“As it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.” Romans 9:13
The objects of God’s love are simply those He has chosen to love. Jacob was the object of God’s love regardless of his condition — regardless of his rebellion, his conniving, his deceiving. Despite all that, the Lord followed him as “the hound of heaven.” Wherever Jacob went, the Lord was there alluring him, seeking him, winning him. This is an example of God’s love toward His people, and it is absolutely an unconditional kind of love. In the same way, there are no conditions to meet in the book of Hosea. Gomer, symbolizing God’s people, has forgotten the Lord. She has gone to idols. Because this is her state, the Lord says that He will bring her to the wilderness and speak to her heart tenderly. He will do things in order to allure and win her.
Then in Hosea 2:19-20 the Lord says, 19 “I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and judgment, in lovingkindness and mercy; 20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD.” Though His people are in a rebellious condition, the Lord says, “I will betroth you to Me forever.” This definitely tells us that He has plans for them — plans for a future marriage and union with Him. He is going to betroth; He is going to enter into a contract, a pledge, like a covenant, to love and to win them. Here we see the nature of God’s love. Each time His love is revealed, it is toward ones in a rebellious condition, a fallen condition, a sinful condition — conditions that merit absolutely nothing, that deserve nothing but judgment and hell. But all the while, God keeps coming and revealing Himself.