Gomer the Promiscuous Wife

Gomer the Promiscuous Wife

Hosea 3:3 Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. (NLT)

            Imagine being told by God that you had to marry a prostitute. Many people would be left scratching their heads as to if this was truly God speaking and yet, God did order someone to do exactly that. Hosea 1:2-3  When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. (NLT) Hosea was a prophet of God who had been called to prophesy against the Children of Israel and warn them concerning their adulterous way. As a way to teach Israel a valuable lesson, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer and have children with her. God knew that Gomer would not be faithful to Hosea, but although this was a real embarrassment for him, it was symbolic of the Children of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.

            Gomer stayed true to her occupation even though she was married to Hosea. She left her home, husband and children to commit adultery with other men. Yet, God had Hosea to go get her and show her love as a sign of the love that He had for Israel even though they were unfaithful and turned their heart to other gods. Hosea 3:2 So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. (NLT) Hosea had to purchase his own wife and bring her back to their home despite her indiscretion. This was the same way God had contended with Israel over the years. Time and time again God would rescue them from the hands of their enemies only for them to return to their adulterous ways of worshiping other gods. Gomer did not appreciate the fact that she had a husband who loved her because she was too busy chasing after cheap imitations.

            We too have oftentimes been unfaithful to God. We have allowed other things to crowd God out of our lives and placed Him second when He should have been first. We frequently put value in people, jobs, money, and occupy our time with tv, games, gossip, music, and all sorts of distractions that take us away from having an intimate relationship with Him. And yet, despite our unfaithfulness, our Potter still beckons us to come and be in His presence. He is never unfaithful to us, but we are the ones who just like Gomer, seek out other gods. The Potter wants us to return to Him and the security of His home in our hearts. No other god can love us as He has by sending His son to die for our sins. Hebrews 3:15 As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." (NIV)