Wife of Whoredom Part One Ep. #103

Hosea is one of the 12 Minor Prophetic books in the Bible. In its entirety, the Bible contains 18 books of prophecy; 17 in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament being the Book of Revelation.

The 17 were divided by five Major Prophet Books including: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations (attributed to Jeremiah), Ezekiel and Daniel.

There were 12 Minor Prophetic Books including;

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The distinction between Major and Minor has to do with more about length of content rather than importance. The Minor Prophetic Books were originally short enough to fit on one manuscript or scroll.

What is a prophet and what is a prophecy? A Prophet is one who speaks what God has instructed them to speak. ‭‭The Bible explains it perfectly in 2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭ICB‬‬,

“Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. No prophecy ever came from what a man wanted to say. But men led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.”

Now let’s move on to the first of the 12 Minor Books named Hosea.

In approximately the Eighth Century before Christ was born, God sent the Prophet Hosea to warn His people to turn from their spiritual unfaithfulness or they would face some very fierce consequences. In Hosea 9:8 we read, “God has sent me as a prophet to warn his people Israel.”

The Name “Hosea” in Hebrew means “salvation or deliverer.” Hosea and Jesus share the same root word in their names, “yāšaʿ” pronounced, yaw-shah' which means, “to save, be saved, be delivered.” Hosea can be said to be a “type of Christ” in the Old Testament.

For many of us, it’s easy to pass over the Old Testament books as hard to understand, but then we miss their contributions to the Bible as a whole story.

The Book of Hosea begins with a strange word from God for the Prophet to go and marry an unfaithful woman who will give him children fathered by other men (through adultery.)

Why? As so often happens in the Bible, God uses metaphors that people will understand. Marital unfaithfulness is an all too common occurrence in Hosea’s day and in the present day as well.

“The Lord said to him, “Go, and marry a woman who will be unfaithful to you. She will give you children whose fathers are other men. Do this because people in this country have acted like an unfaithful wife toward the Lord.”” Hosea‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬

The King James Version of the Bible calls Gomer the “wife of whoredom” who will give him “children of whoredom.” In short order, we read about Hosea marrying Gomer and she gives birth to the first of three children. Let me read verses 3-5 from the Amplified Classic:

“So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she became pregnant and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, Call his name Jezreel or God-sows, for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel and visit the punishment for it upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. [II Kings 10:11.] And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

The name “Jezreel” means “God sows.” The Valley of Jezreel was a place of violence, bloodshed, tragedy and punishment. Naming the boy Jezreel was like giving the people a living, breathing, walking testimony of judgement to come if they continued in immoral behaviors.

The birth of Jezreel is followed by the birth of a daughter named, “Lo-Ruhamah or Not-pitied.”

Let’s read verse six: “And [Gomer] conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, Call her name Lo-Ruhamah or Not-pitied, for I will no more have love, pity, and mercy on the house of Israel, that I should in any way pardon them.” ‭‭Hosea‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

Yowzers! You don’t have to read between the lines to know that’s a pretty stark warning from God saying, “No More Mercy!”

But wait! There’s another child on the way! After Gomer weaned “No Mercy” she gave birth to “Lo-Ammi” meaning, “not My people.”

I’m going to read Hosea 1:8-9 from the English Standard Version and then from The Message Bible.

“When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”” Hosea‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“After Gomer had weaned No-Mercy, she got pregnant yet again and had a son. God said: “Name him Nobody. You’ve become nobodies to me, and I, God, am a nobody to you.” ‭‭Hosea‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Imagine that, people treated God like a nobody. Hosea was a bridegroom with an unfaithful bride. The Bible speaks of God being our husband in Isaiah 54:5.

“For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.”

In a spiritual marriage, Jesus is the Bridegroom and we as believers are His bride. There’s a price to be paid when we’re unfaithful. Hosea is like Jesus in that he is a forgiving husband and made a way for us to return to him. We receive mercy if we repent from our unfaithfulness.

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