Hosea 1:2 “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD.”
Hosea, the first of the 12 Old Testament Minor Prophets, prophesied with Isaiah and Amos (≈ 750BC), to both Israel (north) and Judah (south). Hosea’s ministry lasted nearly 70 years, making him one of the longest-serving prophets. God’s opening message through Hosea is this week’s verse:
“Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD.” (Hosea 1:2). Why would God command Hosea to marry a prostitute?
King Jeroboam II was the main king reigning in Israel during Hosea. His reign lasted 41 years, the longest of any northern king. While Israel prospered under Jeroboam II, experiencing both economic growth and kingdom expansion (2Kings 14:25), how did God describe King Jeroboam II’s reign?
“He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin” (2Kings 14:24). What were these “sins of Jeroboam”?
1Kings 12:28-31 “The king… made 2 calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ He set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. This thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.” Israel prostituted themselves to pagan gods.
Amos, another contemporary of Hosea but to the southern kingdom of Judah, brought the same message as Hosea. Amos condemned Judah for their self-indulgence and moral corruption, exploiting of the poor and perverting worship by turning to foreign gods. The messages of Hosea, Amos and Isaiah all began during Israel’s period of prosperity and security (sound familiar when we look at America today?).
God’s Message #1: Israel became a Harlot – a Whore
“Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples, for you have played the HARLOT against your God. You have LOVED for REWARD on every threshing floor” (Hosea 9:1).
“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, and separated themselves to that shame. They became an ABOMINATION like the thing they LOVED” (Hosea 9:10).
HARLOT = “zânâh” = whore (committing sexual adultery in both figurative sense and actual, where Baal worship involved sexual intercourse with temple prostitutes).
LOVED = “’ā-haḇ-tā” = sexual affection towards
REWARD = “eṯ-nān” = payment received for sexual immorality, especially prostitution. Scripture uses this word to expose spiritual infidelity, condemn cultic prostitution and contrast illicit gain with consecrated offerings. It stresses God’s continuous moral standards from Torah through the prophets.
ABOMINATION = “šiq-qū-ṣîm” = filthy, detestable thing in God’s eyes because it offends His holiness. This word is used every time to expose the heart of sin as spiritual treason, summoning God’s people to undivided loyalty.
God’s Message #2: Israel’s Adultery = Rejecting Knowledge
Hosea 4:1-2,6 “Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel; the Lord brings a charge against the land’s inhabitants: ‘There is no truth or mercy or KNOWLEDGE of God in the land.
By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing ADULTERY, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed.
My people are DESTROYED for lack of KNOWLEDGE. Because you have REJECTED KNOWLEDGE, I also will REJECT you from being priest for Me; because you have FORGOTTEN the law of your God, I also will FORGET your children.”
KNOWLEDGE = “da-‘aṯ” = appearing 95x throughout the Old Testament, it denotes an experiential, covenantal grasp of truth that unites correct information with relational loyalty. It encompasses God’s perfect understanding (Job 21:22), the insight He imparts to His people (Proverbs 2:6), and the practical discernment guiding daily living (Proverbs 3:20).
ADULTERY = “wə-nā-’ōp̄” = the act of breaking the marriage covenant through sexual infidelity and, by extension, any breach of covenant faithfulness to the LORD. Its usage moves from literal marital unfaithfulness to the prophetic image of Israel’s spiritual treachery. Every occurrence presents adultery as a willful violation of a sacred bond that God Himself has established and guarded.
DESTROYED = “niḏ-mū” = the ideas of being cut off, ruined, silenced, or brought to an end. Whether depicting an individual, a nation, or commercial activity, the verb paints the moment when human strength fails and life’s noise falls mute before God’s sovereign judgment.
REJECTED = “mā-’as-tā” = a deliberate act of rejection. It is not an emotional whim but a volitional repudiation of something recognized and then set aside. The object rejected may be the Lord Himself, His word, His statutes, His prophets, wisdom, or (in fewer cases) particular individuals whom the Lord has chosen to set aside. This verb exposes the moral posture of the human heart and, conversely, the righteousness of God when He rejects the unrepentant.
FORGOTTEN = “wat-tiš-kaḥ” = appearing 103x throughout the Old Testament, its consistent use in covenant passages in Deuteronomy, Psalms, and the Prophets highlights “forgetting” as not a mere cognitive failure but a moral and spiritual breach.
Israel, in times of great prosperity under King Jeroboam II, stopped trusting in God and tried to form alliances with pagan nations and their gods (Hosea 5:13). They decided to leave their covenant relationship with God through their forefathers, rejecting His Torah laws (Hosea 6:7; 8:1).
Israel’s worship of pagan idols and their unfaithfulness to God are voiced by God, their husband, as spiritual adultery and the destruction of their marriage.
Isaiah, who also prophesied during Hosea’s time, used the same language to describe Judah’s unfaithfulness, calling Jerusalem “a whore”: “How the faithful city has become a HARLOT! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers” (Isaiah 1:21).
HARLOT = “lə-zō-w-nāh” = describes both literal sexual prostitution and figurative covenant infidelity. The verb appears 93x across the Torah, Historical Books, Wisdom Literature, and Prophets. Its cognate nouns – zânâh (whore), zə-nū-nîm (harlotry), and mezimmah (lewdness) – share the same theological weight: abandonment of the exclusive covenant bond.
Isaiah, just like Hosea and Amos. condemned Israel for living in selfish desires (Isaiah 5:11-12), forgetting God’s focus on doing what is just and right (Isaiah 5:7).
