{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"The God Who Restores the Unfaithful | Hosea 2:18-23","description":"Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day. Get your Hosea Scripture Journal now. Listen to our text today, Hosea 2:18-23: And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. \u201cAnd in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, \u2018You are my people\u2019; and he shall say, \u2018You are my God.\u2019\u201d  \u2014 Hosea 2:18-23 This chapter began with betrayal. Now it ends with a wedding. \u201cI will betroth you to me forever.\u201d Three times God repeats it. Not once. Three times. \u201cI will betroth you.\u201d \u201cI will betroth you.\u201d \u201cI will betroth you.\u201d This is the language of a husband pursuing an unfaithful bride. Israel had chased other lovers. They trusted Baal for prosperity. They built a culture of worship around false gods. But God does something shocking. He pursues her anyway. And notice what the restoration is built on. Not Israel\u2019s faithfulness. God says: \u201cI will betroth you in righteousness\u2026 justice\u2026 steadfast love\u2026 mercy\u2026 faithfulness.\u201d Every one of those words describes his character, not theirs. Because the relationship is restored not by Israel becoming worthy\u2014but by God choosing to love. Then God does something even more beautiful. He restores their identity. Earlier in Hosea, the children\u2019s names symbolized judgment: Jezreel \u2014 scattered. Lo-Ruhamah \u2014 no mercy. Lo-Ammi \u2014 not my people. But now God reverses them. \u201cI will sow her.\u201d \u201cI will have mercy.\u201d \u201cYou are my people.\u201d God doesn\u2019t just forgive. He renames. He gives back the identity that sin tried to destroy. This is the heart of the gospel. God does not pursue perfect people. He pursues unfaithful people. People who drift. Who compromise. Who chase other loves. And he restores them because of who he is, not who they are. But here\u2019s where this becomes personal. If you think your failures have disqualified you from God\u2019s pursuit, you have misunderstood the entire story of Hosea. God is not looking for a perfect bride. He is calling a wandering bride home. The question is not whether God is willing to restore you. The question is whether you will turn back to the Lover whom you betrayed, who never stopped loving you. DO THIS: Take a moment today to thank God for pursuing you even when you have drifted, and consciously return your heart to him. ASK THIS: Why is it difficult for people to believe God still pursues them after failure? How does God\u2019s character make restoration possible? Where might God be inviting you to return to him today? PRAY THIS: Father, thank you for pursuing me even when I wander. Restore my heart and help me live in the identity you have given me. Amen. PLAY THIS: "Goodness of God\u201d ","author_name":"The Daily + Weekly by Vince Miller","author_url":"https:\/\/beresolute.org\/vincemillerspeaker","html":"