Hosea was his name and preaching was his game! God called Hosea to be a herald—that is, a prophet who proclaims God’s Word. He did this in the northern kingdom of Israel from the years 750-725 B.C. Just as the young preacher was beginning his prophetic ministry, God came to him and said, “Hosea, behind every great preacher stands a great preacher’s wife! Therefore, go down to the local Bible College and find yourself a preacher’s wife.”
Young preachers typically don’t need any extra encouragement to find a wife, so Hosea rushed to the commons and gazed out over a sea of suitable young shepherdesses. They all had long hair tied up in buns; their modest ankle length denim skirts complemented the purity of the glow of golden halos hovering above their heads. They were all triple majors: piano playing, choir singing, and Sunday school teaching.
Hosea’s heart began to pound as he pondered the possibilities, but each time he pointed, God said, “No, not that one.” He went through every girl in the commons, but God did not give his approval. Then God drew his attention to the other side of the street. There stood a woman who obviously wasn’t a Bible college student. She had short black hair with purple highlights; her short leather skirt complemented the promiscuous pumps on her feet and the immoral mascara around her eyes. She wasn’t a piano player, choir singer, nor a Sunday school teacher; let’s just say, “She had some other talents.” And she was just looking to use them. And God said, “That’s the one I want you to marry!
As if her profession wasn’t bad enough, her name was “Gomer.” How was Hosea going to preach God’s Holy Word with a harlot named Gomer? I’m sure Hosea had some questions too—“Why would a Holy God ordain an unholy union between a preacher and a prostitute? What does piety have in common with promiscuity? Why a herald and a hooker? What sense does it make for a holy man to hook up with a hootchie mama?” And God said, “You’ll see!”
1.) Gomer’s Unfaithfulness (1)
Well, Hosea obeyed God by marrying Gomer and adopting the children she bore to the men of her past. He loved Gomer with all of his heart and it wasn’t long before they started having children of their own. God named their first son Jezreel (which was synonymous with bloodshed) as a foreshadowing of the bloodshed coming to the kingdom of Israel. God named their daughter Lo-Ruhamma (which meant “not loved”) as a foreshadowing of God removing his love for Israel. God named their second son Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”) as a foreshadowing of God rejecting Israel as his people.
There they were: one big unhappy family. Why were they so unhappy? Even though Gomer married Hosea and bore him children, it wasn’t long before she went back to her old ways. Their relationship went was something like this:
So she tells him she must go out for the evening,
To comfort an old friend who’s feelin’ down
But he knows where she’s goin’ as she’s leavin’
She is headed for the cheatin’ side of town
On the other side of town a boy is waiting,
with fiery eyes and dreams no one could steal
She drives on through the night anticipating,
‘Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel
You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes,
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you’d realize,
There ain’t no way to hide your lyin eyes
Why did this happen to Hosea? Why did God want the preacher to marry the prostitute, especially when he knew that she wouldn’t be faithful? Why did God give Hosea’s children such horrendous names? Because God wanted to use Hosea’s dysfunctional family as an illustration of Israel’s dysfunctional nation! God was going to use Hosea’s personal position to empower his preaching about a national condition!
2.) Israel’s Unfaithfulness (2)
You see, Israel had been doing the same thing to God as Gomer was doing to Hosea for hundreds of years. Israel had forgotten how God delivered her from slavery in Egypt. She forgot how God gave her the Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. She refused to acknowledge that it was God who provided her with grain, wine, and oil and who lavished her with gold and silver. (2:8) The people of Israel had been unfaithful to God. There was no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land. There was only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery, and bloodshed everywhere (4:1-2). Their political leaders were crooked and their religious leaders were corrupt. Their hearts were given to a spirit of prostitution where they ran around behind God’s back by worshipping idols and false gods (5:4).
God used Hosea’s personal position of pain to help him confront a whole nation about its sin. Gomer’s unfaithfulness to Hosea was a mirror image of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God!
3.) Our Unfaithfulness
Now here is where the story gets personal! Here is where the mirror of God’s Word begins to reflect the condition of our own souls. Gomer’s story isn’t just Israel’s story; it’s our story too. The Bible tells us that we are all born with a sinful nature, a propensity toward evil. Rev. E.K. Bailey says it like this: “There is a little bit of hootchie in all of us!
