him to action, but the divine law appears to prohibit the action to which he is called.
According to the ancient law, a man who has divorced a woman may not remarry the same woman; especially after she has been married to, and divorced from another man (Deut 24:1-4). The moving question is that how could God ask Hosea to do what is prohibited in the divine law? However, Peter C. Craigie contends that the question is phrased wrongly! Love always precedes law. If law took pre-eminence, there would be no gospel in either Old or New Testament. And as Hosea is asked to go beyond law in the pursuit of love, so too does he demonstrate God’s purpose of love that transcends law.
Therefore, Hosea 3, in a nutshell presents us with the gospel of love in the Old Testament. If law were the sole criterion, God could not have sent his son to redeem the world, any more than Hosea could have gone out to redeem Gomer. But divine love is a force that does not know any bounds; law may follow love, especially in marriage, to give some structure to the form of love, but law can never have pre-eminence.
Hosea 3:1-5 also demonstrate the unfailing pursuit of God’s love. When by all standards, …show more content…
Hitherto, we have been able to establish that the textual unit v 1-5 has composite parts that have played a very key role in shaping the structure of the thesis. We have exposed the kernel of this thesis in establishing that in marriage, love should take precedence over law. This chapter has demonstrated that God’s command of love and the positive response of the various players have together shaped the theme of Divine love and needed human response. We have also established that Hosea’s role in this web of love is very vital; he could endure, even amid a seeming disobedience to the Divine law; this is the kind of determination and obedience needed in marriage in order to allow love to reign supreme over
According to the ancient law, a man who has divorced a woman may not remarry the same woman; especially after she has been married to, and divorced from another man (Deut 24:1-4). The moving question is that how could God ask Hosea to do what is prohibited in the divine law? However, Peter C. Craigie contends that the question is phrased wrongly! Love always precedes law. If law took pre-eminence, there would be no gospel in either Old or New Testament. And as Hosea is asked to go beyond law in the pursuit of love, so too does he demonstrate God’s purpose of love that transcends law.
Therefore, Hosea 3, in a nutshell presents us with the gospel of love in the Old Testament. If law were the sole criterion, God could not have sent his son to redeem the world, any more than Hosea could have gone out to redeem Gomer. But divine love is a force that does not know any bounds; law may follow love, especially in marriage, to give some structure to the form of love, but law can never have pre-eminence.
Hosea 3:1-5 also demonstrate the unfailing pursuit of God’s love. When by all standards, …show more content…
Hitherto, we have been able to establish that the textual unit v 1-5 has composite parts that have played a very key role in shaping the structure of the thesis. We have exposed the kernel of this thesis in establishing that in marriage, love should take precedence over law. This chapter has demonstrated that God’s command of love and the positive response of the various players have together shaped the theme of Divine love and needed human response. We have also established that Hosea’s role in this web of love is very vital; he could endure, even amid a seeming disobedience to the Divine law; this is the kind of determination and obedience needed in marriage in order to allow love to reign supreme over