Love Over Law
Daily Old Testament Reading: Hosea 2-4
Daily Focus Passage: Hosea 3
The Lord’s calling on Hosea’s wife forced him to abandon the law to fulfill love. In the New Testament, Jesus framed this concept when he declared that people must love the Lord with all their hearts, minds, souls, and strength, and second to this was to love their neighbor as the self. In Hosea 3, the prophet faced the tension of following the Lord in love or obeying the law known by humanity. This moment in Hosea’s life continues to teach us today the importance of sacrificing the law at the feet of love and not love at the feet of the law.
THE BREAKING OF THE LAW
Hosea spent his life attempting to keep the law and honor the Lord. This faithfulness to the law and the Lord would now be challenged as he had to decide to keep the law or fulfill God’s calling. The law stated that a man must not take back a wife who left him in adultery or marry a woman of prostitution. Gomer had broken these laws, and for Hosea to receive her back would require him to violate two laws. Hosea knew that God’s command outweighed the law, so we find that Hosea fulfills God’s command. Today, we must recognize that the calling of the Lord must outweigh religious traditions or expectations.
THE COMMAND OF LOVE
The Lord commanded Hosea to go and get Gomer even though she had abandoned him. The call to go and get her included the command that he was to go and love her as his wife. This meant that love must overcome the law and that love must propel the ability to be unified to that which was unfaithful and broken. Hosea was not to marry her because the Lord told him to; instead, he was to marry and love. Today, we must come to the place to allow the command of love for others to be genuine. This does not mean they are perfect or deserving, but as the Lord’s people, we are called to love them despite their failures and flaws.
THE COMMAND OF HOW TO LOVE
The Lord told Hosea to love Gomer how the Lord loves each person. This love is deeper than human love and remains steadfast and true no matter how rough life's journey becomes. The love commanded by the Lord was the love that drove Hosea to go and get Gomer back, even though she committed the most horrible of actions. This love mirrors Christ's love. He loved us so much that he desired to go to the cross and pay the price of death for our horrific, sinful life. Today, we must strive to love others in this manner.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE
Love is above the law. Divine love always overcomes divine law. Christ demonstrated this in his ministry when he extended compassion to others when the act of compassion broke the letter of the law. Without divine love, no one could overcome the penalty of divine law. The presence of divine law without divine love would leave us hopeless. The idea of love carries the action of pursuit. We pursue the Lord in love, and we pursue living with others as the overflow of our love for the Lord that fuels our love for others.
