Hosea 3:1-5

     Hosea was called by God to love Gomer, though she was actively in an adulterous relationship with another man (Hos. 3:1a). Hosea’s love toward unfaithful Gomer is analogous to God’s relationship with Israel (the ten northern tribes), though she is actively engaged in idolatry (Hos. 3:1b). It is likely that Gomer had sold herself as a slave to one of her paramours, perhaps because she thought he would provide for her material needs (i.e. food, shelter, clothing, etc.); however, when given the opportunity, he was willing to sell her to another man. In this instance, the buyer was Hosea, her former husband.

• "Wretched Gomer had come down in the world. Presumably she had sold herself as a slave to the man with whom she was living. He must not have cared that much about her, for he was quite willing to sell her back to Hosea. Evidently the man did not value her highly either, for he sold her for a paltry fifteen pieces of silver (half the price of a common slave; see Exodus 21:32) and a month’s supply of barley (the food of the poor, the food usually given to animals)."^[1]

     It is likely that the fifteen pieces of silver, coupled with the homer and a half of barely, equaled thirty pieces of silver, the normal price of a slave (cf. Ex. 21:32). Obedient Hosea paid the price for her redemption and she was set free to be in a relationship with him (Hos. 3:2). Hosea then commanded Gomer to remain faithful to him, and he promised to be faithful to her (Hos. 3:3). God then gave a prophetic statement that just as Gomer was to experience a period of time of committed separateness to Hosea, so Israel would experience a time where they would be “without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols” (Hos. 3:4). This period of time started with the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. God then revealed that after His appointed period of time, “the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days” (Hos. 3:5). This most likely refers to Israel’s restoration to God at the Second Coming of Christ, Israel’s Messiah, and to the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom.

 

^[1] John Phillips, Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ho 3:1–5.