Marriage Between The Prophet Hosea And Gomer Controversy Religion Essay

Introduction

Hosea:

Hosea ( Hoshea-saviour ) was an 8th century prophesier -a mouthpiece of Yahweh. He prophesied in the Northern Kingdom, which was under King Jeroboam II ( Hosea 1: 1 ) . The reign of Jeroboam was characterized by material prosperity but it was morally smacking and rotten due to idolatry as attested in Hosae 4:2 and 2 Kings 14: 23-29 ( Halley, 1957: 321 ) . Israel had “ committed great prostitution by abandoning the Lord ” ( Hosea1: 2 ) . The great wickedness that Israel had committed, compelled God to command Hosea to show it through his personal life.

Hosea, a prophesier and a steadfast nationalist of Yahwhism, received the message from Yahweh. The prophesier was commanded to travel and get married Gomer, a cocotte ( Hosea 1:2 ) . The matrimony between the prophesier and a cocotte is surrounded by contentions as recorded in Hosea chapters One and Three. The contentions include the dubious possibility of Yahweh to expose Yahweh ‘s prophesier to a cocotte. However, bookmans have said that the play between Hosea and Gomer is a metaphor that demonstrates the unconditioned love of God for Israel and humanity at big. The message was complex as Hosea spoke both of catastrophe and hope for Restoration. By catastrophe he warned that the Assyrians would come to occupy them.

The presentation involves the unfaithful matrimonial play between Hosea and Gomer his married woman. This is seen in Hosea 1:2 and 3:1-2 where God commands Hosea to get married a cocotte and he repeated the bid stating ‘go once more ‘ and love a cocotte. From these two texts, Gomer is seen as a cocotte before get marrieding Hosea. And she continued being unfaithful to her hubby to the extent of deserting him for other work forces. Speculatively, the prostitute in chapter three whom God commanded Hosea to get married once more may be Gomer though the Bible does non advert the name ‘Gomer. ‘

GOMER:

The name seems to be masculine ( Genesis 10: 2 ) , but Hosea depicts it as a feminine name. Gomer was the married woman of Hosea. She had three kids and merely the first-born is portrayed as a legitimate kid of Hosea. The other two kids were born out of wed log. The Bible records that Gomer left her husband-Hosea for other work forces. Therefore, the Bible depicts Gomer as a cocotte.

Therefore, it is critical that the type of harlotry she indulged in is stressed exactly from scholarly point of position. Scholars have interpreted the first three chapters of Hosea in different ways ( Hinson, 1992: 168 ) . However, James Hastings suggests that Gomer was a temple cocotte ( Hastings 1963: 398 ) . This type of harlotry was common in Canaan as Werner Keller puts it ;

“ In Canaan in those yearss the cult of sensualness was regarded as the worship

of the Gods, temple took the topographic point of whorehouses, work forces and adult females cocottes

ranked as sacred to the followings of the faith, their wagess for their

services went into the temple exchequers as an offering for the God ” ( Keller,

1956: 262 ) .

From this apprehension, it is possible to reason that Gomer could hold been a temple cocottes as Hastings puts it, “ Gomer was, before matrimony, a temple cocotte ” ( Hastings, 1963: 398 ) . Further, it is unsure that Yahweh, who is worthy, could let his prophesier to get married a cocotte. Prostitutes or extramarital adult females were deserved to be stoned to decease and non to be take back to their matrimonial places ( Psalm 85 ; Deuteronomy 22:20 ) . However, it has been the nature of God to uncover His program in both words and actions as seen in Isaiah 20:1-6 and in Jeremiah 28:10f. Therefore, the metaphor could intend that Yahweh was conveying his message through this play.

THE METAPHOR FOR THE UNFAITHFUL Marriage:

In this play, Hosea is the representation of God who loves both the righteous and the evildoer but hates wickedness. Gomer represent the Hebrewss who became broke the compact made between them and God. The names of their kids mean the attitude that God had developed against Israel due to idolatry ( Hosea 1:4, 6, 9 ) .

Meanings of the names ;

The names of the kids born in this unfaithful matrimony show that the clip of God ( kairos ) to penalize Israel had come ( Jezreel ) . Lo-ruhamah meant that God had no longer mercy for Hebrewss and Lo-ammi meant that Israel had rejected God. But subsequently, Yahweh changed His head and decided to forgive Israel ( Halley, 1957: 317 ) as demonstrated by Hosea who redeemed his married woman from playing prostitution. Hosea besides is depicted as holding accepted to maintain the two illicit kids. This shows how inclusive the love of God is.

Hosea ‘s attitude towards Gomer ;

Though with great hurting and love of losing her in such a dramatic manner, Hosea followed, called and redeemed his married woman to himself. This is the precisely image of God who is invariably aware of human sort as portrayed in Psalm 8: 4. This is besides depicted in the embodiment of Christ in the dispensation of redemption for humanity. As Hosea redeemed his married woman, so is God ready to deliver humanity from any apostasy life every bit good as the bondage of wickedness despite being iniquitous ( Romans 5: 8 ) . In this position, the matrimonial unfaithfulness represents how Israel became unfaithful to God by broking the Sinai compact that was made between them and God as seen below.

