1. Using the similitude of a faithful husband and an adulterous wife, Hosea describes the relationship between the Lord and Israel.

Hosea

‘Hosea (meaning ‘salvation’ is the only prophet of the Northern Kingdom whose writings have been handed down to us as part of the canon. Hosea reflects the universal theme of all the prophets of God: that God is holy and supreme and that happiness and joy can flow to mankind only through obedience to His laws and commandments. Though the people trek through darkness and misery because of their iniquity; the Lord in his loving kindness and mercy will remember them in his own due time and guide them back into the pathway toward redemption. In short, the theme of Hosea is love.’ (Richard J Allen, Study Commentary of the Old Testament)

Hosea 1:3 Gomer

‘My message today might best be illustrated through the experiences of a young couple whom I will call John and Gayle. John was a thoughtful, kind young man, affectionate, with a frank and open manner. He sincerely tried to obey the Lord’s commandments and found honest contentment in the joys of family life. Gayle, his wife, was young, attractive, high-spirited, but inclined toward more worldly interests and activities. The society in which they lived was, in general, one of affluence and materialism. People seemed preoccupied with temporal gain, social status, entertainment, and self-gratification. Religious leaders were concerned about the apparent breakdown in family life and moral standards.

In the early years of their marriage, John and Gayle were blessed with children, first a boy and then a girl; but Gayle seemed uninterested in her domestic responsibilities. She longed for glamour and excitement in her life and was frequently away from home at parties and entertainments, not always with her husband. In her vanity, Gayle encouraged and responded to the attentions of other men until eventually she was unfaithful to her marriage vows.

Throughout, John encouraged Gayle to appreciate the joys of family life and experience the rewards of observing the laws of God. He was patient and kind, but to no avail. Shortly after the birth of a third child, a son, Gayle deserted her husband and children and joined her worldly friends in a life of self-indulgence and immorality. John, thus rejected, was humiliated and brokenhearted.

Soon, however, the glamour and excitement that had attracted Gayle turned to ashes. Her so-called friends tired of her and abandoned her. Then each successive step was downward, her life becoming more and more degraded. Eventually she recognized her mistakes and realized what she had lost, but could see no way back. Certainly John could not possibly love her still. She felt completely unworthy of his love and undeserving of her home and family.

Then one day, passing through the streets, John recognized Gayle. Surely he would have been justified in turning away, but he didn’t. As he observed the effect of her recent life, all too evident, a feeling of compassion came over him—a desire to reach out to her. Learning that Gayle had incurred substantial debts, John repaid them and then took her home.

Soon John realized, at first with amazement, that he still loved Gayle. Out of his love for her and her willingness to change and begin anew, there grew in John’s heart a feeling of merciful forgiveness, a desire to help Gayle overcome her past and to accept her again fully as his wife.

Through his personal experience there arose in John another profound awareness, a realization of the nature of God’s love for us, his children. Though we disregard his counsel, break his commandments, and reject him, when we recognize our mistakes and desire to repent, he wants us to seek him out and he will accept us.

John had been prepared, through his personal experiences, for a divine mission. Though I have taken some literary license in telling the story, it is the account, perhaps allegorical, of Hosea, prophet of the Old Testament, and his wife, Gomer [see  Hosea 1:3

Portraying God to ancient Israel as a loving, forgiving father, Hosea foreshadowed, more than most Old Testament prophets, the spirit and message of the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and modern revelation.’ (Ronald Poelman, General Conference, April 1982)

(Institute Old Testament Manual)

Hosea 3:1-2 Hosea purchases Gomer from her lover

‘People have long debated whether this account is literal – did Jehovah really instruct a prophet to marry a prostitute? – or whether it is merely figurative. The account does have symbolic meaning, representing a loving husband (Hosea/Jehovah) with a disloyal wife (Gomer/Israel) who goes from lover to lover. However, most scholars conclude, as do we, that Hosea did marry Gomer, that she was a recidivist prostitute, and that the Lord intended these experiences to teach Hosea and all Israelites about his love for Israel and his patient efforts to bring them ‘home’ when they were disloyal by interacting with other ‘lovers’ (foreign gods and, by application, whatever modern power takes precedence over one’s loyalty to the Lord).’ (Dana M Pike, Richard N Holzapfel, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament).

Hosea 3:3      So will I also be for thee

‘That is, if thou, Israel, wilt keep thyself separate from thy idolatry, and give me proof, by thy total abstinence from idols, that thou wilt be my faithful worshipper, I will receive thee again, and in the meantime support thee with the necessaries of life while thou art in the land of thy captivity. This is farther illustrated in the following verses.’ (Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible)

2. Because of his love for his people, the Lord continues to invite Israel to repent and return to him.

Hosea 11:4      cords of a man

‘Parallel to “bands of love”; not such cords as oxen are led by, but humane methods, such as men employ when inducing others, as for instance, a father drawing his child, by leading-strings, teaching him to go (Ho 11:1).’ (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)

Hosea 11:7      bent to backsliding

‘Not only do they backslide, and that too from Me, their “chief good,” but they are bent upon it. Though they (the prophets) called them (the Israelites) to the Most High (from their idols), “none would exalt (that is, extol or honor) Him.” To exalt God, they must cease to be “bent on backsliding,” and must lift themselves upwards.’ (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary)

Hosea 12:6      Therefore turn thou to thy God

‘Because he is the same, and cannot change. Seek him as faithfully and as fervently as Jacob did, and you will find him the same merciful and compassionate Being.’ (Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible)

Hosea 13:4 There is no saviour beside me