May 28, 2023
Hosea 3:1-5
“Go Buy Who!?!”
Service Overview: Despite the fact that Gomer was had sold herself and was sleeping with another man, God tells Hosea to go and buy her back as a way of illustrating the fact that although Israel had prostituted themselves to other gods, he loved them enough to buy them back as well.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- The word love is used four times in various forms in this first verse. It is used for the love of Yahweh for Israel, the love Hosea was to have for Gomer, the love she has received from her lover, and the love of Israel for the raisin cakes of the pagans. We might wish that contrasting words had been used. But the use of the same word highlights our own use of the word love for very different meanings. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Hosea, 55)
- The price paid was “fifteen shekels of silver” and about sixteen and a half bushels of barley. A “homer” was about eleven bushels and a “lethech” was half that amount. The value of the barley matched the value of the silver, giving a sum equal to thirty shekels of silver. That amount was the price of a slave (Ex. 21:32). This report suggests an actual event, that Hosea was not wealthy, and that his wife had become a slave as a result of her downward plunge into prostitution. (Billy K. Smith, Layman’s Bible Book Commentary, Vol. 13, 22)
- The failure in relationships is a failure of faith and constancy. In Israel’s case this means she is attracted to other gods and to their cults as symbolized by the cakes used in the ritual of the worship of Baal. (H. D. Beeby, Grace abounding: A Commentary on the Book of Hosea, 38)
- The reference to David, meaning the line of David’s descendants, is surprising because Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel, which had departed from following David’s descendants when Solomon had died nearly two hundred years earlier (1 Ki. 12). This is an indication of a far-reaching prophecy about the re-uniting of the two kingdoms, which can only be seen to be fulfilled in Jesus Christ the king, the Son of David (see on 1:10 — 2:1). (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 770)
- Like Amos (9:11) and the great prophets who followed him (Mi. 5:2; Is. 11:1—5; Je. 23:5-6; Ezk. 37:24-28; Zc. 12:7), Hosea connected Yahweh’s future victory to the renascence of Davidic rule. (David Allan Hubbard, Hosea, 95)
- Israel won’t stay “without,” for she will see her Messiah, repent of her sins, and say, “You are my God.” They will enter into that blessed relationship in which the Lord says, “You are My people.” This will occur in “the latter days” when the messianic King sits on David’s throne and judges righteously (Mat. 19:28; Luke 1:32–33). (Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed: Minor Prophets, 23)
What does Hosea 3 illustrate, demonstrate, and challenge us to consider?
- The long-suffering love of God.
(v. 1 | Neh. 9:30; Ps. 86:15; Jer. 15:15; John 15:13; Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:4-5; 1 John 3:16; 4:19)
He loved us not because we are lovable, but because He is love. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, 38)
We never really know how much a person loves us until we know how much he is willing to suffer for us; it is the suffering that measures the love. It is this quality of suffering love that is the focus of Hosea chapter 3. (Ogilvie, 55)
In 1:2 it said ‘Go, take …’, but here it says Go, love …. This emphasizes God’s love for the people of Israel, even though they turn to other gods and love — what do they love? — raisin cakes! These were probably used in Canaanite rituals. They show just how carnal and unworthy is Israel’s outlook. (D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 769)
- The redemptive love of God.
(vv. 2-3 | Ps. 111:9; 130:7; Is. 44:22; Rom. 3:24-26; Col. 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 1:18–19)
No text in the Bible manifests faith in a loving God more than Hos 1-3. God’s relationship to his people is likened to the most intimate bond in human experience, that of wife and husband. The love denoted by this simile is both tender and responsible. It seeks love in return and yet requires righteousness as the condition of true life. It disciplines, forgives, and persists. It seeks, offers, and exhorts. It suffers and sustains. These are the qualities of God’s love set forth by Hosea in these brief, compelling lines. (James M. Ward, Amos, Hosea, 62)
The call to love a compulsively rebellious wife led a faithful prophet to experience the greatness of God. The essence of that greatness is initiative love and reconciliation. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, 54)
- The prophetic love of God.
(vv. 4-5 | Job 19:25; Is. 11:1—5; Je. 23:5-6; Ezk. 37:24-28; Mi. 5:2; Zc. 12:7; Matt. 19:28; Luke 1:32–33; Romans 8:23; Revelation 5:9)
Mention of David their king conveys a number of thoughts in the context of Hosea: (1) the reunion of the two kingdoms under one head (cf. 1:11); (2) the reversal of Israel’s pattern of dynastic instability (7:3—7; 8:4; 10:3); (3) the rejection of the foreign alliances which served as a buffer against their own political weakness (7:8—9, 11, 16); and (4) the covenantal continuity promised to David by Yahweh and violated by Jeroboam I and all his successors (cf. on 8:4). Like Amos (9:11) and the great prophets who followed him (Mi. 5:2; Is. 11:1—5; Je. 23:5-6; Ezk. 37:24-28; Zc. 12:7), Hosea connected Yahweh’s future victory to the renascence of Davidic rule. (David Allan Hubbard, Hosea, 95)
Conclusion… What is the challenge of Hosea 3 to Jesus’ followers today?
