If you want to identify and read about more bible marriages, check out my book, lesser known bible characters. And the lord said to hosea, name your daughter loruhamahnot lovedfor i will no longer show love to the people of israel or forgive them. This woman, gomer, bore him a son, a daughter, then another son. Gomer was his wife, the mother of his three children. Hosea 1 the word of the lord that came to hosea son of beeri during the reigns of uzziah, jotham, ahaz and hezekiah, kings of judah, and during the reign of jeroboam son of jehoash king of israel. Apr 07, 2018 god tells hosea to take a wife of whoredom. And likewise, the book surely does begin with a marriage. Why did god tell hosea to marry gomer the prostitute. There is no way of knowing whether gomer was already a common prostitute, a temple prostitute, or if she became a prostitute after they were married. Jun 05, 2018 although there are many husband and wife bible stories, many are unsuccessful as the marriage between hosea and gomer depicted in the early chapters of hosea. As with the other women i have read about so far, there is so much to learn from gomers story, but i will just share with you what touched me the most about her life and the life of her husband. Hoseas wife, gomer, a harlot, who god told him to marry, wanted to go back her to own ways she tried and realized her wrongs. Soon gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. Throughout the book you will see that he refers to israel and ephraim.
Hosea taps into an important theme from the torah, in which yahweh is. Hosea obeyed, marrying a woman named gomer, who was unfaithful to him. God tells hosea to redeem, to buy back, gomer and reestablish his marital bonds with her. Hoseas wife, gomer, bears this label, not necessarily because she is a. Redeeming love by francine rivers goodreads share book.
While the entire second chapter of hoseas prophecy describes jehovahs relationship with his unfaithful wife israel, it is difficult to escape the feeling that it grows out of hoseas relationship with gomer, sandwiched as it is between two chapters that clearly describe that sad and sordid story. This is an authorized web site of jehovahs witnesses. Jan 23, 2020 however, hosea went and bought her back full price, maybe more, he said you are now twice mine. Hosea is a prophet whom god uses to portray a message of repentance to gods people. Although there are many husband and wife bible stories, many are unsuccessful as the marriage between hosea and gomer depicted in the early chapters of hosea.
Likewise we are bought with a price by jesus christ. God tells hosea to redeem, to buy back, gomer and reestablish his. He was husband of gomer and underwent painful experiences with his wife s unfaithfulness. It is a research tool for publications in various languages produced by jehovahs witnesses.
Shortly after the second child is born, gomer conceives a third child. The prophet hosea was used as a metaphor for the emotion of god toward the children of israel after they had departed from following after god, committing great whoredoms. Sep 19, 2018 the prophet hosea was used as a metaphor for the emotion of god toward the children of israel after they had departed from following after god, committing great whoredoms. Hosea was called to the ministry of a prophet early in his life, and the book of the bible devoted to his name spans almost the duration of his lifetime. God, hosea, gomer, jezreel, loruhamah, loammi, kings of northern kingdom. Youll find david jeremiahs introduction to the book of hosea on page 11451147 of the jeremiah study bible. Ephraim was the largest tribe in israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as ephraim. Hosea 1 3 hosea was a young prophet in the northern kingdom of israel, which had been ruled by a succession of wicked kings. Hoseas wife and children when the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said to him, go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty. Adapted from the book of hosea in the bible, we journey with gomer, a harlot lost in her sin until hosea, a prophet of god, offers to. First, god told hosea to marry a woman known to be a wife of. The second gomer is the daughter of diblaim and exacious wife of the prophet hosea hosea 1. Background it all began with a marriage, begins david hubbard in his commentary on the book of hosea p. He was husband of gomer and underwent painful experiences with his.
Jun 28, 2019 the words of hoseas prophecy concern the wrath of a spurned husband and the forgiveness of true love. Why did god command hosea to marry an immoral woman. If you want to identify and read about more bible marriages, check out my. I got a lot more than i bargained for as i knew the story about god telling him to marry a promiscuous woman but not all that it entailed. Like any other parable, even a living one, the characters and the storyline point to a greater truththe relationship between god and his people. The marital life of hosea and his wife, gomer, provide the rich metaphor which clarifies the themes of the book. Hosea his name meaning to save, salvation is the first of the socalled minor prophets. The incredible scandal of gods perfect love found in hosea. And his name is related to the name joshua, which means salvation. The lord used hosea and gomers relationship as an object lesson to show how israel had sinned against him by following other gods and how god remains faithful even when his people dont. Gomer was the daughter of diblaim, of whom nothing is known other than that the name is possibly of foreign origin. The words of hoseas prophecy concern the wrath of a spurned husband and the forgiveness of true love. The lord gave this message to hosea son of beeri during the years when uzziah, jotham, ahaz, and hezekiah were kings of judah, and jeroboam son of jehoash was king of israel. In her sexual activity, gomer is condemned as being like a whore, although she is not a prostitute by profession.
It is difficult, however, to separate historical facts about the couples domestic problems from the theological message expressed through them. Hosea and gomers story is the story of god and israel. God directed him to take her as his wife, and so it was that gomer, the. When the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said to him, go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the lord. Strauss authored nine books, and served as pastor of. Its their struggle she finds it hard to turn away from the life she has always known and basically born into. Their life is a love story, but not the fairy tale kind. Shes mentioned by name once, but plays a major role in the first three parts of the book of her unfortunate husband. Gomer is a prostitute and hosea is a godly man told to marry her. The names of each child were given by god to hosea. This week i learned about the life of gomer in my devotional. When the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said. Hoseas wife and children when the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said to him, go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the lord.
