Hosea And Gomer's Marriage In The Hebrew Bible

“The Lord said to me again. “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes,” (Hosea 3:1) The definition of a marriage is “the instruction whereby individuals are joined by a…union,” (Merriam Webster). Though the Hebrew Bible never specifically states that marriage is a one to one relationship, it does state that “you shall not commit adultery,” (Exodus 20). Loving a known adulteress seems like an unusual request for the Lord to make to Hosea. What is the Lord motive behind renewing an estranged marriage that had been plagued with adultery? Essentially, Hosea and Gomer’s marriage was a metaphor for the rocky relationship that the Lord
Forgiveness was a concept that wasn’t present in most of the Hebrew Bible, so why now? Since, Hosea is considered a latter prophet it could be possible that shifting the composite nature of God was predicting a more forgiving Messiah that will forgive sinners in the New Testament (Luke 5:17-26). On the other hand, it could also call into question if the Israelites should continue disobeying the laws and instructions presented in the Torah. Considering that the Israelites have been going through the motions with their faith. The holy nation will go through times of extreme devotion to the Lord as well as times of turning to other Gods. Ultimately, the Israelites regain their covenant with the Lord no matter how far they stray away. Giving a sense that the Israelites have either proved that even the Lords rules are meant to be broken or that with years of disobedience will lead to eventual
According to the Richard D. Patterson, Hosea’s payment for Gomer was “quite inexpensive…since thirty shekels constituted the worth of a slave (Exod. 21:32; Lev. 27:4) as well as serving as a standard expression of something of very little value.” As Hosea bought back his wife, the Lord essentially did the same thing with the Israelites. Since, the Israelites are viewed as Gomer in this metaphor, this shows the worth of the Israelites. The Israelites were considered as a holy community, but their God compared their current worth to the worth of a slave. By buying back the Israelites, the Lord is hitting refresh on their history to bring the Israelites out of slavery to re-establish their holy