The Pain of Loving an Adulterous Spouse – Hosea’s Case as an Example

Marriage is such a God-honouring institution. Since the beginning, God has placed much emphasis on this covenant, firmly establishing the truth that the wife is supposed to be a helpmeet of the husband (see Genesis 2:18). But today, many things have gone wrong. From gay marriages now organised in several countries across the world to lesbianism, adultery, multiple forms of fornication and hugely disgusting sexual sins that keep evolving every day, never have I seen marriages under attack as it is today. The devil, knowing how essential marriage is in God’s plan, is working day and night to destroy many homes. Sadly, many people aren’t doing much about it. Today, I want to take one incident that happened in the Bible, specifically Hosea 3, which I hope will help every married person enduring the pain of loving an adulterous spouse.

The will of God in choosing a spouse

So many people say that God has one specific person to whom people can get married. But God doesn’t play games. There are many people you can get married to. However, your choice of spouse should be in connection with your destiny, not just anybody else. Why? Because your future spouse will be your helper, and if he or she isn’t God-fearing enough to walk with you on this divine path called life in Christ, you will be in trouble.

Now, let’s say you have yet to choose a spouse. You hear God clearly telling you to choose someone. Of course, you are going to do some background checks, right? Why? Because you love your life so much that you don’t want to bottle it with the wrong marriage. But what if that same spouse you took a careful time to choose took a wrong turn in life after you got married? Instead of being faithful to you, he goes out and has extramarital affairs. How would you feel? Very disappointed. Right? With divorce rates going high, you may think of divorce as the straight answer. But what if God has a different purpose for that season in your life? Hmm 🤔

Discern God’s reason for your troubles

Hosea got married to a harlot. But he didn’t divorce her, although he could have. He had severe problems, but he obeyed God. Actually, God told him to reconcile with his wife because of something spiritual He wanted to teach the Israelites. At that time, the Jews weren’t serving God but other idols. And that was pure idolatry. So, instead of them staying married to God in divine fellowship, their idolatry was harlotry before Him. Today, anybody who’s born again in Christ but still feasts on worldly lusts commits the same sin.

God wanted Israel to return back to Him (see Hosea 3:4); He wanted the Jews to repent. So, Hosea’s marriage was a spiritual mirror of how God saw His relationship with the Israelites. If you are reading this today, I can assure you that there is hope for your marriage in God. Could it be that God wants to teach you faithfulness or something specific in the scriptures through the trial of your spouse being unfaithful to you? Don’t be in a rush to end your marriage so soon. Spend time praying for yourself and your spouse. And the God who turns ashes into beauty will restore your marriage.

You are a blessing!