Are you a Gomer?

The story of Hosea and Gomer has to be one of the greatest pictures of God’s love and faithfulness found

throughout the Bible. Hosea was an Old Testament prophet that God used in a very unique way. Not only did Hosea speak the words of

God, but God turned his very life and marriage into a living parable for the people of God to see and witness.

The Lord had Hosea marry a prostitute named Gomer. He took her as his wife, but Gomer kept wandering into the arms of other lovers.

She was unfaithful. And yet the Lord told Hosea to keep going after her again and again, and bring her back home.

Hosea was a picture of God, and Gomer represented God’s people. God’s people were called to live in a covenant relationship with

the Lord. He was their God and they were to have no other gods in their life. They consistently rebelled against God though and chased

after other idols. Their history was full of unfaithfulness.

Instead of just telling Israel how sinful they were and how determined God was to love them anyway, God had Hosea and Gomer serve

as a dramatic illustration. So Gomer kept cheating on Hosea. She left him with the kids and went out into the arms of other lovers —

turning her back on him, spurning him, and committing adultery again and again.

You would think love would have its limits. I do not think anyone would have looked down on Hosea for bailing out on his marriage. The

Lord had Hosea stay in that marriage though. He wouldn’t let him go. Why? Hosea was to be a picture of God’s amazing love and

faithfulness to a group of people who often did not return God’s faithfulness.

Even when God’s people turn their backs on Him and run to the world to indulge their pleasure, God’s love doesn’t quit. He

doesn’t give up. He doesn’t look for an out. He still pursues us. How can we even begin to describe a love that is so deep that it would

pursue and illicit fornicator and adultery. And yet this is what God told Hosea to do:

“The Lord said to (Hosea), ‘Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the

Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.’ So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver

and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, ‘You are to live with me many days, you must not be a prostitute or be

intimate with any man, and I will live with you.’” (Hosea 3:1-3)

Do you see what Hosea did to gain his wife back? He had to go and purchase her back. He had to pay what was called a redemption

price to bring his own wayward wife home. Gomer, playing the part of unfaithful Israel was redeemed by the relentless love of her

husband.

You should never forget that this is a picture of the love of God for you. You are a Gomer. I am a Gomer! God paid the most precious

and costly price to redeem you from a life of sin and idolatry. We wander from God, and yet He has come to buy us back. The worst

mistake we could ever make is to deny the love of God. Our hearts should not remain hard like a stone when we hear the story of

God’s love. We should hear of a God who loves and pursues like this, and our hearts should be moved to love Him back.

The truth is that we are a bunch of Gomers who chase the world. And yet our God has a love greater than that of Hosea who will woo

and pursue to bring us back to Himself. And that’s the Word.

Who wrote the book?
Hosea revealed little about his background, though his book of prophecy offers a few glimpses into his life. The
prophet’s name means “salvation,” likely a reference to Hosea’s position in Israel as a beacon of hope to
those who would repent and turn to God because of his message.1 Following the command of God, Hosea
married Gomer, a bride God described as “a wife of harlotry” (Hosea 1:2) and a woman who bore Hosea three
children, two sons and a daughter (1:4, 6, 9). God used the names of Hosea’s children, along with his wife’s
unfaithfulness, to send specific messages to the people of Israel.
Where are we?
In Hosea 1:1, the prophet identified the kings that ruled during his prophetic ministry. The first four—Uzziah,
Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah—reigned over the southern kingdom of Judah from 790 BC to 686 BC, while
Jeroboam II ruled the northern kingdom of Israel from 782 BC to 753 BC. This indicates that Hosea lived in the
middle to late eighth century BC (755–715 BC), making him a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Micah.

