如上帝的預言，歌篾離棄了她的先知丈夫，投入別人的懷抱－－痛苦但生動的描繪了以色列對上帝忠貞之愛所表現的背信忘義。歌篾淪為奴隸後，何西阿又遵命將她贖回。同樣的，上帝也發誓對祂的百姓施以持續的愛，雖然他們屬靈上的淫亂將不可避免的導致落入亞述人手中為奴的下場。

        你知道的第一節經節大概是約翰福音三章十六節:「上帝愛世人，甚至將祂的獨生子……。」你學會的第一首歌很可能是:「耶穌愛我我知道，因有聖書告訴我……。」這並非偶然。為什麽呢？因為上帝的愛是我們信仰的根基。這愛的真理簡單得連小孩也能理解，但又深奧得使神學家窮一生之力來揭開其中含意。
        今天；以新的眼光一一透過何西阿的淚眼－－來看上帝的愛。上帝的愛是無條件的(你不必費力賺取)、永不止息的(沒有一件事可以使我們與祂的愛隔絕，羅8:35－39)、主動的(上帝以真實可知的方式在你生命中表達了祂的愛)。上帝常常藉著聖經對你說:「我愛你。」你曾否這樣對祂說呢？翻開詩篇一百一十六篇，大聲朗讀。告訴上帝:「我愛祢!」是件美事－－也是符合聖經的方式。

        永不改變的事
        統計數字顯示，大部分已婚的男性或女性都曾有或將有婚外情。離婚率告訴我們，和解是少之又少。何西阿與他不忠之妻歌篾之間的關係說明了瑪拉基先知的宣言:「耶和華以色列的上帝說，休妻(離婚)的事是我所恨惡的o』(瑪2:16)

愛就是忘我的服事對方。

English

        To the nation of Israel—a land steeped in idolatry—God sends the prophet Hosea, whose name means "salvation." Commanded to marry a woman named Gomer, Hosea is warned in advance of the future course of his family life: He would have "a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms" (1:2). Just as God foretold. Gomer deserts her prophet-husband for other lovers—a painful but graphic depiction of Israel's faithlessness in response to God's loyal love. When Gomer sinks to the level of a slave, Hosea is commanded to buy her back, for she is still his wife. In the same way the God of Israel pledges His continuing love for His people, even though their spiritual adultery will result in captivity and enslavement at the hands of the Assyrians.

        It's no accident that the first Bible verse you learned was probably John 3:l6: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only ... Son." Or that the first song you learned was "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Why? Because the love of God is foundational. It is a truth so simple even a child can grasp it, yet so profound even a theologian can spend a lifetime unraveling its implications.
        Take a fresh look at the love of God today—this time through the tear stained eyes of Hosea. God's love is unconditional (you don't have to earn it), unceasing (nothing can separate you from it, Romans 8:35-39), and active (God expresses it in tangible ways in your life). God has often told you in His Word, "I love you." When was the last time you told Him that? Turn to Psalm 116 and read it out loud. It's a beautiful—and biblical—way of telling God, "I love You!"

        Some Things Never Change —
        Recent statistics show that a large percent of both married men and women have had or will have extramarital affairs. Divorce statistics indicate that reconciliation rarely occurs. Hosea's relationship with his unfaithful wife, Gomer, illustrates what the prophet Malachi declared: "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away [divorce]" (Malachi 2:16).

Love is the forgetting of oneself in the service of another.