GOMER AND HOSEA

THE RESTORATION OF GOMER TO HOSEA

Hosea Redeems His Wife

Hosea 3:1-5

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

1 Once again the Lord spoke to me. And this time he said, “Hosea, fall in love with an unfaithful woman[a] who has a lover. Do this to show that I love the people of Israel, even though they worship idols and enjoy the offering cakes made with fruit.”

2 So I paid fifteen pieces of silver and about ten bushels of grain for such a woman.  

3 Then I said, “Now you are mine! You will have to remain faithful to me, though it will be a long time before we sleep together.”

4 It will also be a long time before Israel has a king or before sacrifices are offered at the temple or before there is any way to get guidance from God.  

5 But later, Israel will turn back to the Lord their God and to David their king. At that time they will come to the Lord with fear and trembling, and he will be good to them. 

3:1-5 Know that Hosea acted out God’s loving forgiveness for HIS people.  Emulate God’s forgiveness for His people in the way you continually forgive others. 

3:1 The Lord renews the call of Hosea to love his wife who has returned to her immoral life-style. 

3:2 Ex.32 give the price of a slave as 30 shekels, so Hosea pays part of the price in silver and part in goods. Fifteen pieces of silver was about 4/10 of an ounce. An homer…and an half homer was about 5 bushels.  

3:3 The return to the home involves a period of discipline.

3:4 During the Exile, Israel would be without all the structures and resources they had dependent on for help and guidance.  The list of things Israel would be without for guidance was a mixture of essentials ordained of God for Israel’s worship and practices forbidden by God, indicating how far the people had moved toward a syncretistic form of religion.  For example, the ephod was the part of the high priest’s clothing to which he Urim and Thummim were attached, but the teraphim were household gods, probably images of ancestors.

3:5 David is here the messianic king.  To fear…his goodness is to marvel at the gracious dealing''

In Christ,

Janet Irene Thomas

Playwright/Screen Writer/Director

Published Author/Producer

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts