Redeeming Love

         A Novel by Francine Rivers

   When I first started writing a blog, I vowed that I would never ever write a book review! And especially not a review about a book with the word love in the title!
    2 years down the line….. and now I am writing a book review!
    Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is a very hard book to put down!
  Which bible story, in your opinion, is the most shocking? Maybe  Joseph being dumped in a pit by his brothers? Maybe Samson pulling down a building around himself (not to mention the 3,000 Philistines also at the party!) Maybe a shepherd boy becoming a King? Well, I would suggest that God taking on flesh and being crucified for his people is, undoubtedly, the most shocking story known to man…
   …Second to that is the story of Hosea.
   Hosea? I hear you ask. That ‘minor’ prophet? The Israelite farmer? Yes, him.
      
     Redeeming Love is a dramatised retelling of Hosea (vaguely) set in California in the 1800s- gold rush time! One of the main characters, Michael Hosea, is based (not surprisingly) on Hosea! The other, Sarah/Angel, is based on Gomar (Hosea’s wife).  All sounds fairly simple so far?
   Thats all about to change.
  

     Why is the biblical (and historical) story of Hosea so shocking?
     Because Gomar, his wife, was a prostitute.
      Hosea was instructed to take a wife of whoredom. He married Gomar and loved her; and even when she ran back to her prostitution, he found her and bought her back for a large sum. Hosea’s marriage is used by God as a picture of Israel (and therefore the Church as well). Israel were the chosen people of God, blessed greatly by him, however they chased after other Gods and sold themselves to the Baals and Asherahs; the Lord sent his own son to bring them back- at the cost of his own blood.
   Redeeming Love tells the stories of a man who really understands and lives his wedding vows and a woman who has lost the power to trust. It is a hard book to put down! Its not a small book, but the story and the message upon which it was based kept me reading and reading and reading.  As the publisher explains, Rivers had to make some tough decisions regarding exactly how much detail to use. At times, especially near the start, the book can seem graphic (not so much in what it says, but in what it leaves unsaid) however as you read on, the reasons for the detail becomes apparent.
   Read the book of Hosea, be astounded by God’s redeeming love for his People and Church, and then, if you feel so inclined, read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. It isn’t infallible, it isn’t perfect, but it is an honest, brilliantly-written story which can teach us something about the love of God.