Hosea did a strange thing which is marrying a prostitute called Gomer. Together they had three children, then she ditched him for a different man. However, later he had the embarrassing obligation of purchasing again his wife. Why did God ask Hosea to do such a thing? This ask is hard to digest for many Christians today.
The Lord called His servant to do this strange thing since the people of God stopped listening to God’s word. His covenant was no longer important to them. In another angle, Hosea had been asked or mocked by the Israelites by asking a question “You married a what?!” But Hosea knows deep in his heart that it is an act of mercy by God to wake up His children to listen and obey His words.
In the Old Testament, adultery is a symbolic representation of “idolatry and unfaithfulness to God” (Jer. 2-3; Ezek. 16:23). When Israel accepted His covenant (Ex. 19-21) God wedded them at Mount Sinai, though Jews were idolatrous from the beginning. Later they went on to worshipping Canaanite Gods like Baal. Similar to Gomer, Israel also started as an idol worshiper, married Jehovah, then turned to her idolatry.
This is a hard “acting sermon” for Hosea to preach and also answer to the questions asked by Israel. According to Mosaic law, prostitution was a capital felony, but God took action to discipline Israel rather than destroy her. When a man says he is ninety-percent faithful to his wife, he is not completely faithful to her. As the Israelites were seduced to abandon “God for idols, the church is tempted to turn to the world system that hates God and wants nothing to do with God.” We are called to be faithful until Jesus returns to receive His bride back to “the heavenly wedding” (2 Cor. 11:1-4; Epe. 5:22-33; Rev. 19:6-9).