I’m not saying that we have all sold our bodies, but I am saying that we have all been unfaithful to God in some way. Some of us prostitute ourselves with pornography and profanity, greed and gossip, lying and licentiousness, etc. How quickly we forget everything that God has done for us! How convenient it is to go through life and not acknowledge the Lord! How easy it is to run after every false god that catches our eye! Gomer’s story is really our story, but I am glad that this is not the end of the story!
Reconciliation (3:1-5)
As time went on, Gomer eventually left Hosea and didn’t come home anymore. Most people in this situation would insist upon a divorce, and I suspect that the thought went through Hosea’s mind. But then God came to him and proposed something even more outrageous than a preacher marrying a prostitute. God said, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulterous. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” (3:1)
So, Hosea put some money in his bag and went downtown to the prostitute auction block. When Gomer came up for bid, she looked rough. Her face was dirty, her clothes were torn, and her body was bruised. She had been used and abused by many men. The auctioneer said, “Who will give three shekels?” One man sneered and said, “I wouldn’t give one shekel for her?” Silence! “Two shekels,” asked the auctioneer? Silence again! “Who will give one shekel?” Then Hosea walked to the front of the crowd and said, “I’ll give fifteen shekels and a barrel of barley!” Everyone laughed as the auctioneer said, “Sold!” Hosea took his wife home, washed her face, bandaged her bruises, and dressed her in new clothes. Then he looked deep into her eyes and said, “From now on you are to live with me; no more running around with other men. I forgive you! I love you! I will take care of you!” (3:3)
And as it was for Gomer, so it would be with Israel. Hosea preached that even though God’s people had run after idols and would be used and abused by foreign nations in exile, God would eventually come after them. He would search for them and find them. He would purchase them and bring them back to their homeland. He would repair their relationship and restore the throne of David their king. And he would pour out his blessings upon them again.
And as it was for Gomer and the nation of Israel, so it is for us! Even though we have prostituted ourselves with all sorts of idols and sins, God came looking for us. He found us when we were broken up and beaten down by a series of bad decisions. Even though we weren’t worth it, he purchased us from the auction block for an high price: the price of the blood of his own son. He repairs our relationship with himself and brings us back to the place we belong. And he continues to pour out his blessings upon us!
Allow me to conclude with a story: A wealthy man and his son were collectors of rare works of art. They had a little of everything in their collection, from Raphael to Picasso. They would often sit together and admire the various pieces.
When the Vietnam War broke out, the son went off to combat. He was killed in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and he grieved deeply for his son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, “Sir, you don’t know me but I’m the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love for art.” The young man held out the package and said, “I know it isn’t much and I’m not a very good artist, but I thought your son would want you to have this.”
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young soldier. He starred in awe at the way the soldier had captured his son’s personality in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes began to well up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay for the painting. “Oh no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift!”
The father hung the painting over the mantle where it stayed for many years. Every time visitors came to see his collection, he showed them the portrait of his son and told them they story of his bravery. Sometime later, the father died and his whole collection was to be auctioned. Art collectors and influential people from all over the world attended the auction with hopes of taking home a masterpiece. The painting of the son sat on the platform and was to be auctioned first.
The auctioneer pounded his gavel and said, “Who will start the bidding?” Silence came over the anxious crowd. A voice from the back of the room, “We want to see the Van Gogh’s and Rembrandt’s, skip this one,” but the auctioneer persisted. “Who will start the bidding? Will someone give $100 for the son? The son! The son! Who will take the son?” Finally another voice called from the back, “I’ll give $10 for the painting.” The bid came from the longtime gardener of the man and his son. Being a poor man, this was all he could afford. The auctioneer said, “We have a bid of $10, do I hear $20?” Silence again! Someone yelled, “Give it to him for $10 so we can move along!” The auctioneer pounded his gavel and said, “Sold for $10!”
A man in the second shouted, “Now let’s get on with the collection!” But the auctioneer laid down his gavel and announced that the auction was over. “What about the paintings,” someone asked. The auctioneer said, “I’m sorry, when I was called to conduct this auction, I was told about a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal it until this time. Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought the painting would inherit the entire estate including the art collection. The one who took the son gets everything!
This is what the story of the preacher and the prostitute is really about. It is about God’s unrelenting love for us in spite of our unfaithfulness. Some of us have prostituted ourselves with idols, but God paid the price of his son to buy us back. Whoever takes the son gets everything!