Study notes

Hosea 3

Introducing HoseaWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

1:1–3:5 Section

Hosea brought messages of judgement and hope to the people of the northern kingdom. He spoke some messages as poems and shared some messages through actions of prophecy.

Hosea obeyed God’s instructions about who to marry and what to name their children. His marriage and the naming of his children were actions of prophecy. Hosea married a woman who had sex with other men. She acted like a prostitute. This was a picture of how the people of the northern kingdom treated God.

God was faithful to them like Hosea was faithful to his wife Gomer. But the people weren’t faithful to God just like Gomer wasn’t faithful to Hosea. Faithfulness between Hosea and Gomer meant having sex only with each other. Faithfulness between God and God’s people meant that God’s people worshipped only God. It meant that they obeyed the Law of Moses recorded in the Mount Sinai covenant.

Hosea gave his children names that meant Not Loved and Not My People. These names were a picture of how God would treat his people. He would treat them as if they weren’t his people that he loved. This means that he would treat them as if the Mount Sinai covenant were broken. The covenant showed that God chose the family line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He chose them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. That was how God showed his love for them.

But the people of the northern kingdom worshipped the false god called Baal. It was as if they had forgotten that God was their God. God never stopped being faithful to his people. God promised that one day Israel would recognise him as the Lord. God’s people would enjoy the covenant blessings. They would be led by a king from David’s family line.

Jews came to understand these messages of hope as prophecies about the messiah. New Testament writers came to understand that Jesus is the Messiah.

1:2–3:5

This section describes a small part of the prophet's life, focusing on his troubled marriage. It highlights God's difficult relationship with Israel, his chosen people.

3:1

  • Go show love to your wife again, though she: The Lord commanded Hosea to love his wife again, even though she had strayed. This act served as a testimony that the Lord promised to restore wayward Israel.

  • to offer raisin cakes to idols: The worship of Asherah, a Canaanite fertility goddess, often included offerings of raisin cakes.

3:2

So I bought her: The Bible does not explain why the prophet had to buy his wife. Many believe that the unfaithful Gomer fell into debt and became a slave. The low price Hosea paid suggests that Gomer was seen as a low-value slave (see Exodus 21:32; Leviticus 27:4).

3:3–4

Just as Hosea’s wife had to live many days without sexual relations, Israel would be without its key institutions, practices, and objects. These included the king or prince, sacrifices, and sacred pillars or idols, which were central to its life and worship.

3:5

The Lord deprived the Israelites of these things to make them return to him with respect and see him as the only source of goodness.

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources