Session 7 Hosea 1:2-9; 3:1-5
HOSEA 1:2-9; 3:1-5
MEMORY VERSE: HOSEA 2:23
One of the most difficult offenses for us to forgive is betrayal. The difficulty is even greater when the betrayal has been going on for an extended amount of time. That being the case, it is mindboggling to contemplate God’s compassion toward His people when we are unfaithful against Him, considering all He has done for us. God directed Hosea to marry a woman who would betray their marriage vows, thus illustrating God’s love for His people.
The first verse in the book of Hosea indicates God called Hosea to be His prophet during the reign of Uzziah, a king of Judah, and that his ministry continued through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, also kings of Judah. His ministry lasted for a period of at least thirty to forty years. Hosea’s ministry also occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II, the only king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel mentioned in Hosea 1:1, even though Hosea’s ministry was focused mainly on the Northern Kingdom. This may indicate that the message of this book concentrated on Israel during Jeroboam’s reign.
The Lord’s first words to Hosea were unusual. God told Hosea to go and marry a “woman of promiscuity.” Such women appear to have been in great number (4:14). God apparently told Hosea to do this for two reasons. First, as God’s messenger, Hosea would be able to better understand the message God gave him to communicate to Israel. Second, Hosea’s marriage served as a living example of what was happening between God and Israel. The Lord’s message to Israel was to be both audible and visual.
Hosea married Gomer, and Gomer had three children, whose names represented the divine judgments God was pronouncing on Israel. The first child was named Jezreel, a place recalling the wicked blood lust of Jehu’s dynasty. The present king of Israel, Jeroboam II, was part of this dynasty. It also would be the place of Israel’s army’s demise (1:5). The next child was named Lo-ruhamah, meaning “not loved” or “no compassion.” God had shown compassion to Israel, but now it was time for judgment. The third child was named Lo-ammi, meaning “not my people.” In contrast to the words God spoke through Moses in Egypt as He was about to deliver His people from bondage (see Ex. 6:7), here God said “you are not my people and I will not be your God” (Hos. 1:8).
In His mercy and grace, God promised one day to restore Israel and once again Israel would be His people (2:1-23). Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord, but the Lord promised to take Israel back as Hosea took back his wife, though she had forfeited the right for Hosea to love her (3:1-5).
2 When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, he said this to him: Go and marry a woman of promiscuity, and have children of promiscuity, for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the LORD.
The Lord’s first words to Hosea at the beginning of his prophetic ministry were shocking: Go and marry a woman of promiscuity. Bible students have suggested a variety of interpretations to explain this command. The interpretation that best fits the message and context of this passage suggests that after receiving God’s instruction to go and marry an already immoral woman, Hosea took Gomer to be his wife. Just as the Lord had bound Himself in His covenant with Israel, Hosea bound himself to Gomer in the covenant of marriage. This act would be the foundation of Hosea’s message to Israel and especially qualify him to deliver his message.
As if the first part of the Lord’s command to Hosea was not difficult enough, the Lord also told Hosea that he was to have children of promiscuity. It is possible this means Gomer and Hosea’s children were not really Hosea’s but were the products of Gomer’s promiscuity and infidelity to Hosea. Whether or not that was the case, Hosea's children bore the stigma of promiscuity because of their mother. They would become essential parts of God’s object lesson to Israel. Israel was the promiscuous mother and her people were her promiscuous children. Hosea’s children would be signs to the nation.
God gave these shocking instructions to Hosea so that he and his family might serve as a living object lesson of what God was experiencing with Israel. The nation was committing blatant acts of promiscuity by abandoning the LORD and turning to idols.
3 So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the LORD said to him: Name him Jezreel, for in a little while I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu and put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.5 On that day I will break the bow of Israel in Jezreel Valley.
Hosea obeyed the Lord and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim to be his wife. There is nothing significant about the meaning of these names. However, the fact that they are mentioned by name points to the fact that this account is not a made up story. These were real people and real events, and what happened to Hosea was very real and painful. Furthermore, beyond this information, we know nothing else about Gomer except what the text reveals about her in chapters 1–3. Some Bible students have suggested she was a typical prostitute. If so, one would have expected a different Hebrew word that means “prostitute” to have been used in the text. Before Gomer married Hosea, she probably was not a typical prostitute who worked in a brothel. It is more likely she engaged in her promiscuous activities expecting gifts in return from her lovers. The people of Israel did not involve themselves in idolatrous activities for nothing; they expected to receive something from their gods for their efforts. Gomer would have been no different. Even if she was not a typical prostitute, she prostituted herself nonetheless.
