Bible Discussion Thread

here is a version of verse 1 :

Then the LORD said to me, "Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the LORD still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them."

Hosea 3:1, NL

I don't believe that it is saying it is his wife. What do you think. Thanks

......this was in a devotion i receive.

I believe she was Hosea's wife in Jewish culture at least if not by consumation like our culture uses that term. At minimum Hosea had obtained the promise of marriage and exchanged a dowry for her to establish a covenant of marriage that she had been obligated to keep until it was fulfilled, which none of her lovers had done. Hosea had not and would not enter a covenant like this for any other woman, and legally she was now considered his wife alone and could be burned for playing the harlot with any other man. Even though she had violated the terms of the covenant of marriage, Hosea had not. On that basis and genuine God like love, Hosea was to continue his claim of marriage upon her and could not forsake her to her foreign lovers.

At minimum these things must be true to make Hosea's actions portray God's actions with Israel. The Old Covenant had been established with Israel, betrothing her to God unlike any other nation. She could not be given to the god's or graven images of any other nation without provoking His jealousy. Israel had clearly broken the terms of that covenant and God was within His rights to call down the curse of that Covenant upon both her and her lovers. But God had not broken the terms of His promise to Israel to give her the seed He had promised Abraham and passed down to each succeeding generation according to His election, not according to any outward and fleshly legal claims or failings of Abraham's sons in the generations that followed. He would not break that covenant of promise to give the seed to any other nation or to deal with Israel in such a way that the promised seed could no longer come through her, no matter how badly, deceitfully, unfaithfully and treacherously she treated Him. Instead, God loved her and ultimately through the seed He gave to her, His son Jesus Christ, showed His love to not only her but to all nations.

Hosea is a picture of God's long-suffering love and she had to be his wife by covenant to do that

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