Ishi (My Husband)
When the LORD began to speak through the prophet Hosea, He told him to marry an adulterous wife (Gomer)…symbolic of Israel’s vilest adultery in her relationship with the LORD. The LORD then declares, “In that day, you will call me Ishi (my Husband); you will no longer call me ‘my master’....I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.” God’s passionate love for Israel is reflected in the name Ishi “husband.” God is pictured as the perfect husband to His people – loving, forgiving, faithful, providing, and protecting. As a zealous God, He desires nothing short of a monogamous relationship with us. We, however, prove an unfaithful bride to Him again and again, yet His marital commitment to us runs so deep that He sent us a forever Bridegroom – Jesus Christ. He is our Faithful Provider who keeps us in Him until the day of “the wedding supper of the Lamb” (Rev 19:9), meaning you are His beautiful, redeemed, set apart bride!