The book of Hosea begins with God instructing the prophet to take a prostitute as his wife. Throughout their relationship she gave birth to multiple children. Naturally, the question arises as to why God wanted his man to be involved with such a woman. By obeying God, he had personal experience that allowed him to understand the agony in God’s marriage to Israel. The nation repeatedly abandoned its contractual agreement by spiritual adultery with the worshiping of false gods.
This reflected God’s love for wayward Israel. The prophet had first-hand knowledge of God’s heartache over being abandoned by his people. It was important for him to experience what God experienced in the same way it’s important for us to realize how our unfaithfulness in sin affects God. It is not a simple matter of believers becoming wayward and then returning from their backslidden state. Our sin not only alienates us from God’s blessings; it has a definite effect on him. That is why it’s so important that Jesus is our mediator before the Heavenly Father. (1 Timothy 2:5)
Though she was unfaithful, Hosea still loved her as does God love us continually, even in our sin. The marriage of Israel to God was blemished by her love of luxury that she gained from multiple lovers or by idolatry. Hosea was forced to accept that the depth of her unfaithfulness was so great that she found herself being sold as a slave. He purchased her, took her back to the home, but would not allow her to behave as a wife temporarily reflecting how Israel found itself in a state without kingly leadership.
Even the name of her children reflected the pain of unfaithfulness and redemption. The situation of Hosea was an illustration of what he was preaching. Jezreel, his son, was an announcement to the king about coming punishment. Lo-ruhamah meant “no more mercy.” Lo-ammi meant “no longer my people.” The prefix, “Lo” of their names meant “no or not.” Later these children lost the prefix to their names as a prediction for when Israel would be called the people of God.
The remainder of the book is addressed to the topics of Ephraim, murderous and lewd priests, when everyone falls into the same category as adulterers against God. He yearned in this prophecy for the fellowship that was missing from his people. As stated in Haley’s Bible Handbook, “Hosea had as filthy a mess to deal with as is found anywhere in the Bible. The beastly degradation of the people was simply unbelievable. Yet Hosea labored and suffered unceasingly to make them see that God still loved them.” This was a picture of his people 750 years before Christ. Yet, it is a picture of us today for those of us who do not surrender to him.
Christian Writer 