Hos 1:2 | KingComments | STEP | The way in which the LORD begins to speak through Hosea is remarkable. The language He uses points to a marriage- and family drama. It is as if God says: ‘I have spoken enough words; now I will speak in a different way. The marriage and the children of Hosea will have a symbolic meaning. If the people still have ears to hear, they will listen to it.’ What must Hosea do? He must marry a wife of whom he is told by the LORD that she will be unfaithful to him. “A wife of harlotry” means a woman branded by harlotry. Children born of that marriage will be “children of harlotry”, that is to say, those children will be branded by harlotry. Because of this, Hosea will understand what God feels about the unfaithfulness of His people Israel. Through the tragedy of his own marriage, he will come to feel something of what the sin of the people is to the heart of God. He will discover what unfaithfulness means for love. Without this experience, his prophecy would have been very different. We, too, may get to know God through our experiences, so that we are better able to express His feelings in certain circumstances. That really will then happen in a different way than if we had not had that experience. That Hosea’s marriage should be a reflection of God’s relationship to His people and vice versa is clear from the reason God gives for the order for this special marriage: “For the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.” God has a relationship with His people, like Hosea will have with his wife. His marriage should also lead the people to see their unfaithfulness toward the LORD. Thus Hosea is by the circumstances of his own life a practical illustration of what God wants to say. There has been a lot to do about this marriage. Some believe that it was not a real marriage, but that Hosea experienced it only in a vision. Others believe that this marriage should be seen figuratively, as a kind of fable. But there is no reason not to consider it a real marriage. God knows all things in advance. If He finds it necessary, He can announce future events that will take place in a person’s life. For example, He tells Ananias what Paul will have to suffer for Him and what his service will be ( ). He does the same with Hosea. In my opinion there is a lot to say that the wife Hosea takes, hasn’t committed adultery yet when she marries him. After all, she has to portray the attitude of Israel towards God, doesn’t she? When God took His people to be His wife, they were not immediately unfaithful to Him either. He speaks about the early days of His people’s relationship with Him as follows: “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown” ( ). Hosea is not the only prophet who passes on a message to the people through his marriage. We find this with three other prophets. God speaks to Ezekiel that He will suddenly take away his wife ( ). Ezekiel’s wife is the lust of his eyes. Thus is God’s sanctuary and actually the whole people the lust of His eyes. In the message that God links to this, we read how He will give up His sanctuary and His people to the sword ( ). With the prophet Isaiah, who is married to a prophetess ( ), the message is in the special names he has to give both his children. The LORD tells him to go to Ahaz with his son Shear-jashub ( ). Through the name Shear-jashub, which means ‘a remnant will return’, Isaiah gives his message to Ahaz. This name warns that in case of persistent unfaithfulness, the people as a whole will be taken away into exile and that only ‘a remnant will return’. He had to call the other son Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means swift booty, speedy prey ( ). Herein lies the prophecy that the land will soon fall prey to the enemy. Another prophet with whom there is something special about marriage is Jeremiah. He is not allowed to marry. Anyone who will ask him why he remains unmarried, he must answer that he does not want to have children because otherwise, through the judgment that God is to bring over Judah, they will fall into the hands of the enemy ( ). The unfaithfulness to be denounced by Hosea in the illustration of his marriage is not an occasional matter. There is not only an unfaithful Israelite here and there, but the whole land “commits flagrant harlotry”, which means that the land has completely surrendered itself to harlotry. It has become a national sin. The unfaithfulness of the people is evidenced by the many idols it possesses and worships. God mentions this harlotry. Because of this the people have turned away from the LORD. It has gone away from behind the LORD and no longer follows Him. The faithlessness in Christianity is called by God in the same way: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” ( ). Christians who take the world as their norm in their thinking, attitude, and behavior commit spiritual adultery. God and His Word should be the norm for the Christian’s thinking, attitude, and behavior in word and deed. That Christianity focuses on what is common in the world is an abomination in God’s eye. God is a jealous God. He cannot tolerate that those who are connected to Him give their love and attention to what lives in enmity with Him (cf. ). For the Christian, the touchstone of his life can be found at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The cross is the place where the Christian has to test all his deeds. In the rejection of Christ the world has shown its true character. Therefore John writes in his first letter that “the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one” ( ). If the devil succeeds in blurring or taking away this consciousness from Christians, an ever-increasing shift to the standards of the world will take place. He succeeds in this by, among other things, making the cross a badge of honor and thus taking away its defamation. You can pin it on in ‘Christian’ countries or walk with it in a procession through the streets. People will appreciate it, as long as you don’t attach the exclusive meaning it has in the Bible. It is necessary to restore the cross to the place of supreme shame and defamation in our lives. It is the place where, when Christ died, God’s judgment of the world and sin was executed.

