1:1 Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel from 753 to 715 B.C. Under the reign of Jeroboam II, the northern kingdom had prospered materially but had decayed spiritually. The people were greedy and had adopted the moral behavior and idolatrous religion of the surrounding Canaanites.
Hosea’s role was to show how the people of the northern kingdom had been unfaithful to God, their “husband” and provider, and had married themselves to Baal and the gods of Canaan. He warned that unless they repented of their sin and turned back to God, they were headed for destruction. Hosea spoke of God’s characteristics—his powerful love and justice—and how their practical experience of these should affect their lives and make them return to God. Unfortunately, the people had broken their covenant with God, and they would receive the punishments God had promised (Deuteronomy 27–28).
1:2, 3 Did God really order his prophet to marry a woman who was a prostitute? Some who find it difficult to believe God could make such a request view this story as an illustration, not a historical event. Many, however, think the story is historical and give one of these explanations: (1) According to God’s law, a priest could not marry a prostitute or a divorced woman (Leviticus 21:7). However, Hosea was not a priest. (2) It is possible that Gomer was not a prostitute when Hosea married her and that God was letting Hosea know that Gomer would later turn to adultery and prostitution. In any case, Hosea knew ahead of time that his wife would be unfaithful and that their married life would become a living object lesson to the adulterous northern kingdom. Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful woman would illustrate God’s relationship to the unfaithful nation of Israel.
1:2, 3 It is difficult to imagine Hosea’s feelings when God told him to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him. He may not have wanted to do it, but he obeyed. God often required extraordinary obedience from his prophets who were facing extraordinary times. God may ask you to do something difficult and extraordinary, too. If he does, how will you respond? Will you obey him, trusting that he who knows everything has a special purpose for his request? Will you be able to accept the fact that the pain involved in obedience may benefit those you serve and not you personally?
1:4, 5 Elijah had predicted that the family of Israel’s King Ahab would be destroyed because of their wickedness (1 Kings 21:20-22), but Jehu went too far in carrying out God’s command (2 Kings 10:1-11). Therefore, Jehu’s dynasty would also be punished—in the valley of Jezreel, the very place where he carried out the massacre of Ahab’s family. God’s promise to put an end to Israel as an independent kingdom (“break the bow of Israel”) came true 25 years later when the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom and carried the people into captivity.
1:6, 8 In 1:3, we read that Gomer “bare him [Hosea] a son.” In 1:6 and 1:8, we learn that Gomer gave birth to two more children, but there is no indication that Hosea was their natural father, and some translations imply that he was not. Whether or not they were his, the key to this part of the story is found in the names God chose for the children, showing his reaction to Israel’s unfaithfulness. God’s reaction to unfaithfulness is no different today. He wants our complete devotion.
1:7 Israel and Judah had been a united kingdom under David and Solomon. After Solomon’s death a civil dispute had arisen, and the land was divided into a northern kingdom (Israel, whose capital was Samaria) and a southern kingdom (Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem). Although Hosea spoke mainly to the northern kingdom, his concern, like God’s, was for the entire nation of Israelites including those from the kingdom of Judah. Just as Hosea prophesied, God helped Judah because Judah had a few kings who honored him. Shortly after defeating Israel, the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem. He was driven off by an angel’s powerful and dramatic intervention (Isaiah 36–37).
1:7 God said he would personally rescue the people of Judah from their enemies with no help from their weapons or armies. Although God asks us to do our part, we should remember that he is not limited to human effort. God often chooses to work through people, but only because it is good for them. He can accomplish all his purposes without any help from us if he so chooses. You are very important to God, but on your own you have neither the ability to fulfill nor the power to disrupt God’s plans.
1:9 Here God was in essence dissolving the covenant (Jeremiah 7:23). The name of the third child conveys the finality of God’s judgment. God’s warnings recorded in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 were beginning to come true: Israel was abandoning God, and in turn, he was leaving them alone and without his blessings.
1:10 The Old Testament prophetic books sometimes use the word Israel to refer to the people of the united kingdom (north and south) and sometimes just to the northern kingdom. In talking about past events, Hosea usually thought of Israel as the northern kingdom with its capital in Samaria. But when Hosea spoke about future events relating to God’s promises of restoration, it is difficult to understand his words as applying only to the northern kingdom because the exiled northerners would become hopelessly intermingled with their conquerors. Thus, most scholars see the promises of return as either: (1) conditional—the Israelites chose not to return to God, and therefore they were not entitled to the blessings included in the promises of restoration, or (2) unconditional—God’s promises of restoration have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and therefore the church (the new Israel) receives his blessings (Romans 9:25, 26; 1 Peter 2:10).
1:10, 11 Although Israel was unfaithful, God’s commitment remained unchanged. This promise of a future reuniting confirmed the covenant made with Moses (Deuteronomy 30:1-10) and foreshadowed the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:11-14; 31:31-40) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 11:16-21). It was a prediction of the day when all the people of God will be united under Christ. Today all believers everywhere are God’s chosen people, “a nation of priests” (see 1 Peter 2:9).