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OSEA chapter 1 tells of Hosea marrying a prostitute named Gomer, and
fathering 3 children with her. At the beginning of chapter 2, we find out
indirectly that Gomer ran away and became a prostitute again. And (based upon
the tone of the first portion of the prophecies in this chapter), it is likely
that Hosea had an idea about having her stoned for her misbehavior. In his
ecology and economy, he had a legal right to have that done. But his heart
pulled him in another direction. She viewed him as oppressive and restrictive,
but he longed to see her perspective change. He yearned to see reciprocation
for his love.
Hosea represented God, and Gomer represented Israel. God's love for
Israel was patient, generous and extravagant. Israel's love of material things
was intense and distracting. As such, God determined to take away the things
that had been most precious to Israel in order to bring her heart back around
to Himself (Hosea 2:7). If Israel's lovers were still present, but the wealth was not, then obviously those
paramours were not the source of her wealth. God wanted to prove to Israel that
every good thing that they had ever enjoyed, He had supplied.
Hosea had taken care
of Gomer even when she returned to prostitution. His aim was to win her back. But,
just like God was going to do with Israel, he had to cut off her supply line to
get her back home where she belonged. She saw Hosea as a ball & chain that
would hold her down & hold her back. But he aimed to win her heart so that
she would call him her "husband" once again (vs. 16).
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