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“Hosea and Gomer: A Microcosm of God and Israel”
When we study the minor prophets in the Old Testament we see a variety of the type of individual used by God to speak to His people. One such person is Hosea. What we see of Hosea in the first couple of chapters in his book is a man given instruction to marry a harlot and in this marriage children are conceived and born. Hosea is then given the name for each child by God. These names carry significance for Hosea and God as they show God's feelings about His people in the northern kingdom of Israel. It is the relationship between Hosea and his wife Gomer that I want to examine briefly in this article. When we consider that God instructed Hosea to marry a harlot and did not follow that instruction with encouragement to bring her out of that life we should find that odd initially. Upon deeper examination we see that God wanted their relationship to serve as an example of the relationship God had with Israel for several generations. They were in a permanent state of adultery with God and harlotry with the idols of the nations around them. When we consider the flagrance of their disobedience to God we shold be reminde of God's patience with them. He did not utterly destroy them the first time they left Him. He gave them many opportunities to come back to Him and be obedient yet they never did. We are reminded that Judah had only a few faithful kings after the splitting of the kingdom. Israel had none! Not a single king from Jeroboam to the captivity was faithful to God. That left them in a permanent state of adultery and harlotry. Hosea's relationship with Gomer mirrored that in that she remained a harlot after marrying Hosea. She was initially faithful but was not later in the marriage just as Israel from the time they entered Canaan to the time they were taken to Assyria. A lesson for us to learn from this example is that today we have a choice to be faithful to God and He is very patient with us in this effort. We need to not take advantage of that, though, and remember that "God is a just judge" (Psalm 7:11). Israel took advatage of God and it worked against them. George Santayana is credited with this quote "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". The wisdom is sound for the Christian. Learn from Israel and turn to God and be fauthful all your days to Him and receive a different reward than those who have been unfaithful to Him. God bless all of us in this effort to be faithful to our God!
