The story of Hosea is one of my favorites from the Bible. God asks one of His prophets to marry a prostitute in order to show us an example of His love for us. It is so extravagant that many people conclude that it could never have actually happened and that it must be a fable only. I disagree. I think the absurdity is exactly the point of the story. God loves us like that. Up until now, Francine Rivers’ book called Redeeming Love has been the main book about Hosea. While this is a huge hit with ladies, I’m hoping Jud’s book becomes the new recommendation for it.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“God clearly has a divine obsession with us, His children. And measures we would consider outrageous, to say the least, are not beyond His limit to get His point across.”

“Grace will always be outlandish, wild, unpredictable, undeserved. Based on human logic, or even on the way most people would feel, God’s grace is certifiably crazy or it is not grace.”

“God wants to fulfill the emptiness inside us with a love that will cause all our idols to fall by the wayside. This is why I believe that conquering our idols and habitual sins is ultimately a matter of being swept up by His love rather than gritting our teeth and trying harder.”

“The one who holds it all together is holding you and your problems. If He holds the atom together, He can hold you and your family. If He holds the stars in place, He can hold you in your depression. If He holds the moon in orbit, he can hold you in your financial struggle. If He holds the water in the oceans, He can hold you in your marriage troubles. If He holds the sun, He can hold you in the death of a family member.”

And my favorite quote of all is this one:

“The gospel of Hosea is this: No matter what we do, no matter how sinful we are, God pursues us, romances us, stalks us, and stakes us out in a radical grace based in Himself. When we run away from Him, God still pursues us.”