Q4. Hosea and Gomer

[Pastor Ralph]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

[Sue M]

I'm still pondering the book of Hosea. Is it an allegory to illustrate the unfaithfulness of Israel with the foreign gods and paganism of the nearby people, or did Hosea follow the revelations of God and learn firsthand the heartbreak of betrayal? Regardless grace and mercy are greater than our sins. Hosea must have truly loved Gomer.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Sue M
Typos

[Lottie]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God's relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

Yahweh or Jehovah God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute to demonstrate the relationship between Israel and Yahweh Himself. Just like a prostitute Israel is prone to wander to other lovers or idols and not be faithful to God who she is wed to. God is trying to show His people through Hosea what they are doing and prod them to come back to Him.

 

The story teaches us how much God loves us and how far He will go to bring us back. It tells us of His grace that will overlook our sins if we return to Him. Then He will take us back if we promise to be faithful. Grace that goes all the way to the cross for us. Grace that chooses to forget our pasts and redeems us.

 

It shows how Israel just like Gomer was unfaithful and often chose other idols or lovers. Yet God chose to have mercy and grace on them and plead with them to come back to Him.

 

It teaches that God's grace is gutsy and will stop at nothing to win us back. That it went all the way to the cross to redeem us. That even though the price was high God chose to do it anyway because of how much He loved us.

[Krissi]

God "chose" Hosea to marry a girl he did not know or love, had a horrible reputation and probably didn't want to be married to him. Was Hosea's life sacrificed to make a morality allegory for future generations? Hosea seems like a good man and faithful prophet so why has this happened to him?

The allegoric parallel between Hosea and Gomer and God and the Israelites is clear, and it's lovely that God tells Hosea to re-find Gomer and bring her back after essentially buying her. The idea that Christians are purchased with the blood of Christ comes to mind.

Hosea was gracious toward this woman just as God is gracious toward us. 

[Liliane]

God wanted to show Israel, through Hosea's example of marrying a prostitute, how the people betrayed their relationship with the Only One and True God, by relating themselves with other "gods", with reverence and idolatry. 

 

[BoazNigel]

God told Hosea to marry a prostitute to be a 'prophetic example/demonstration' of God's grace. Israel had prostituted herself with pagan gods yet God still loved Israel & wanted her back.

The story not only tells us of God's 'Amazing Grace' but also of His OUTRAGEOUS Grace - God tells Hosea to go after Gomer & buy her back. This demonstrates God's OUTRAGEOUS Grace in that He came after us (we love Him because He first loved us) - we didn't choose Him He chose us! - this is grace it is nothing of us but all of Him.

[t-c]

He wanted to teach Hosea, Gomer, the nation of Israel and now the world a very important lesson. Illustrated is a way that could be understood by all.

That God’s love is unchanging, it never falls and is not based upon how we receive it. God’s is love.

God loves and pursues Israel like a man would pursue the woman of his dreams. God’s covenant with Israel, like the marriage covenant is meant to be unbroken and eternal. Both relationships are fueled by unchanging, steadfast love that pursues and doesn’t give up.

God’s grace, just like His love never run out and isn’t based upon how or if it’s received.

 

[Diane D.]

It was important to God that his people understand how he thinks about them and that they understand how much love he has for them. The fact that they (and us) are less than a shining image is disturbing, however, it is also wonderful to know that God loves us even when our reputation and mindset are not only imperfect but unacceptable:  we cannot stand on our own reputations to earn our way into his family.

Hosea and Gomer have a difficult relationship but Hosea still disregards how he is treated and continues to show her love and direction. We don't deserve the love that God gives us but He continues to give us His love anyway.

God has a great love for Israel and through our grafting in, He loves us as well.  It had to have hurt Hosea that his wife was not only a prostitute but also that she again and again decided to turn to other men.  Likewise, we are all subject to turning to other activities or ideas that are not what God wants for us, but He continues to grab our attention and direct us back to Him with loving kindness and grace.