Desertion and Restoration of the compact ;

The play was the reminder to the Hebrewss that they were a holy state. They were alone by holding entered a relationship with God through a Sinai compact. John Miller states that God, in the wilderness, initiated the compact after the Israelites flight from Egypt. God showed the stamp love for Israel. And this love is likened to the love for an baby who is in a heartfelt way loved by the parent ( Miller, 1987: 80 ) . In this sole compact, Israel is seen as a married woman while Yahweh is the hubby ( Hastings, 1963:506 ) .

But Israel broke this compact and became unfaithful to God by indulging in devotion. This going from idolizing Yahweh to other Gods is likened to harlotry, which was rampant in temples ( Miller, 1987:82 ) . And of class sexual activity is a natural form of humanity. From this account, sacred harlotry implanted a belief of increasing prosperity and birthrate, for illustration, agricultural merchandise, as Hebrewss were an agricultural people. They depended on agribusiness. Therefore they could non avoid following worshipping of Baal ; a birthrate God as Israel pursued material goods from other Gods ( Hastings, 1963:506 ) .

Attached to this worship was the belief refering the “ rhythm of growing and decay, birth and decease ” and success in war. “ But in Canaan, they were openly unblushing such that female parent goddesses were branded as prostitutes. ” ( Keller, 1956: 262-263 ) . This worship was connected to mundane life to guarantee that by holding sex in the temple ; success was certain. As sex was performed in the temple, the God of birthrate was infusing the Earth for farms to hold good green goods and success in trade.

This is seen in how trade was conducted as goods likely nutrient was sold by the rich to aliens like Tyre ; pretermiting the fellow hapless Hebrewss who could hold worked for it. The seller-buyer relationship is besides viewed as harlotry. These were the activities that penetrated Yahwism. And it was at this that the Prophetss were raged with nationalism ardor to contend the endurance of Yahwism.

The metaphor besides refers to confederations with other states on political footing. These confederations are likened to lovers whom Isaiah condemned. These foreign confederations brought devotion into Israelites ‘ religion. Thus the word picture of Israel ‘s infidelity to God ( Jeremiah 2:18, 36-37 ; Hosea 5:13 ; 7:11-12 ) .

That is the breakage of compact or the seal of redemption. As seen in this manner, Israel committed criminal conversation by being devotion. Israel besides followed the Gods of force, blackwash and unfairness. They wholly rejected the principles of Yahweh as stipulated in the Decalogue- Ten commandments ( Hosea 4:2 ) .

Miller besides points out that ” When the severe believers of Yahweh entered Canaan from the wilderness of Sinai and foremost encountered such patterns at Baal Peor, they were both shocked and intriguedaˆ¦ . Numberss 25: Hosea 9:10 ” ( Miller, 1987:82 ) . Miller clearly states that Israel was a monotheistic state. But the influence of the Canaanites swayed her away from Yahweh like a adult female who leaves her lone hubby for other work forces. Iam hence contend with the play itself that demonstrates how loving Yhwh is. Yet even the changing of the names of Hosea ‘s kids from forsaking to encompassing from non being my people to being my people is besides a good honor to demo that God cares. ( Halley 1957:317 ) . This shows that there is no slave or free individual in the sight of God ( Galatians 3 ) . Though the kids had no paternal heritage because they were born out of wed log, they were besides given entree to inheritance in the house of Hosea. This is how God ‘s nature is ( Hastings, 1963: 506 ) .

God wants a relationship between Godself and human existences. That is why God instituted the covenantal jurisprudence to be the cord of bondage in this relationship. But this bondage has been weakened due to transgress ( Isaiah 59: 2 ) . The sending of Hosea to remarry his married woman demonstrates the concern of God for release of humanity. On the other manus God is reminding the people to return to God as Revelation 2:4-5a attests. This was the desire of Hose to see the redemption of Israel. He wished that Israel would be reconnected to the compact.

CONCLUSSION:

The unfaithful matrimony between Gomer and Hosea represents the broken Sinai covenantal relationship between Israel and God. The Sinai compact was meant to be a practical, functional and a permanent-self definition and self-understanding of Israel as a chosen state. But they forgot that God had entered into a compact with them in the wilderness, which was their usher in political, societal and spiritual domains. Israel lost the ethical motives. This resulted into devotion, subjugation and unfairnesss. They forgot that they were a chosen state that was required to populate an model life to the environing states. It was the neglection of this compact that God was displeased with the Hebrewss that his wrath raged against them. Yet, he brings word of compassionate hope for Restoration and encouraged Israel to continue the covenantal jurisprudence, as Israel was a chosen state who should hold lived model life.