A. To love the unlovable despite their offense.
(Prov. 10:12; Mark 12:29-31; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 16:14; Eph. 4:2; 1 Pet. 4:8; 1 John 4:20)
Biblical love is not emotions or feelings, but attitudes and actions that seek the best interests of the other person, regardless of how we feel toward him. (Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness, 208)
Christian love is never theoretical or abstract; it is always practical. (Alexander Strauch, Leading With Love, 111)
Think of the pain and frustration we have experienced with loved ones and friends who have done us seemingly irreparable harm. Consider the people you have cut off because of what they have said or been. Now hear the call of God to “Go, love again!” (Ogilvie, 54)
B. To love in ways that may lead to redemption.
(Mark 10:45; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:20; Gal. 6:10; Col. 3:12; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 4:8; 1 John 3:18)
Love is an act of the will accompanied by emotion that leads to action on behalf of its object. (Voddie Baucham, Family Driven Faith, 57)
Love compliments and balances everything else. It is the beautiful, softening principle. It keeps our firmness from becoming hardness and our strength from becoming domineering. It keeps our maturity gentle and considerate. It keeps our right doctrine from becoming obstinate dogmatism and our right living from becoming smug self-righteousness. (John MacArthur, 1 Corinthians, 476)
Some interpreters question whether or not love can be commanded. God can do so because love does not mean “fall in love.” Neither does it signify sexual intercourse, nor the legal act of marriage. Love, as Hosea uses it (11:1; 14:4), means a helping, healing relationship. (Smith, 21)
C. To trust God’s love above and beyond your own.
(Ps. 37:7; Is. 55:11; Rom. 8:23; 12:12; 1 Cor. 13:4; Eph. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:14; Ja. 5:7-8)
Here is a spiritual principle: We cannot exercise love unless we are experiencing grace. You cannot truly love others unless you are convinced that God’s love for you is unconditional, based solely on the merit of Christ, not on your performance. John said, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our love, either to God or to others, can only be a response to His love for us. (Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace, 132)
In Himself, God is love; through Him, love is manifested, and by Him, love is defined. (Burk Parsons, Love is in the Air, Tabletalk Magazine, May 2004, p. 6)
We do not trust God to give us what we want. Rather, we trust Him to accomplish His redemptive plan and evidence that trust by doing His will in the situations of our lives. (Dean Ulrich, From Famine to Fullness, 79)
Gospel Connection…
Like Gomer, in Christ, we too have been bought with a price; the greatest price, despite our offense.
(Mat. 20:28; Rom. 3:24-26; 10:10; 1 Cor. 6:20; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:15; 1 Peter 1:18–19)
Hosea had to buy [Gomer] back at a cost of fifteen pieces of silver (half the price of a slave, Ex. 21:32) and about ten bushels of barley. This was not an exorbitant price, but she had cheapened herself by her sins. We need to remember that God has purchased us at the tremendous cost of the precious blood of His only Son (1 Peter 1:18–19). (Warren Wiersbe, Be Amazed: Minor Prophets, 22)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- If Hosea and Gomer were your neighbors, what advice would you give Hosea?
- Why do you think God often chose “living sermons,” such as Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, in order to deliver His messages through the prophets?
- In what ways can you love someone who doesn’t seem to want it? How can you love without being annoying or off-putting?
- What is a situation you are facing that is a challenge to love through? What might love require of you in it?
- Who is someone in your life that’s hard to love? How might you take action to love them in the coming days?
Quotes to note…
Love can grow only if it is rooted in the soil of true obedience. (Alexander Strauch, Leading With Love, 184)
It may well be that [we are] denied triumph after triumph because we will not bring to Christ what we have and what we are. If, just as we are, we would lay ourselves on the altar of service of Jesus Christ, there is no saying what Christ could do with us and through us. We may be sorry and embarrassed that we have not more to bring – and rightly so, but that is not reason for failing or refusing to bring what we have and what we are. Little is always much in the hands of Christ. (William Barclay, The Gospel of John, v. 1)
None of us naturally desires God. We are part of a fallen creation with a bent for willful independence from God’s sovereign lordship of our lives. Because we find it humanly impossible to make Him Lord of our lives, He has had to be our Savior first. Our sins, though perhaps different than Gomer’s, are no less serious. And the breathtaking wonder is what God came to earth in Christ to do for us on Calvary to atone for our sins and reconcile us to Himself. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, 54)
Hosea 3:3 suggests that Hosea didn’t immediately enter into intimate relations with Gomer, but waited awhile to make sure she would be true to him. It’s also possible that he wanted to make sure she wasn’t pregnant with another man’s child. But even this has a spiritual message attached to it: Israel today, though purchased by their Messiah (John 11:47–52; Isa. 53:8), has not yet returned to the Lord. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 1396)
In reacquiring her, Hosea played a symbolic role for his audience that is made explicit in the initial verse of the chapter. He is to love her as God loves Israel. As the chapter unfolds, Gomer’s full restoration is not accomplished immediately, and Israel’s would not be either. The restoration of Israel in chs. 1-2 was qualified as coming about “on that day,’ which is a way to refer to future events of decisiveness, whose significance would continue. Chapter 3 will speak of restoration to come in the latter days. To the prediction in 1:11 (MT 2:2) that Israel and Judah will have one head, 3:5 adds that he will be a Davidic ruler. (J. Andrew Dearman, The Book of Hosea, 132)
The same indiscriminate and trivializing use of the word “love” is found in v. 1 as is so painfully common in our usage today. The word is used for both marriage and adultery, to describe both God’s love and a passion for Canaanite cakes! God’s love is thus made to compete with cookies —and the cookies win. (H. D. Beeby, Grace abounding: A Commentary on the Book of Hosea, 38)
All of God’s emotions, including His love in all its aspects, cannot be divorced from God’s knowledge, God’s power, God’s will. If God loves, it is because He chooses to love; if He suffers, it is because He chooses to suffer. God is impassible in the sense that He sustains no “passion,” no emotion, that makes Him vulnerable from the outside, over which He has no control, or which He has not foreseen. (D.A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, 60)