Hosea

I guess before God let Assyria invade Israel, He was thinking of various ways to get the Israelites' attention so that they would turn their ways. One of the most unusual was having Hosea marry a prostitute to illustrate the unfaithfulness of Israel. It didn't work, though, because Israel did not get the message!

The rest of the book of Hosea is all about God pleading to the Israelites through Hosea that they should return to the time of the wilderness when Israel totally depended on God. God mixes in hope, throughout however. It really shows us that God can at the same time be so exasperated with us, yet so full of love. How does he do it?

My favorite verse of Hosea has always been Hosea 6:6 - "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."

I'm looking forward to the rest of the Old Testament: lots of short books, the only one of which I've read is Jonah.