The early days of their marriage were beautiful as their love began to blossom. Chapters of hosea present this living parable to us. Gomer in the bible was the unfaithful wife of hosea the prophet. Aug 24, 2009 hosea was a prophet whos book of the bible is located before the book of joel and aftyer the book of daniel. The word of the lord that came to hosea son of beeri during the reigns of uzziah, jotham, ahaz and hezekiah, kings of judah, and during the reign of jeroboam son of jehoash king of israel. However, hosea went and bought her back full price, maybe more, he said you are now twice mine. Gomer doesnt care anymore and begins to engage in relationship after relationship with other men. Hosea was a prophet whos book of the bible is located before the book of joel and aftyer the book of daniel. Through hosea s marriage to gomer, god, also known as yahweh, shows his great love for his people, comparing himself to a husband whose wife has committed adultery. Hosea redeems his unfaithful wife, paying the price for her freedom. The book of hosea is a narrative history and prophetic oracle. These twelve prophets are comprised in one single book in the hebrew bible and are called the twelve.
The story of gomer has been performed across the nation, reaching thousands of people with the message of gods faithfulness and love. This book is based off the love story from the bible of hosea and gomer. God directed him to take her as his wife, and so it was that gomer, the daughter of diblaim, became the unlikely wife of the budding young preacher. She already had a sketchy reputation when he married her, and things went downhill from there. Zechariah, and malachiwith biblical insight and pastoral wisdom. If gomer would stop for just one moment and try to read her husbands heart, she would. Hosea and gomer s story is the story of god and israel. The lord used hosea and gomers relationship as an object lesson to show how israel had sinned against him by following other gods. Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophets name would be joseph in english. Some believe that god was commanding hosea to marry a woman who had formerly. Oct 04, 2012 a friend of mine shared with me that her pastor taught on hosea and gomer and that she was hoping this was not going to be her situation with her husband. The book of hosea, is a visual illustration of gods marriage to israel.
Gomer gomer was the wife of the prophet hosea 8th century bc, mentioned in the hebrew bibles book of hosea 1. So hosea married gomer, the daughter of diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave hosea a son. When we, like gomer, were enslaved, god bought us back. It is not entirely clear what gomers status was at that time. God told hosea to marry a wife who was not loyal hosea 1. Hosea we are currently reading from the book of the prophet hosea at. Diblaim is derived from the word develah figcake, since she was as sweet in everyones mouth as a figcake. What was god illustrating by instructing hosea to marry a prostitute.
God ordered hosea to marry an adulterous wife, gomer, and their three children were each given a symbolic name representing part of the ominous message. Hoseas wife and children when the lord first began speaking to israel through hosea, he said to him, go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. Gomer gomer was the wife of the prophet hosea 8th century bc, mentioned in the hebrew bibles book of hosea. A friend of mine shared with me that her pastor taught on hosea and gomer and that she was hoping this was not going to be her situation with her husband. Gomer gomer was the wife of the prophet hosea 8th century bc, mentioned in the hebrew bible s book of hosea. Mar 07, 2008 this week i learned about the life of gomer in my devotional. According to the rabbis, god commanded hosea to marry gomer, the daughter of diblaim, to teach him proper conduct for one who was to prophesy to israel. Hoseas wife and children 2 when the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said to him, go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the lord. They are called minor prophets not because their material is less important or insignificant, but because of the size of the book they wrote was shorter in length. His unfaithful wife gomer leaves him and finds another man. When the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said to him, go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because. This workbook was designed for bible class study, family study, or personal study. The painful tale of hosea and gomer, a faithful husband and an unfaithful wife. Why did god tell hosea to marry a prostitute hosea 1.
Mar 27, 2019 chapters of hosea present this living parable to us. Hosea was a young preacher in the nation of israel, the northern kingdom, and he was a. Now while the quoted text does not clearly specify that this is the same woman he is to love, the overall context of chapters of hosea demand that this is the same unfaithful wife, gomer. The questions contain minimal human commentary, but instead urge students to study to understand scripture. First, god told hosea to marry a woman known to be a wife of whoredom hosea 1. For hosea, gomer is a wife of whoredom, not because she is a prostitute, but because, according to the mores of israel, she is blatantly licentious and wanton. I think hoseas heart broke as he saw gomer standing there.
As with the other women i have read about so far, there is so much to learn from gomer s story, but i will just share with you what touched me the most about her life and the life of her husband. However, this blog will show that the passage is often misunderstood and that his wife gomer is unintentionally slandered as unfaithful because of bad interpretations. Hosea was instructed by god to marry a certain woman and experience with her a domestic life which was a dramatization of the sin and unfaithfulness of israel. She became the wife of hosea, the godly prophet, and symbolized gods grace in taking out of a world which had whorishly departed from him a church to be. Discover practical insights into the book of hosea. Like any other parable, even a living one, the characters and the storyline point to a greater truththe relationship. The story of hosea and what it teaches about god and holy. Hosea is the first book in the sections of minor prophets. Hoseas wife, gomer, bears this label, not necessarily because she is a prostitute but because she is or will become a woman characterized by sexual infidelity.