Verse 3 indicates Gomer conceived and bore Hosea a son. The Lord told Hosea to name his son Jezreel. Jezreel was an uncommon name for people during that time. It was the name of a valley and a town within that valley, located between the mountains of Galilee and Samaria. Its name means “may God make fertile,” signifying God’s bountiful blessing of produce that came from the region. The irony of this name is that Israel had turned to fertility cults and had forgotten that it was the Lord—not their false gods—who had blessed them with all that they had.
Jezreel repeatedly had been a place of bloodshed in Israel’s history. The judges Deborah and Gideon both fought battles there (Judg. 4-7). Saul and his sons prepared for the battle against the Philistines that led to their deaths in the Jezreel Valley (1 Sam. 29:1; 31:1-2). Jezreel was part of Ish-bosheth’s two-year kingdom in
opposition to David (2 Sam. 2:8-10). Jezreel was the home of Naboth, against whom Jezebel drummed up false accusations so she could give his vineyard to her husband, Ahab (1 Kings 21:6-14).
Jezreel was also the place where Jehu killed Joram, the king of Israel, and mortally wounded Ahaziah, the king of Judah. Moreover, Jehu had Jezebel, Joram’s mother, thrown from a window, then he rode over her bloody body with his horse, and left her corpse to be eaten by dogs before she was to be buried (2 Kings 9:16-37).
Jehu had been sent by God’s prophet, Elisha, to execute judgment on Ahab’s dynasty because of their egregious sins, especially the sin of idolatry. At first Jehu opposed Baal worship (2 Kings 10:18-28), but eventually he followed his predecessors’ wicked ways, leading the people to continue in their idolatrous practices (2 Kings 10:29,31). Jehu failed to learn the lesson of Jezreel. Therefore, Hosea’s son, Jezreel, represented the judgment that would come upon the kingdom of Israel in general and specifically upon the house of Jehu, of which Israel’s present king, Jeroboam, was a part.
The breaking of Israel’s bow meant Israel would not be able to defend itself. Some Bible students believe this prophecy was fulfilled when the Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser III, took control of the region including Jezreel in 733 BC (2 Kings 15:29). Others believe it happened when the last king of Jehu’s dynasty, Zechariah, was assassinated by Shallum in Ibleam, a town that was located in the southern part of the Jezreel Valley (v. 10). In either case, the name of Hosea’s son served to prophesy that the fall of Jehu’s dynasty and the demise of the nation of Israel would both happen within the vicinity of the Jezreel Valley.
6 She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter, and the Lord said to him: Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel. I will certainly take them away. 7 But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the Lord their God. I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses and cavalry.
When Gomer conceived a second time, she gave birth to a daughter, and the Lord instructed Hosea to name her Lo-ruhamah, meaning “not loved” or “no mercy.” Imagine that every time her name was called what it meant in their language. What an awful name for a little girl! What it meant for the people of Israel was just as ominous. God would show mercy to Israel no more. If the people wondered if Hosea had rejected his child, Hosea could answer, “I have not rejected my daughter, but God has disavowed you! What’s more, He will take you away into captivity.” This was ultimately fulfilled when Israel’s last king, Hoshea, declared independence from Assyrian suzerainty. The Assyrian king, Shalmaneser V, came to Israel in 725 BC and demanded Israel’s loyalty. When Hoshea refused, Shalmaneser laid siege to Samaria. The city held out for three years until it finally surrendered in 722 BC. At that time, the Assyrians carried the people of Israel into captivity.
Even though the Northern Kingdom of Israel was Hosea’s main audience, he could not neglect the Southern Kingdom: But I will have compassion on the house of Judah. Did this mean Judah would not have to deal with the Assyrian incursion? No. What it means is that while Israel would disintegrate and be dispersed into Assyrian exile, the Lord would preserve Judah in their land. When the Sennacherib’s Assyrian forces invaded Judah in 701 BC, Jerusalem was the only city not to fall. The city was not saved by military prowess but by amazing divine intervention, just as verse 7 foretells. As the Assyrians put Jerusalem under siege, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah cried out to the Lord to deliver them. The angel of the Lord went into the midst of the Assyrian camp and annihilated them, killing one hundred and eighty-five thousand. At that point, Sennacherib broke camp and returned to Nineveh (2 Kings 18:17-19:37; 2 Chron. 32:1-23).
