Hosea 3:1-3 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.  (2)  So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:  (3)  And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

God tells Hosea to go get Gomer back! Prostitutes of that time would have sold themselves into slavery and Homer went after her and bought her back. Fifteen pieces of silver is half the replacement price of a slave (Ex. 21:32) which shows how low Gomer had fallen. Hosea went and redeemed Gomer, he paid the price necessary to bring her home. What do we see here? The love that God has for the world. Gomer was not really even worth the fifteen pieces of silver and we, as sinners, are not worth the price God paid for us.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1Pe 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  (19)  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

God gave up His only begotten Son to pay our redemption price. God’s wrath was inflicted upon His only begotten Son so that people today do not have to feel God’s wrath. Jesus Christ had to suffer and die on the cross so that people can be redeemed. Why? Because we were lost sinners, sold and in bondage to sin. That is why Christ gave up His life for the world, so that we can come to Him as sinners and repent and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. What a wonderful picture we see here in the Old Testament book of Hosea about our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. A person that has not repented of their sins and fully trusted in Jesus Christ can come to Him no matter how awful or bad their sins are. Jesus Christ created all things and all people and everything belongs to Him. However, He will not force anyone to come to Him – they must choose to come and that is another aspect of God’s love. Before salvation, we were walking contrary to Him and were only focused on our wants and desires. Our love and affection was only directed to our favorite person: us! While the world was enjoying its sin and staying far away from God: Paul wrote:

Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And there is that phrase again, “but God.” Despite our unlovable condition, God still loved us and loved us so much that He gave His only begotten son. Again, God’s love is unconditional – He still loves us even when we are behaving at our lowest behavior. In Hosea 14:4, God declares: I will love them freely. Charles Spurgeon wrote: When God says, “I will love them freely,” He means that no prayers, no tears, no good works, no alms are an inducement to Him to love men. Not only nothing in themselves, but nothing anywhere else was the cause of His love to them, not even the blood of Christ. Not even the groans and tears of His beloved son. These are the fruits of His love, not the cause of it. He does not love because Christ died, but Christ died because the Father loved. Remember that this fountain of love has its spring in itself, not in you, nor in me, but only in the Father’s own gracious, infinite heart of goodness.

Just because one person does “more” for God than another, does not mean God loves that person more. That person may receive more rewards or crowns, but God does not love that person more. If He did, then His love would be conditional. Just as Hosea pleaded with Gomer to return to him, God pleads for His people to return to Him. The Israelites had been unfaithful to God and because of what Hosea went through with Gomer, he was able to walk through Israel tearfully telling them, “You have left God, please repent and come back to Him. I, Hosea, somewhat know how God feels because I feel the same way. You have broken the heart of God.” Now God could have cast Israel away. God could have destroyed His people, but God loves His people and he made a covenant with them and He kept it, even if they did not.