Forward: There exists a difference of opinion and beliefs among the Bible commentators of old as to whether or not this is to be taken literally or figuratively. I don’t think we can resolve that issue. So the best we can do is to learn from it the lesson that God has for us to learn which does NOT give all Christians permission to marry someone of ill repute, i.e. a prostitute.
Hosea 1:2-9 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
2When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”
3So Hosea went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel, for soon I will bring the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them. 7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
8After she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, Gomer conceived and gave birth to a son. 9And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.”
My Understanding
Hosea was a servant
of the Lord. God did something with him that might seem a bit strange and
unusual in our world today, yet something that was not all that unusual for God
with His prophets of old. He often had His prophets act out prophecies, or for
the prophets themselves, and their family members, to represent or to symbolize
the messages God wanted to give to His people.
For instance, Isaiah
said that he and his children were “signs and symbols” in Israel from the LORD
Almighty (see Isaiah 8). And, here, in Hosea, we have a picture of God asking
Hosea to marry an adulterous woman and to bear children of unfaithfulness,
because they, as well, were to be signs and symbols in Israel concerning
Israel’s spiritual condition, and with regard to Israel’s relationship with
God.
I believe, as well,
that what God asked Hosea to do allowed Hosea to feel some of what God felt
concerning the children of Israel and their relationship with Him, which helped
Hosea to write in such a way to where he could actually feel, from personal
experience, what he was writing about.
The Lord has often
done this with me through dreams and visions, which serve as allegories -
illustrative and symbolic works in which the characters and events are to be
understood as representing other things, and expressing deeper spiritual
truths. When the Lord does that, He gives me insight, from His perspective,
into situations that I might not, in the natural, have any indication about or
might not understand the deep spiritual truths the Lord has for me to see in
the circumstances of my life and in my world.
So, sometimes God
allows us to walk in His shoes a little so we know what He sees, thinks, and
feels, as though we are experiencing it ourselves. It helps us then to know
God’s heart, and to be more passionate and compassionate in ministry, I
believe. And that is what He did with Hosea.
The Situation of The
Time
The people of Israel
were guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord. So, God planned
to judge the house of Jehu for the massacre of Jezreel, and said He was going
to put an end to the kingdom of Israel. He said He would no longer show love to
the house of Israel, nor would He offer them forgiveness.
Yet, He would show
love to the house of Judah and He would save them by the Lord their God, not by
weapons of warfare. He said that Israel was no longer His people, and that He
was not their God. Yet, there was hope. One day the Israelites would be like
the sand on the seashore. In place of where it was said to them, “You are not
my people,” they would be called “sons of the living God.”
What this reminds me
of is how the physical nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah,
so they, as a nation, ceased to be the children of God. Scripture teaches us
that unbelieving Jews are now the same as Gentiles, i.e. they are considered to
be descended from Ishmael, not from Isaac, whereas those who believe in Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior are those who are the children of promise, and thus they
are true Israel.
The physical city of
Jerusalem is now synonymous with Hagar, because she is still in slavery with
her children, whereas the spiritual city of Jerusalem, from above, is the
mother of true followers of Jesus Christ. All unbelieving Jews and Gentiles are
children of the slave woman, whereas all believers in Jesus Christ are the
children of the free woman (see Galatians 4:21-31).
Israel Today: [Matthew 21:43; John 8:18-19,38-47; John
10:16; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans
11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2
Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians
2:11-22; Ephesians 3:1-6; Colossians 3:12-15; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews
4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10,24; 1 John 2:22; Jude
1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9; see also Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19]
In Summation
Sometimes God allows us who are of faith in Jesus Christ to
go through difficult circumstances so that we can feel what God feels, and so
it will deepen our relationships with the Lord, so we will draw closer to God,
and so we will now follow Him wherever He leads us in doing whatever He has
called us to do, even if it is somewhat different from what is generally regarded
as “normal.” And if we end up being writers, it will give us greater passion
regarding the things which we write about, too, by God’s grace.
Sometimes we have to experience things for ourselves before
we really feel in our inner beings what God wants us to be passionate about
enough to where we will speak the hard truths to the people, many of whom will
not listen, because they will regard our words as “too hard.” So He will take us
trough trials and tribulations to test our faith and to strengthen us in our
faith and to make us more passionate and compassionate people who are not just
speaking words, but who literally feel what we are speaking of.
And right now, in the year 2026, there are so many people
professing faith in Jesus Christ who are living like the Israelites of Hosea’s
day who God was chiding for their adulteries. So many are living immoral lives,
in sexual immorality, in idolatry, in adultery, and in unfaithfulness to God
and to their spouses (if they are married). And those who are deliberately and
habitually sinning against God are not regarded of God as those who belong to
Him. So they will not be saved, and they will not inherit eternal life with
God.
The only path to salvation from sin and to eternal life with
God is through biblical faith in Jesus Christ which requires death to sin and
walks of obedience to our Lord in surrender to Him as Lord (Master) of their
lives.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
Do You Feel What God Feels?
An Original Work / August 25, 2026
Christ’s
Free Servant, Sue J Love
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth
for the water
So my soul longeth
after You
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
You alone are my
strength, my shield
To You alone may my
spirit yield
You alone are my
heart's desire
And I long to
worship You
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