Hosea directed the early portion of his prophetic warnings to Jeroboam II, a descendant of the house of Jehu
whose son, Zechariah, would soon come to ruin (Hosea 1:4; 2 Kings 15:8–12). Because this prophecy against the
descendants of Jeroboam involved the birth of Hosea’s children, we can conclude that he lived in the northern
kingdom, where the names of his children would have had the greatest impact.
Why is Hosea so important?
More than any other prophet, Hosea linked his message closely with his personal life. By marrying a woman he
knew would eventually betray his trust and by giving his children names that sent messages of judgment on
Israel, Hosea’s prophetic word flowed out of the life of his family. The cycle of repentance, redemption, and
restoration evident in Hosea’s prophecy—and even his marriage (Hosea 1:2; 3:1–3)—remains intimately
connected to our lives. This sequence plays itself out in the lives of real people, reminding us that the Scriptures
are far from a mere collection of abstract statements with no relation to real life. No, they work their way into
our day-to-day existence, commenting on issues that impact all our actions and relationships.
What's the big idea?
Structured around five cycles of judgment and restoration, the book of Hosea makes clear its repetitious theme:
though God will bring judgment on sin, He will always bring His people back to Himself. God’s love for Israel, a
nation of people more interested in themselves than in God’s direction for their lives, shines through clearly
against the darkness of their idolatry and injustice (Hosea 14:4).

Throughout the book, Hosea pictured the people turning away from the Lord and turning toward other gods
(4:12–3; 8:5–6). This propensity for idolatry meant that the Israelites lived as if they were not God’s people. And
though God told them as much through the birth of Hosea’s third child, Lo-ammi, He also reminded them that
He would ultimately restore their relationship with Him, using the intimate and personal language of “sons”
to describe His wayward people (1:9–10; 11:1).
How do I apply this?
Do you know the saving power of God, now offered to us through His Son, Jesus? If so, as a redeemed child of
God, have you offered “redemption” or forgiveness to those in your life who were once under your
judgment? Not only does the book of Hosea provide an example of God’s love to a people who have left God
behind, but it also shows us what forgiveness and restoration look like in a close relationship. The book of
Hosea illustrates that no one is beyond the offer of our forgiveness because no one sits outside God’s offer of
forgiveness. Certainly, God brings judgment on those who turn from Him, but Hosea’s powerful act of
restoration within his own marriage set the bar high for those of us seeking godliness in our lives.
The Incredible Scandal of God's Perfect Love
Hosea and Gomer's story is the story of God and Israel. It is also our story.

"Mom, do you have to write on my napkin?"

That was 5-year-old Conner's question after his first week of kindergarten. Every day I packed his lunch. Along with his juice box
and peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I scribbled, "I love you" on a napkin and stuck it in his Batman lunchbox.

But he didn't want me to do that anymore.

An Examination of Love: Do We Throw It Away?

"I don't want you to write on it because when I'm done," Conner said. "I feel like I'm throwing your love away!"

"Oh, Connor," I said as I flung my arms around his little frame, "just because you throw away your napkin doesn't mean you
throw away my love!"

He giggled in relief and confessed he didn't really use napkins anyway.

I was struck by Connor's sensitive heart, and it made me examine my own. Do I carelessly throw away God's love? Do I casually
dismiss the big and small ways God expresses His love to me? Do you? We all do sometimes, just like the wayward Israelites did
in Hosea's day.

The Story of Hosea Told by a Master Storyteller

I first heard of Hosea from my dad who was a master storyteller. Growing up, I loved listening to his stories. His specialty was
weaving together tales that blended a lot of God's truth, a bit of application and a Southern drawl.

In fact, sometimes I couldn't quite make out the characters' names because they were lost in Dad's sweet, slow Southern twang.
When he told me the Bible story I'm about to tell you, a love story about an unlikely couple, I honestly thought the characters
were named Hosear and Goma!

As far as I was concerned, those were their real names until I realized, years later, that not everyone shared our brogue.
An open Bible turned to the book of Hosea.
Hosea and Gomer: An Unlikely Love Story
Hosea (not Hosear!) was a preacher—a prophet, really—who lived at a time when religious folks didn't want to hear his
message. The Israelites were more interested in worshiping idols than worshiping Jehovah. They were, as the hymn writer put it,
"Prone to wander ... prone to leave the God I love."

