Reflections on Hosea 3

Hosea 03 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Once again the LORD spoke to me. And this time he said, "Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit."
   
2. So I paid fifteen pieces of silver and about ten bushels of grain for such a woman.
   
3. Then I said, "Now you are mine! You will have to remain faithful to me, though it will be a long time before we sleep together."
   
4. It will also be a long time before Israel has a king or before sacrifices are offered at the temple or before there is any way to get guidance from God.
   
5. But later, Israel will turn back to the LORD their God and to David their king. At that time they will come to the LORD with fear and trembling, and he will be good to them.
   

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The previous chapter gave a hint of God's ultimate intent for Israel, which was to once again have compassion on her and to restore her to relationship with Him. This chapter goes back to the time at hand to describe what was to happen in the near future. Hosea's marriage to Gomer, the prostitute, is still the illustration of God's dealings with Israel. Initially in the marriage, Hosea and Gomer had three children. Then she went wandering after other men seeking from them what she already had with her husband. This was what Israel was doing with other gods. God provided them all they needed, but they were taking what He gave them, offering it as sacrifices to other gods, and looking to them for what they needed.

Now Hosea is instructed to again show love to his wife who had left him and was with another man. He was to buy her back from this man which raises question as to what her relationship was with this man. Was she his slave? Then it also raises the question of the relationship Hosea and Gomer will have once he buys her back. Does this now make her his slave? I think this is the case with the intent that she will again love him. He will be kind to her in this relationship but will also place restrictions upon her. For instance, she is to stay with him for a period of time and is not to be promiscuous or to belong to another man. But Hosea makes the same commitment to her.

What does this illustrate concerning God and Israel? Israel had prostituted herself with other gods and God planned to 'buy' her back and isolate her from these other gods. Israel would go into exile away from her institutions and practices that tied her to these other gods. She would lose her national sovereignty and have no king or prince to lead her to these evil practices. They would have no formal practice of worship with its sacrifices and ritual objects of worship to influence them toward these other gods, for their worship of Jehovah God had become so mixed with worship of other gods they no longer knew the difference.

After this period of isolation and restriction from anything that would connect them with other gods, the intent was for them to come to love God again and to return to Him in their hearts and to once again seek Him as their God. As verse 5 says, "They will come with awe to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days." We see in this the heart of God and His love for His people regardless of how far away from Him they may wander. It is our turning away from God, not His turning away from us, that keeps us from His blessings and care.