I will heal their defection and love them freely/unconditionally. The Bible is awash with several verses that celebrate the uniqueness of the Lord God. Most of these verses almost always point to the ‘might’ of God, that no god can be said to have ‘done’ such great things as the Lord God. And while this is certainly true, I also believe that the ‘greatness’ of the Lord God sometimes lies in God not doing a thing (or rather God refusing to act). Today’s passage from the Prophet Hosea reminds us of such an instance. Israel had turned their backs on the Lord their God. By turning their backs on the Lord God, not only had they walked away from God but also denounced the covenant and its terms of obligation with which they had bound themselves. Naturally, one would have expected God to also walk away. For as a partner to a contract, God was not obliged to hold on to the terms of the covenant (cf. Exodus 6:7:  I will be your God to look after you and fight your wars) after Israel’s failure to keep her own end of the bargain. However, God refuses to act as would have been expected. God still holds the terms of the covenant as sacred, and is determined to remain faithful to it despite Israel’s actions.  
Israel’s infidelity to the terms of the covenant notwithstanding, God was still willing to take Israel back without placing conditions upon her. God doesn’t ask for reparation from the sons and daughters of Israel as penalty for breaking the contract. Instead, God offers to heal their defection and to love them freely. God’s decision to look beyond the past transgressions of Israel is one of those qualities that are unique to the Lord God. God chooses to treat the Israelites thus, not because God is weak, but rather because all that God wants is the happiness of Israel. Israel’s choice to turn away from the Lord was hurting her, not God, and the more she stayed away from the Lord, the more she would get hurt. Seeing Israel hurting herself wasn’t something that pleased God. However, God would not force them to return to God. Israel was free to return to God or stay estranged from God. And in case she decided to return to God, all that she needed to do was to ask God for forgiveness. God’s extended arms were ready to embrace her and to love her as before.