In looking through some of the comments, I really like the term OUTRAGEOUS Grace, BoazNigel.  Great thought!  Just as Hosea would have been hurt, God, too, continues to ignore the hurts, teach and guide us and take us back lovingly.  Grace, indeed.

[Somikazi]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute?  This is the way God shows His relationship with the people of Israel who have been unfaithful to Him by practicing idolatory.  God wanted people of Israel to see the extent of their sin.

What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us?

How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? The story of Hosea and Gomer God illustrates his relationship with Israel by the redemption of Gomer through her husband 's forgiveness.

What does it teach about grace?  Regardless the shame, embarrassment Gomer caused Hosea, he still loved and forgave her, such is what our heavenly father does to us.  Nor matter how we go astray and sin He is merciful and gracious.  when we repent of our sins, he wipe them clean.

[MountainTrek1]

4.  Since these type of women don't get many marriage proposals she might agree to the marriage more readily.  Tough love presents us to the Father as hard-won trophies of the Cross.  God offers us love through Jesus Christ.

[hanks]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) 
Why does Yahweh tell His prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God's relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace? 
To illustrate God’s loving grace towards Israel and of course us as well. In Scripture Israel is often depicted as Yahweh’s wife; a wife who has frequently prostituted herself by turning her back on the true living God and worshipping false gods. Here Gomer is an allegory of unfaithful Israel. This story illustrates Israel’s unfaithfulness, the certainty of their judgment, and the ultimate restoration of the nation. Israel is guilty of adultery and rejection of the Lord. Hosea’s marital experiences go from the heartbreak caused by his wife’s unfaithfulness to the joy of their renewed relationship, mirroring God’s experiences with an unfaithful Israel. Hosea’s marriage to his unfaithful wife depicts Israel’s rejection of the Lord, and the certainty of their judgment. Their first child was a son named Jezreel (meaning God will scatter), an indication of what the Lord was about to do to the nation of Israel (1:4). The second child, a daughter, received the name Lo-Ruhamah, which means “she is not loved”, an indication that the Lord’s love for Israel would be cut off for a time (1:6-7). The third child, a son, was named Lo-Ammi (meaning not My people), an indication of the rejection of Israel as being God’s chosen people (1:8-9). Now comes the ultimate restoration (3:1-5). Hosea is told to demonstrate his love to his adulterous wife once more. The recovery of Hosea’s unruly wife depicts the Lord’s love and grace towards the restoration of Israel, despite her gross unfaithfulness. How gracious is our Lord! 
 

[Desta]

It is an illustration to To reveal the truth of God, the marriage Between the prophet  and Gomer Can clearly show The relationship of God and his people

[haar]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God's relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

God told Hosea the prophet to marry Gomer, a girl of ill repute and a prostitute to demonstrate loving grace he had for Israel despite their prostitution and rebellion towards Him.  

Hosea was made to love his prostituting wife to show us that God still loves us by grace despite our unfaithfulness.
 

[blezed]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute?

Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute because this is an illustration of how Israel unfaithfulness to God.

What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

The story of Hosea and Gomer teaches us that even tho we are unfaithful to God, he still loves us.  God grace and mercy allows us a 2nd chance.  All we have to do is repent.

 

[Rob Mc.]

Hosea is God’s representative on earth, faced with the (seemingly) unending worship of idols and massive adultery being performed by the Israelites. To show his people their sins, God uses Hosea’s marriage as an analogy of their evil ways.

The story is in the Bible as a message to both ancient Israel, and to us today. They had the chance to repent, offer sacrifices, and look to God, instead of Idols. For years they refused.  Hence Hosea’s story as a message.  We have Jesus Christ, our high priest who covers our sins through the shedding of His blood.

We are taught that God’s grace is given because He Loves us.  We are sinners, we can’t help it.  We NEED Christ to intercede for us.  Thankfully, God let’s Jesus present us to him, warts, and all, asking for forgiveness for our sins.  The key, of course, is we must sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness before Jesus will first hear us (we must ACT first, it doesn’t happen without us doing our part).  

