Hosea

Hosea is a very interesting book of scripture in the Old Testament. The premise is one of a prophet of God that is told to marry a whore, and then she goes off to her other lovers and finally comes back to him in the end and he forgives and still loves her very much. I like this explanation of what it could mean from of course the Old Testament student manual.

The book of Hosea "present[s] an allegory designed to teach the spiritual consequences of Israel’s unfaithfulness. Sperry felt that Hosea never did actually contract such a marriage. He explains: “The Lord’s call to Hosea to take a harlotrous woman to wife represents the prophet’s call to the ministry—a ministry to an apostate and covenant-breaking people. The . . . children of this apparent union represent the coming of the judgments of the Lord upon Israel, warning of which was to be carried to the people by the prophet. The figure of the harlotrous wife and children would, I believe, be readily understood at the time by the Hebrew people without reflecting on Hosea’s own wife, or, if he was unmarried, on himself.” ( Voice of Israel’s Prophets, p. 281.)

So it can be a metaphor for Hosea as the prophet taking Israel (a very idol ridden and whoring nation) as a marriage covenant. Or actually even one step further, Hosea is representing the Savior, because it is truly with Him whom they covenant and then break that covenant.

Anyway, it really is an incredibly beautiful love story, the husband luring his lost wife back to him and never wavering in his love for her, because that is what the book of Hosea truly is, a love story. The Savior always wants us to come back, no matter where we have been down sin's path, and he wants it because he does love us so purely.