Two separate images are presented in Hosea that remind us of the depth of God’s love and His desire to be with His people: (1) husband and wife and (2) father and child. Both images are so easily relatable that we sometimes forget the seriousness of the subject. God pines after His love, Israel, like a husband for His wife. He wants her to reciprocate and it breaks His heart every time she goes astray. Like Hosea, He continues to reach out to save her. She, like some terrible circumstances sometimes today, keeps going back to abusive lovers. God offers her love, compassion, and care, but she remains unfaithful. 

Then the love of God is likened to father and child, as He described His Fatherhood of Israel (Hos. 11). In my opinion, no other passage in the OT compares with the heartbreak God feels in Hosea 11. He, as Israel’s father, called them by name, led them out of captivity, nurtured and provided for them in the wilderness, and disciplined them as they needed. He fathered them. However, they did not return His love and kindness, they turned away from Him and by their actions, begged Him to discipline them. They rejected His adoption. Again, God is left crying over His departed child, His child that does not return His love. I can’t read the chapter without it hitting me hard. 

This is God’s love for His people. He desires a relationship like a husband to a wife and He longs for reconciliation like a Father for a wayward child. What a powerful image!