October 22, 2026 Devo

October 22nd, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. – Hosea 3:1-3 (NLT)
“The High Price of Love”

This is one of the most amazing pieces of scripture in the Bible. After instructing Hosea to marry a prostitute and have children with her, she decides to leave him and go back to her wayward ways. So God comes to Hosea once again and tells him to go buy her back and take her as his wife AGAIN.
Process this with me for a moment. God tells him to marry a prostitute. Marrying a woman with that kind of soiled reputation would be absolutely humiliating for Hosea. People had to think he was crazy. Even though he knew God was using it to make a point, can you imagine the kind of ridicule he received? I wonder how many times people laughed at him, mocked him, and called him and his wife all kinds of names? People aren’t kind about stuff like that. Think of it like social media in 500 B.C. It’s probably what actually drove Gomer to go back to her life of sin. She most likely just couldn’t take it anymore.
Now, picture yourself as Hosea when God comes back and tells him to go marry her again. Only this time, because she’s owned by someone who rents her out, he has to PAY for her! Most of us wouldn’t take her back if she came crawling on her hands and knees and paid US to take her in. She made her choice. Let her live with it.
But God wanted the people to know just how great His Love really is. He not only welcomes those from the darkest parts of life, but He has also PAID to make it possible. Jesus Christ purchased us back from the Devil who owned us, so that we might be a part of the Family of God. But the price for us was a lot more than 15 shekels of silver and some groceries. The price was the life of our Lord Himself. His blood. His body. His death. That was the price our God paid to buy us back.
Take a moment today to camp on this thought. Think about how much YOU would be willing to pay for someone who rejected you, abandoned you, and threw your love back in your face. Then think about Jesus. He said that we were worth everything He had, even when we’ve lived lives as dark and soiled as Gomer. That’s God. That’s Grace. That’s the High Price of Love. And that’s God’s Word for you today.