[AKINYELE AYOMIDE PETER]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace

God told his servant to Marry a ill repute girl so as to illustrate is relationship with a ill repute people, nation and generation.

The story of Hosea and gomer teaches us what God really expect from us in our marriages, our àttitude our response.I

About grace it teaches us how God continue to be the one who makes the move, who reaches out, who empowers, is disposition towards man, his quality of benevolence of favouring the inferior, his non obligation towards us but that he favours us of his own good will, discretion. He owe us nothing but we owe him all.

 

[Jen]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

God told Hosea to marry a girl of ill repute as an example of His relationship to the Jews and also us.  Many of the prophets had to be examples for God to teach the Jewish nation and also us.  Many of those examples were difficult.

The story of Hosea and Gomer teaches us how we are to Him.   We have all been unfaithful with our time, with our money, with putting God first, whatever.  Only God is faithful but as in the words of Susanna Wesley perfection is God's attribute sincerity is mine.  God continuously wooed the Israelites back and forgave them when they repented.

One thing this teaches is that we need God's grace everyday.

God Bless!

Jen

[Janzie]

On 10/6/2022 at 7:22 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

It is a powerful revelation of God's Grace,  because the land was guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord. Gomer prostituted herself to other men as Israel went a whoring after other gods.

Of God's grace, mercy, love, compassion and forgiveness.

God's relationship with Israel - Example: The Lord said to me, '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.'" (Hosea 3:1)

^{God's Grace:} The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22--23) 

[Debra Grant]

Q4. (Hosea 1-3) Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God’s relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

1. That was a demonstration of unfaithful Israel and us to be seen. The chance to repent and live for God was available for Israel and is available for us today through God's gracious love.

2. It teaches us of God's love like Hosea had for Gomer. Even though she was very unfaithful to him, he expressed his love for her.

3. He has a lot of love for Israel as a man should love his wife and let nothing should separate them.

4. It teaches us that God is merciful, and he will forgive us even though we don't desire it. His love for us is huge, no matter how bad and discussing we have been to him. Above all, he loves and wants a relationship with us.

 

 

[JOLLAM BANDA]

Hosea is told to find a promiscuous woman for a wife. She commits adultery and lives with another man, but Hosea brings her home at great expense. This is a type of God's grace towards backslidden Israel. The gracious God receives back people who repent.  

[pickledilly]

Thank you, Pastor Ralph, for this gritty, grimy, realistic description of Hosea’s story that displays the sordid betrayal of Yahweh’s love and speaks to what that love for His people costs Him. This section of the lesson began with His command for Hosea to choose a known adulteress as his wife, a woman so entrenched in her sinful lifestyle that she was never faithful to her husband and even bore 2 illegitimate children fathered by other men (2:4-5). She clearly represents the people who God has chosen and called as His own, just as Hosea represents divine love-in-action as he sought out an undeserving woman to offer redemption as his wife and to provide an honored name and blessed future. Hosea understood that her choices and behavior clearly depicted the stubborn, wayward, unfaithful heart of Yahweh’s chosen “bride”, Israel. The names of Gomer’s adulterine offspring, No Mercy and Not My Name, clearly depicted the fruit of her sins and they represent God’s warnings of judgments on His own adulterous people. Israel’s rebellion and unfaithfulness that characterized the broken relationship with Yahweh would result in much judgment and many consequences.

BUT even as Yahweh warns, He always offers the hope that He is always ready and waiting to show mercy and secure restoration. He instructed Hosea to go to the man that took in Gomer as his mistress and buy her back at his own personal expense. This pictures what Yahweh would do in a future time to redeem Jews and Gentiles alike by purchasing our pardon at great personal expense with the sacrifice of Messiah. He comes after us with His mind-blowing mercy and grace to buy us back and offer redemption through His extravagant love and passionate favor shown to the undeserving.

The opening words of a hauntingly beautiful modern hymn I love have come to mind.

"How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure"                               How Deep the Father's Love For Us  - words and music by Stuart Townend

Extending this kind of grace is sometimes very messy, very painful, and very costly.