‏ Hosea 1:2

The Wife of Hosea

The way in which the LORD begins to speak through Hosea is remarkable. The language He uses points to a marriage- and family drama. It is as if God says: ‘I have spoken enough words; now I will speak in a different way. The marriage and the children of Hosea will have a symbolic meaning. If the people still have ears to hear, they will listen to it.’

What must Hosea do? He must marry a wife of whom he is told by the LORD that she will be unfaithful to him. “A wife of harlotry” means a woman branded by harlotry. Children born of that marriage will be “children of harlotry”, that is to say, those children will be branded by harlotry.

Because of this, Hosea will understand what God feels about the unfaithfulness of His people Israel. Through the tragedy of his own marriage, he will come to feel something of what the sin of the people is to the heart of God. He will discover what unfaithfulness means for love. Without this experience, his prophecy would have been very different.

We, too, may get to know God through our experiences, so that we are better able to express His feelings in certain circumstances. That really will then happen in a different way than if we had not had that experience.

That Hosea’s marriage should be a reflection of God’s relationship to His people and vice versa is clear from the reason God gives for the order for this special marriage: “For the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.” God has a relationship with His people, like Hosea will have with his wife. His marriage should also lead the people to see their unfaithfulness toward the LORD. Thus Hosea is by the circumstances of his own life a practical illustration of what God wants to say.

There has been a lot to do about this marriage. Some believe that it was not a real marriage, but that Hosea experienced it only in a vision. Others believe that this marriage should be seen figuratively, as a kind of fable. But there is no reason not to consider it a real marriage.

God knows all things in advance. If He finds it necessary, He can announce future events that will take place in a person’s life. For example, He tells Ananias what Paul will have to suffer for Him and what his service will be (Acts 9:15-16).

He does the same with Hosea. In my opinion there is a lot to say that the wife Hosea takes, hasn’t committed adultery yet when she marries him. After all, she has to portray the attitude of Israel towards God, doesn’t she? When God took His people to be His wife, they were not immediately unfaithful to Him either. He speaks about the early days of His people’s relationship with Him as follows: “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown” (Jer 2:2).

Hosea is not the only prophet who passes on a message to the people through his marriage. We find this with three other prophets. God speaks to Ezekiel that He will suddenly take away his wife (Eze 24:16a). Ezekiel’s wife is the lust of his eyes. Thus is God’s sanctuary and actually the whole people the lust of His eyes. In the message that God links to this, we read how He will give up His sanctuary and His people to the sword (Eze 24:17-27).

With the prophet Isaiah, who is married to a prophetess (Isa 8:3), the message is in the special names he has to give both his children. The LORD tells him to go to Ahaz with his son Shear-jashub (Isa 7:3). Through the name Shear-jashub, which means ‘a remnant will return’, Isaiah gives his message to Ahaz. This name warns that in case of persistent unfaithfulness, the people as a whole will be taken away into exile and that only ‘a remnant will return’. He had to call the other son Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which means swift booty, speedy prey (Isa 8:1-3). Herein lies the prophecy that the land will soon fall prey to the enemy.

Another prophet with whom there is something special about marriage is Jeremiah. He is not allowed to marry. Anyone who will ask him why he remains unmarried, he must answer that he does not want to have children because otherwise, through the judgment that God is to bring over Judah, they will fall into the hands of the enemy (Jer 16:2-4).

The unfaithfulness to be denounced by Hosea in the illustration of his marriage is not an occasional matter. There is not only an unfaithful Israelite here and there, but the whole land “commits flagrant harlotry”, which means that the land has completely surrendered itself to harlotry. It has become a national sin. The unfaithfulness of the people is evidenced by the many idols it possesses and worships. God mentions this harlotry. Because of this the people have turned away from the LORD. It has gone away from behind the LORD and no longer follows Him.

The faithlessness in Christianity is called by God in the same way: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?” (Jam 4:4). Christians who take the world as their norm in their thinking, attitude, and behavior commit spiritual adultery. God and His Word should be the norm for the Christian’s thinking, attitude, and behavior in word and deed. That Christianity focuses on what is common in the world is an abomination in God’s eye. God is a jealous God. He cannot tolerate that those who are connected to Him give their love and attention to what lives in enmity with Him (cf. 2Cor 11:2-3).

For the Christian, the touchstone of his life can be found at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The cross is the place where the Christian has to test all his deeds. In the rejection of Christ the world has shown its true character. Therefore John writes in his first letter that “the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one” (1Jn 5:19).

If the devil succeeds in blurring or taking away this consciousness from Christians, an ever-increasing shift to the standards of the world will take place. He succeeds in this by, among other things, making the cross a badge of honor and thus taking away its defamation. You can pin it on in ‘Christian’ countries or walk with it in a procession through the streets. People will appreciate it, as long as you don’t attach the exclusive meaning it has in the Bible. It is necessary to restore the cross to the place of supreme shame and defamation in our lives. It is the place where, when Christ died, God’s judgment of the world and sin was executed.