Another question is, Why did God show compassion to Judah and not Israel? Israel’s sins had reached a point of no return. While Judah had godless kings, they also had some godly kings like Hezekiah. Eventually, Judah would experience the same degradation of idolatry Israel practiced, but they had not yet reached that point.
(In PSG, p. 68)
8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. 9 Then the LORD said: Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.
It is interesting verse 8 mentions that it was not until Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhamah that she conceived and gave birth to a third child, a son. It is difficult to be certain why Hosea included this information in his message. In their culture, a mother typically took three years to wean her child. That means about three years had transpired from the time of Lo-ruhamah’s birth. Mentioning this information about the timing of his third child’s birth could be a way of emphasizing the ongoing nature of Israel’s infidelity to the Lord and the durative nature of Hosea’s ministry and prophecies concerning Israel. Even in His messages of judgment, God was displaying His patience with Israel.
Like at the births of Hosea's previous two children, the Lord spoke to him and told him to name his son Lo-ammi, which means “not my people.” Whether this implies this child did not belong to Hosea is unclear. For you are not my people and I will not be your God echoes and reverses the language of God’s covenant with Israel (Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12). I will not be your God also can be translated, “I am not I AM to you.” This was a clear reference to God’s establishing His covenant with Moses by revealing the name Yahweh (Ex. 3:14-15). Here, God declared His rejection of His covenant people.
(In PSG, p. 69)
1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and nine bushels of barley.
The Lord spoke again to Hosea, telling him: Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Hosea’s love was to be patterned after God’s love, a love that is given to those who do not deserve to be loved. It is noteworthy that Hosea did not call the woman by name, which has led some Bible students to conclude this was a different woman from Gomer. However, if it was not Gomer, it would not fit the message God intended to demonstrate in the life of Hosea and his family. It only makes sense if the woman in adultery was Hosea’s own wife. With this in mind, it still raises the question as to the reason Gomer’s name was not mentioned. It appears she forfeited her identity when she committed adultery against Hosea, just as Israel forfeited its identity as the people of God because of their unfaithfulness to Him.
Gomer the promiscuous (Hos. 1:2) had become Gomer the adulterous. Only a married person can be an adulterer. This digression in Gomer’s relationship to Hosea mirrored Israel’s relationship to the Lord. Israel’s ancestors worshiped other gods in Mesopotamia, where God first spoke to Abraham (Josh. 24:14-15). By His grace, God called Abraham to Himself and made a covenant with Abraham’s descendants at Mount Sinai. A people who once were promiscuous before this covenant had become adulterers after having entered into a covenant with the Lord. Apparently, consuming raisin cakes was part of Israel’s idolatrous ceremonies. Raisin cakes apparently were used in Canaanite religious practices. While the Lord loved the Israelites, they turned to other gods and loved their raisin cakes.
It is difficult to know why Hosea needed to purchase Gomer. Most likely either she had become the personal slave of someone or she had become a temple prostitute. In Hebrew, the word translated bought implies the
purchase involved some haggling. What’s more, the fact that Hosea needed to include nine bushels of barley with the fifteen shekels of silver may indicate the purchase was costly for Hosea, not having enough shekels to make the purchase.
3 I said to her, “You are to live with me many days. You must not be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you.” 4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols. 5 Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the LORD and to his goodness in the last days.
Hosea took in Gomer and instructed her that she should live with him in total abstinence of sexual relations with any man, including Hosea, for many days. This suggests the time would come after these many days when they could once again resume the normal life as husband and wife. The goal for Hosea was the resumption of his covenant relationship of marriage with Gomer.
Verses 4-5 explain the analogy of Hosea’s marriage as it reflects what God would do with Israel. For a time, Israel would be without a king, a priesthood, or any idols. Then when their time of probation came to completion, Israel would return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. This promise anticipated the return of the Davidic kingship. Amos, who was a contemporary of Hosea, anticipated this as well, along with numerous other prophets (Amos 9:11-12; see also Ezek. 34:11-24; Jer. 23:5-6). New Testament writers attested that the David of whom Hosea spoke is the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 2:34-35; 13:22-23,32-34; Rev. 5:5; 22:16). The restoration of the people of God would be complete in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(In PSG, p. 70)
Man
Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. (See Psalm 32:1-5; Ephesians 2:8-9.)
Use a Bible dictionary.
Read an article on the Jezreel Valley in a Bible dictionary. Make a list of the events and the people involved in those events from the Old Testament. How do these people and events connect to Hosea’s naming his son Jezreel? How does the naming of the son illustrate the importance of learning from the past?