Most prophets preached with words. Hosea was asked to preach with his own home. God told him to marry a wife of whoredoms, and to give his children names that spoke a message to the whole nation.
It is one of the hardest assignments in the Bible, and one of the tenderest. The marriage was meant to show Israel what their unfaithfulness to the LORD looked like – and how far the LORD was willing to go to bring them back.
The Story of Hosea and Gomer
The word of the LORD came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. The first thing God told him was startling: Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms. The reason was given at once: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. Israel had been unfaithful to God, and Hosea’s marriage would put that on display.
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. The LORD said, Call his name Jezreel, because he would soon avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu and cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
She conceived again and had a daughter, and God said, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel. Yet even here God added a word of hope for the south: I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and would save them – not by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, but by the LORD their God. After Lo-ruhamah was weaned, she had another son, and God said, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
Those three names sound like the end of the story, but the very next verse turns it around. The number of the children of Israel would be as the sand of the sea, and in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Judah and Israel would be gathered together and appoint themselves one head, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Chapter 2 speaks of Israel as an unfaithful wife who said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water. She did not know that it was the LORD who gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. God said he would take those gifts away. But then the tone changes: I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. The valley of Achor would become a door of hope. I will betroth thee unto me for ever, God promised, in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. And he would say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Then the LORD spoke to Hosea again: Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods. Chapter 3 does not repeat her name, but it is told as the next step in Hosea’s own story, and it is usually read as Gomer. Hosea paid for her: So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley.
He told her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. In the same way, the children of Israel would abide many days without a king and without a sacrifice. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Key Verses
“The land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD” Hosea 1:2
“There it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” Hosea 1:10
“I will betroth thee unto me for ever” Hosea 2:19
“According to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel” Hosea 3:1
“Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God” Hosea 3:5
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of Hosea and Gomer Teaches Us
God takes unfaithfulness to him seriously. He did not describe Israel’s worship of other gods as a small mistake; he compared it to a wife leaving her husband. Hosea’s marriage and the names Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi made the cost of that plain: the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
Israel forgot where its blessings came from. She said her lovers gave her bread and water, but she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil. The things God had given were being spent on Baal. The passage asks every reader to remember who the Giver really is.
Judgment is not God’s last word. In the place where it was said, Ye are not my people, it would be said, Ye are the sons of the living God. Hosea bought the woman described in chapter 3, usually understood to be Gomer, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel. God’s love was willing to pay a price and to wait many days for his people to return.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Gomer in the Bible?
Gomer was the daughter of Diblaim and the wife of the prophet Hosea (Hosea 1:3). God told Hosea to marry her as a picture of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the LORD (Hosea 1:2).
Why did God tell Hosea to marry an unfaithful wife?
God said it was because the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD (Hosea 1:2). Hosea’s marriage showed Israel what their turning to other gods looked like, and his love for her pictured the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel (Hosea 3:1).
What were the names of Hosea’s children and what did they mean?
Jezreel, because God would avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu; Lo-ruhamah, for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; and Lo-ammi, for ye are not my people (Hosea 1:4-9). God later promised to reverse those names (Hosea 1:10, 2:23).
How much did Hosea pay to buy the woman in Hosea 3?
Fifteen pieces of silver, and an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley (Hosea 3:2).
What does the story of Hosea and Gomer mean?
It is a picture of God’s love for his people. Even after Israel turned to other gods, the LORD promised, I will betroth thee unto me for ever (Hosea 2:19), and said they would one day return, and seek the LORD their God (Hosea 3:5).
Where is the story of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible?
It is in Hosea 1-3, at the start of the book of Hosea. The prophet ministered in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and Jeroboam king of Israel (Hosea 1:1).