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1 The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the LORD said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
(ESV)
Hosea and Jonah were most likely the only writing prophets who lived in the Northern Kingdom. We know this because Hosea addresses the king of Israel as “our king” in Hosea 7. Historically, Hosea saw many different kings during his ministry. He would have seen the last six kings from Israel which places his reign at the end of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.On that note, it was a time of spiritual compromise for the nation of Israel. They had misguided leadership and were on the verge of Assyrian captivity because of their sinful rebellion.
Hosea does not mention the Assyrian capture so many scholars assume that his ministry ended a few years short of that event. Most of his writing takes place during the reign of Jeroboam II who guided Israel to national prominence. In just over 20 years time, Jeroboam II took a struggling nation on the verge of death and turned in into a political and military powerhouse. All of this, however, came with a cost. As Israel grew socially and economically, they floundered spiritually. In many ways, Hosea is the northern version of Jeremiah as they both sounded the spiritual alarm and their warnings were fulfilled through captivity.
The story of Hosea centers around the sorrow of a broken home. Its relevance spans our era as so many can relate to this pain today. Hosea was given the task of experiencing what God had experienced. He was called to feel God’s pain. His life was a spiritual representation of God’s relationship with Israel.
Our home is supposed to be a safe haven. It is known as a place of peace where love and security are found. This was not the case for Hosea. On top of this, within the turmoil of betrayal, he was given the task of explaining this reality to all the people who were rebelling against God.
When the LORD first spoke to Israel through Hosea, he said to Hosea, “Go and get married; your wife will be unfaithful, and your children will be just like her. In the same way my people have left me and become unfaithful.”
Hosea 1:2 GNB
This was Hosea’s life. Let that sink in… The law said to stone her, but God said to marry her. He could have run like Jonah. He could have given up and gone into hiding like Elijah. As far as we can tell, he didn’t even question it. He married a prostitute.
This isn’t a Disney movie with a rags-to-riches love story. Hosea married Gomer knowing she would not give up her prostitution to reciprocate his love. Even if Gomer wasn’t a prostitute befoe Hosea married her, he knew she would become one. His obedience to God was unwavering. He did what was asked.
I wonder, how many of us would do the same? How many of us would follow through with such a request without blinking an eye? How many of us would allow our lives to be used as an example to glorify God in the end? Hosea’s obedience was steadfast. Even though he knew his wife would not be faithful to him, he was still faithful to God.