God’s Message #3: Hosea to Marry Gomer, a Prostitute
Hosea 1:2 “Go, take yourself a wife of HALOTRY and children of HALOTRY, for the land has committed great HALOTRY by departing from the LORD.”
HARLOTRY = “zə-nū-nîm” = sexual immorality that openly flaunts covenant boundaries. The public, habitual practice of prostitution and the brazen abandonment of exclusive allegiance to the LORD. Scripture frequently places the term beside sorcery, idolatry, and bloodshed, indicating that moral collapse in one area inevitably spreads to the whole life of a person or nation.
The obvious statement God was making through Hosea’s marriage to a harlot was that Israel, who was married to God, was that harlot who has departed from Him in preference to foreign idols and gods.
Homer 3:1 says it is Gomer who is the prostitute Hosea married. They had 2 sons and a daughter.
God gave them their names to foretell His judgment on Israel:
(1) “Jezreel” points to a future massacre;
(2) “Lo-Ammi” means “not my people” (God’s rejection of Israel);
(3) “Lo-Ruhamah” means “not favored” (reversing God’s earlier promises to Israel).
In Hosea 2:2-5, just as Gomer left Hosea to seek other lovers as a prostitute to solicit payment for sex, Israel also pursued other gods as a spiritual prostitute.
God’s Message #4: Hosea to Seek Out Gomer and Redeem Her (Buy Her Back)
Hosea 3:1 “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.”
LOVE = “ĕhaḇ” = The verb appears 209x across the Old Testament, describing the full range of affectionate commitment between people and between God and humanity. It refers to a unified theology of covenant devotion that is consummated in the New Testament command to love God and neighbor.
LOVER = “rê-a‘” = The noun appears 186x throughout the Old Testament, embracing every layer of human relationship from casual interaction in the marketplace to deep covenantal friendship.
LOVE OF THE LORD = “ahavah ‘” = Appears 40x in the Old Testament and is Divine covenant love rooted in God’s own character and purposes. It is the gracious initiative of the LORD toward His people. Moses reminds Israel that “it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers” that He redeemed them from Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:8). The prophets echo this theme after centuries of rebellion: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with loving devotion” (Jeremiah 31:3). Hosea dramatizes the same covenant love when the LORD commands the prophet to “love a woman beloved of her companion yet an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the children of Israel” (Hosea 3:1). It is God’s faithfulness that neither Israel’s sin nor exile can cancel.
While Gomer was living in immorality, the Lord commanded Hosea to find her and buy her back to again be his wife. Why? To show the greatness of His grace!
Hosea’s grace toward his unfaithful wife is a model of God’s grace toward His unfaithful people.
As God promised to call Israel back, he told Hosea to redeem Gomer from slavery and welcome her home (Hosea 3:1-5). While God’s punishment – captivity in Assyria – was severe, His grace was far more extraordinary. As Israel worshipped idols and descended into depravity, God never stopped loving them.
God’s Message #5: He will Redeem and Remarry Israel as His Wife
Hosea 2:19-20 “ I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME FOREVER; Yes, I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME in faithfulness, and you shall KNOW the Lord.”
I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME = wə-’ê-raś-tîḵ = the verb “betroth” or “pledge to marry” is a legally binding covenant made before the wedding. This period before the wedding ceremony set the husband-wife status in fidelity and inheritance, though the marriage had not yet been consummated.
The fact that God Himself says it 3x here is to emphasize His seriousness – He means what He says. Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness to God (as illustrated by Gomer’s unfaithfulness to Hosea), God has plans to restore His relationship with Israel as a “betrothal” that will be forever.
Nothing will break the bond. The nation of Israel that had previously played the harlot will become a faithful wife.
FOREVER = lə-‘ō-w-lām = appearing 438x, it stretches from the remotest past through the unending future. Its wide range of use (depending on context) includes: (1) eternity, (2) a time so long it fades from view, and (3) the cosmic order itself.
KNOW = yāḏa = appearing 942x in the Old Testament, the verb stretches from simple awareness to the deepest covenant intimacy. Here, it refers to a living, relational reality rooted in a covenant marriage in God’s own character.
God makes the same promise – to reunite Israel as His wife in marriage – in Hosea 2:16-17:
“And it shall be in that day,” says the Lord, “that you (Israel) will call Me ‘my Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘my Master.’ For I will take from her (Israel’s) mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more.”
God chose and loved as His covenant people, yet from the beginning of their exodus out of Egypt they were unfaithful to Him as an adulterous wife and a prostitute.
In article #642 we studied how God, through the prophet Jeremiah (600 BC), gives Israel a “certificate of divorce,” but then pleads with them to return to Him.
Now, in Hosea (750 BC – 150 years earlier), God seeks and redeems His former “wife” who chose to leave Him, promising a renewal of their vows “forever”.
Both stories – Remarrying Israel (Jeremiah) and Taking Back a Prostitute Wife (Hosea) – provide an unforgettable picture of God’s strong, unending love for His covenant people.
God’s promise He makes to Israel is more than forgiveness or restoration. The promise of “betrothal” is an intimate relationship that erases the past and looks only to the future. God gives Himself completely to Israel, and Israel will give herself completely to Him. There will be nothing temporary about the union.
In Jeremiah 32:36-41, God promises similar future blessings upon Israel:
“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.”
These promises in Hosea (750 BC) and Jeremiah (600 BC) show that God still has a plan for the people of Israel. These promises will be kept. All that God has said is true and will take place.
“The Evidence of Faith’s Substance” _ Article #643
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