 

[PATCH]

Why does Yahweh tell his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute? What does the story of Hosea and Gomer teach us? How does the story illustrate God's relationship with Israel? What does it teach about grace?

Yahweh tells his prophet to marry a girl of ill repute to show us that he has a greater plan in both Hosea and Gomer's (and in our lives) that we can possiblly comprehend.  How many men out there would marry a prostitute?  He will be a mockery, bringing shame to himself and his family. 

Hosea shows us the importance of obeying Yahweh even in things we do not understand / do not like.  Gomer continued to sin after her marriage but Hosea continued to show her mercy and grace God bestow us grace in our wretched state.  

Israel is the apple of God's eye.  God will not let her go even though she mocked Him with her sinful state and outright defiance.  God keeps showing us mercy time after time.  It is his mercy and grace, his constant wooing that will break the chains of sinful rebellion.   

[Zanele Tlhakanelo]

Yahweh wants to show us that He loves all mankind as we are made in His image and after His likeness. He is not God who selects a certain class of people because we are all His people. The story teaches us that God loves as as we are. He gives us chances to repent over and over again. He is God who remains faithful even if we are not faithful. God forever waits for His people to come back to Him as our Father. Even if we go astray and worship our gods, He is patient to give us a chance to repent. His relationship with Israel shows His unconditional love. Love that is patient and immeasurable and prepared to win us back from the claws of the devil. It teaches us that His grace abounds more. Like the prodigal son, in some translations he is referred to as the lost son, God is always there, waiting for us to come back and He sees us from afar and runs to welcome us back to His Kingdom. 

[Dixter Kaluba]

God instructs the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute Goma in order to demonstrate His unflinching grace for his people. I am sure even Hosea must have been surprised except he could not question God for he knew that there was a reason for whatever God did.

The story of Hosea and Goma teach us about the nature of God's relationship with his people the Israelites. He chose them even when they had been defiled through the worship of foreign gods. This is a further demonstration of his faithfulness and unconditional love for Israel, and in current time, for us. like the children of Israel we too transgress, refuse to believe him, commit iniquities but God already gave us a promise since the death of Jesus the Christ on the cross of Calvary that as long as we repent and return to him, he will not only welcome us, but embrace us as his sons and daughters.

The of Hosea and Goma shows us that, God's relationship with Israel was not smooth but that it was  turbulent at many points and they moved in the wilderness to the promised land. Even when he had delivered them, they still rebelled against him and worshipped foreign gods. However, driven by His grace, he acted as though he was blind to all the wrong things they and still gave a chance after chance to repent and return to him.

Grace is blind to negative vices and God does not want to show people that, when they obey him and his commends, he reward them positively, but he responds to the disobedient and the obedient in the same way out of his grace for his creation

[Paula Price]

On 1/18/2023 at 9:31 AM, Diane D. said:

It was important to God that his people understand how he thinks about them and that they understand how much love he has for them. The fact that they (and us) are less than a shining image is disturbing, however, it is also wonderful to know that God loves us even when our reputation and mindset are not only imperfect but unacceptable:  we cannot stand on our own reputations to earn our way into his family.

Hosea and Gomer have a difficult relationship but Hosea still disregards how he is treated and continues to show her love and direction. We don't deserve the love that God gives us but He continues to give us His love anyway.

God has a great love for Israel and through our grafting in, He loves us as well.  It had to have hurt Hosea that his wife was not only a prostitute but also that she again and again decided to turn to other men.  Likewise, we are all subject to turning to other activities or ideas that are not what God wants for us, but He continues to grab our attention and direct us back to Him with loving kindness and grace.

In looking through some of the comments, I really like the term OUTRAGEOUS Grace, BoazNigel.  Great thought!  Just as Hosea would have been hurt, God, too, continues to ignore the hurts, teach and guide us and take us back lovingly.  Grace, indeed.

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch, a sinner, like me. I once was lost but now I am found was blind but now I see!!! " 1 John 4:19- "we love him because He first loved us."". Thank you, Lord, for your steadfast and loving kindness.!!!