One day, God told Hosea his bachelor days were up. The problem with the wedding announcement was it came with a dreadful
prophecy.

His wife would break his heart. Aware of Gomer's promiscuous reputation, Hosea humbled himself in obedience to the Lord.

As a godly man, he surely had different hopes for marriage—those of pursuing a lover who would share not only his heart but
also his faith and convictions.

Hosea Hears Rumors

How many times had he dreamed of late night talks, stolen kisses in the courtyard and holding hands as he drifted off to sleep
beside the one with whom he longed to build his future? Instead, he awakened from his marriage vows to emptiness and
abandonment. The Bible doesn't say when or how; all we know is that it did happen.

But Hosea began to hear rumors. And his heart began to break.

His beloved was going off with other men. He couldn't even be sure the children she bore were his. Hosea—a broken-hearted
father, a betrayed husband and a bewildered preacher—felt like his fragile heart would never recover.

And, then, the final blow ... Gomer's wanderings had drawn her into the wrong company.

Hosea Does the Unthinkable

God told Hosea to do the unthinkable—to go redeem his wife. Gomer was being sold as a slave. Hosea must have cried out to
God, "She's thrown my love away. Why should I have to buy back what is already mine?"

Hosea was a faithful husband; Gomer was an unfaithful wife. God is the faithful lover of our souls. We are often faithless, prone
to wander.

Hosea and Gomer's story is the story of God and Israel. It is also our story. When we, like Gomer, were enslaved, God bought us
back. When we found ourselves stuck in chains we never intended—chains of insecurity, discontentment or fear—God freed us.

When we, by our very nature, threw God's love away, He redeemed us.

God's Unconditional Love and Act of Redemption

When Hosea bought Gomer back, when he redeemed her, he did so with 15 shekels of silver and 5 bushels of barley (Hos. 3:2).
When God redeemed us, He paid the ultimate price with the blood of His Son (I Pet. 1:18, 19).

Gomer did not deserve to be redeemed. Her behavior did not merit such mercy. Israel did not deserve God's faithful betrothal.
Their unfaithfulness did not merit such mercy. You and I do not deserve salvation. Our sin does not merit such mercy.

Why did God redeem you?

Why did Jesus pay the ultimate price for your redemption?
Why does God continue to give His unconditional love to a people who continually throw it away?
It's not because we deserve it; it's because His mercy demands it. Aren't you glad God does not treat us as our sin deserves? (Ps.
103:10) God chose you and loves you. This love story is your story. Even if you are faithless, He will remain faithful.

If you are enslaved, God will buy you back.

If you are lost, God will find you.
If you are ashamed, God will cover you.
If you wander off, God will bring you home.
If you give up on Him, God will not give up on you.
No matter where you are, God sees who you are, and He loves you.
Through the story of Hosea, God tenderly touches your arm and whispers, "Come home. My love sets you free. When you get
tired of striving and wandering, I'll be there to draw you to Myself again and remind you who you are in Christ."

How Your Story Connects with Hosea's

That's the message of the whole Bible, isn't it?At a manger in Bethlehem, God entered the slave market where all of us were
putting ourselves up for auction, prostituting ourselves and our humanity to a lesser life. But on the cross, Jesus paid the full
price for our freedom.

He bought us back.

This is the scandal of God's love—His loving desire to make us His people and the full persons He intended us to be.

God's response to you is the same as it was to Israel. He will heal your faithlessness. He will love you freely. God has written on
your very life the words I love you. He values you so much that He enters into covenant with you, redeems you and remains
faithful to you.

May we never carelessly throw away what cost God so much. Oh, what love!

Learn More About Jennifer Rothschild's Bible Study

The book of Hosea is a deeply personal and passionate love story, yet it's a difficult story. As an account full of harsh judgment
unfolds, we find in its midst a rare and pure gem: the truest and purest of loves. Hosea, an old-testament prophet, preached his
own life message using his marriage as the sermon illustration. The study of Hosea looks deeply at that message. It provides
background to better understand the intricacies of the man and his message. Review a sample of the first session of this study.