“Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.”So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley. And I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.”
For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.”
All this time, the Israelites have been taking the One True Living God for granted, thinking they can play loose and free with the Creator of the Universe while they enjoy pagan rituals and feasts. The citizens of both Israel and Judah have been engaging enthusiastically in Ishtar worship, cherishing little house gods, teraphim, and enjoying drunken orgies during fertility cult rites. And all this time, God has continued to wait patiently for His people to come to their senses. The message of this chapter is that God is finished waiting.
Evidently, after bearing Hosea three children, Gomer has gotten bored staying at the house. After all, prior to marrying Hosea, Gomer received all kinds of attention from handsome men who brought her lavish gifts. As a prostitute, Gomer is used to having a lot of sex on a daily basis; she’s the original party girl. Now Gomer is trapped in a home with three small children and a husband who insists on observing traditional Jewish religious rituals. Frankly, Gomer is freaking out and cannot wait to leave at the first opportunity.
But things haven’t worked out quite the way Gomer has anticipated. Evidently, the man with whom Gomer has taken off is neglecting her and treating her like a slave. Hosea is able to buy Gomer back for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley, but there’s a catch. Now Hosea tells Gomer that they are going to live in the same house but that she will no longer engage in prostitution. Gomer’s favors will be exclusively for Hosea.
God wants the Israelites to know that a time is coming when they will have to do without all their religious props. “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.”
There is a popular saying that “You never miss the water till the well runs dry.”God knows full well that unless the Jews lose all the religious trappings on which they have depended, they are never going to return to Him. As long as there is a king or prince, as long as there are sacrifices, pillars, ephods, teraphim, sacred groves, etc., the Jews are going to cling to their religious pretenses. Only when all these things have been stripped away for generations will the Jews be willing to realize that the God of Israel is the One who can satisfy and provide. Ironically, it is during the time of exile that the Jews begin to seriously study the Mosaic Law and to observe the laws they have previously ignored.
Centuries earlier, God already knew what was going to happen. Deuteronomy 32 contains the Song of Moses, a prophetic song that God wanted the Israelites to teach their children for all generations. Deuteronomy 32:15-21 says this: “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior. They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to false ods, which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.”
APPLICATION: When I was a kid, we had a silly game in which one child would hold up a finger and proclaim that he or she was invisible to all those around. It is amazing that people persist in thinking that the Creator of the universe is either deaf or blind and that He does not know our thoughts or desires. God not only knows everything and sees everything, but God also knows what will happen in the future. God knows the end from the beginning, hence the prophetic Song of Moses. God commanded the Israelites to teach that song to their children to warn them of the consequences of failing to follow God; however, they failed to do so.
In total obedience, Hosea has not only married a prostitute and fathered three children by her, but when she has run off, he has bought her back to his home. God has ordered Hosea to do these things to demonstrate to the Israelites and to subsequent generations that He is willing to forgive and restore, even when people have sinned.
1 John 1:8-10 reminds us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” Confessing our sins is both the easiest and the hardest thing we can do. The difficult part is facing the fact that we are sinners and confessing our faults. But once we are willing to acknowledge our sins and to tell God about them, God forgives us. It only remains for us to repent, turning away from our sins and refusing to repeat them.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be willing to confess our sins, knowing that You are willing to forgive us and help us keep from repeating them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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