Redeeming Love, a novel based on the Biblical account of Hosea's faith in God, was written by Francine Rivers. Dated back to the 1800s, the story allows access to the relationship of Gomer and Hosea in more of a personal and emotional level. In the book of Hosea, the Lord commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute and deliver her from that situation. However, the wife returned to her sinful ways continuously, yet Hosea repeatedly took her home because of God's command. In the account from the Bible, readers are not told the details of what Gomer and Hosea felt individually. Therefore, Francine Rivers expertly guides the readers into the lives of two fictional characters as she retells the Biblical story with congruous concepts and themes. Redeeming Love is one of the best romance novels because it shows that God's love can wash away the combination of betrayal and abandonment, alter the numbness of emotions, and replace it with the greatest love, sacrificial love. .
As Angel worked in a brothel, a young farmer named Michael Hosea was commanded by God to take her out of that place. After several failed attempts in the brothel, Michael left with rage, only to come back at a later date when Angel's life was hanging by a thread. Thereafter, Michael traded most his possessions for her, wedded her while she was delirious, and brought her to his home. Angel mended slowly under Michael's care; she planned to repay him by physical means, but Michael refused. He loved her and he wanted the same from her, but she relentlessly shut him out, used her past to attempt to disgust him, and ran away several times, returning to her "life". However, each time Michael searched and found her, she returned with him and slowly fell in love with this crazy man, she thought, who should not love her because she was unworthy. As obstacles continued to come between their relationship, Hosea's faith was tested numerously, Angel's numbness to life stirred, and God's goodness and mercy shone brightly.
