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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After bearing three children to Hosea, Gomer left him and went into prostitution. This, of course, portrayed how Israel had left God after a prosperous relationship and prostituted herself to other gods. In 3:1, God instructed Hosea to show love to Gomer once again even though she had been unfaithful, portraying God's love for Israel though she had turned to other gods.

In showing love again to Gomer, Hosea was to buy her back from her prostitution, paying the price of a slave. In bringing her home, Hosea informed Gomer that she was to live with him without being promiscuous with another man and that he would act the same toward her. The meaning in the Hebrew is a bit unclear and is translated in a couple of ways. One way understands the meaning to be that they were to devote themselves only to each other. The other understands that they would abstain from sexual relations with each other for a prolong period of time.

Given the portrayal of Israel's unfaifulness to God, this later meaning may commend itself. Adding to this is the comment in verse 4 that Israel was to live many days "without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or household idols." The meaning was that she would live in exile for a period without national identity and without any spiritual relationship with God or any another god. The thought conveyed is that after bringing Gomer home, Hosea and Gomer would live together for a period of time without Gomer having any adulterous relationships and without the two of them having any sexual relationship either.

What was to keep Gomer at home when she left before to go into prostitution? That is where the meaning of the slave price to buy her back seems to suggest that her initial relationship in coming back was like that of a slave. She was bound to Hosea as a slave would be bound. By having no sexual relationship they would not be as husband and wife in the beginning until he won back her love.

So also with Israel. She would go into exile where the people were bound as slaves without freedom to worship either other gods or the true God. But eventually the Israelites would realize what they had with God and would return to Him and be restored as would be the case with Gomer and Hosea.