Tyndale Open Study NotesHosea 3

This section describes a small part of the prophet's life, focusing on his troubled marriage. It highlights God's difficult relationship with Israel, his chosen people.

• Go show love to your wife again, though she: The Lord commanded Hosea to love his wife again, even though she had strayed. This act served as a testimony that the Lord promised to restore wayward Israel.

• to offer raisin cakes to idols: The worship of Asherah, a Canaanite fertility goddess, often included offerings of raisin cakes.

So I bought her: The Bible does not explain why the prophet had to buy his wife. Many believe that the unfaithful Gomer fell into debt and became a slave. The low price Hosea paid suggests that Gomer was seen as a low-value slave (see Exodus 21:32; Leviticus 27:4).

Just as Hosea’s wife had to live many days without sexual relations, Israel would be without its key institutions, practices, and objects. These included the king or prince, sacrifices, and sacred pillars or idols, which were central to its life and worship.

The Lord deprived the Israelites of these things to make them return to him with respect and see him as the only source of goodness.