Allure

 "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
Hosea 2:14 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/hos.2.14.ESV

This is astonishing language. Imagine if your partner played the whore and slept around whilst still officially married to you. You'd be gravitating to the divorce courts, not to seducing them!

Even more astonishing is that this verse isn't primarily about Hosea and his wayward wife Gomer. This is about God and His adulterous people. Instead of condemning us to hell, God seeks to woo us all over again.

To bring us into the wilderness doesn't sound particularly pleasant. Yet that's where God first found us, spiritually speaking. He's urging us to return to our first love, Himself.

God doesn't condemn His people, not matter how far we stray. He'll always bring us back. He won't leave us out in the wilderness to perish, but will safely bring us through to His promised new creation.

'Father in heaven, how ought we to respond to such prodigious love that You have for us? May we come running to You from the wilderness of our sin, and find in You an oasis of peace. In Christ our Saviour's name, amen'

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