1Yahweh’s word that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2When Yahweh spoke at first by Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and children of unfaithfulness; for the land commits great adultery, forsaking Yahweh.”
3So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bore him a son.
4Yahweh said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease. 5It will happen in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
6She conceived again, and bore a daughter.
Then he said to him, “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I should in any way pardon them. 7But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”
8Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
9He said, “Call his name Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be yours. 10Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can’t be measured or counted; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ 11The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from the land; for great will be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea was a prophet in the North Province of Israel. Prophets declare the words of God in three main ways.
- In prediction of coming times
- In proclamation of current times
- In practical demonstration of the heart of God and the condition of his people.
This practical demonstration was seen in Ezekiel as he lay on his sides symbolising the weight of the sin of the people. Hosea was called to reflect the heart of God and the condition of his people in a practical way. God called Hosea to take a wife, even in the knowledge that she would become a prostitute. This was much more than just a symbol it was Hosea’s whole life that would reflect the story of God.
Hosea a loving husband married Gomer and cared for her and was a good husband. This was a reflection of how God chose Israel for his bride, he loved her, gave her a place of honour and was a good husband. Despite Hosea’s love, respect and affection for her Gomer left him to go into prostitution. Her food and clothes were now purchased by strangers that used her and she relied on the money she made through sin to keep her alive. Gomer’s adultery and separation from Hosea was a reflection of the way that Israel abandoned God and turned to other nations and practices, tearing the once beautiful relationship apart. The sin of Gomer was publicly displayed for all to see. It would be easy to think that the book of Hosea is about the sin of the people, but actually it is much more a reflection on the broken heart of God, when his precious and loved people abandon him and declare they have no need of him. God is not unaffected by the rebellion of his people.