With bands of love

Hosea 11:4

I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love…

In the book of Hosea, we learn of the great mercy and compassion of God on His people Israel, who had turned their back on Him and played the harlot. And, although they turned against Him, He did not forget them. He did not turn away from them. He may have punished them for a time, but He never forgot them. Even in Assyria, He did not forget Israel. Even in Babylon, He did not forget Judah. He unceasingly and unrelentingly sought to bring them back to Himself. He drew them with cords of a man. He drew them to Himself by sending prophets and preachers to tell of their sin. He sent seers in their midst to draw them back. He drew them with bands of love.

Bands of love! A band has the idea that God’s love is inescapable, inevitable, unbreakable. No matter how much Israel sinned, they could not extricate themselves from under such bands. They seemed to try everything possible to do so. But they could not! For the love of God is as bands. It holds a person, it keeps a person, it restrains a person. The bands of love have often kept us from sin, from destruction, from being forgotten by our Lord! Does not the apostle Paul in the New Testament tell us that “the love of Christ constraineth us?” It keeps us, holds us, compels us, and binds us to Him.

Thank God for the bands of love! How often have I been prone to wander! How often have you been tempted to turn to the lesser and futile things of the world, and God, by His mercy, has brought you back! His bands have been on you! You could not break free of them. And we praise God for this! Is there some soul that is wandering for whom you are immensely concerned? Know, my dear one, that the love of God is greater than the love you have for them; and by His grace, He shall draw them with cords and with bands of love. That person will not break free of His bands. And let us thank Him for the love that has constrained our own lives, and may that be the impetus for all that we do. Bands of love! Let us stay in His love, as the apostle Jude says: “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” Do not fight against His bands, but praise Him that you are kept in His care all the days of your life.

“Father, there are often times when we tragically doubt your love for us, and we think we have been abandoned. But no! This is a lie! We are inextricably and inseparably bound to you! And so are those whom we love. Seek after them, we pray, and may we never wander for a moment from this wonderful love; but may every thought, word, and doing be constrained by the wonderful love of Christ. For it is in His wonderful name that we pray, Amen.”