BEMA Episode Link: 49: Hosea — Prostitute
Episode Length: 27:01
Published Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2017 01:00:00 -0700
Session 2
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings examine the message of Hosea as depicted in the prophetic theater of his own life through his marriage to the prostitute Gomer.

Verastikh — Learn Hebrew

Discussion Video for BEMA 49

Transcript for BEMA 49

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 49: Hosea - Prostitute

Title & Source Summary

This episode examines the prophet Hosea, the second of two pre-Assyrian prophets speaking to the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The lecture explores how Hosea’s personal life becomes “prophetic theater” as God commands him to marry Gomer, a prostitute, to illustrate Israel’s spiritual adultery and God’s unfailing faithfulness. The episode demonstrates how God’s desire for mercy supersedes ritual sacrifice, and how divine faithfulness persists despite human unfaithfulness.

Key Takeaways

  • Hosea’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer serves as living prophetic theater, illustrating Israel’s unfaithfulness to God and God’s persistent love
  • God names Hosea’s children Jezreel (scattered), Lo-Ruhamah (not loved), and Lo-Ammi (not my people) to communicate judgment upon Israel
  • The core prophetic image for Hosea is “prostitute,” representing Israel’s spiritual adultery through idolatry and injustice
  • God declares “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” - revealing that right worship must produce right treatment of people
  • Idolatry and injustice are intimately connected; false worship enables exploitation of people
  • Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, God promises restoration, declaring “I will betroth you to me forever” in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion
  • The V’erastich prayer from Hosea 2:19-20 became a daily Jewish prayer, reminding believers of God’s covenant faithfulness
  • God’s faithfulness, not human faithfulness, is what enables people to truly know (yadah/experience) God

Main Concepts & Theories

Prophetic Theater vs. Literary Device

Unlike Amos’s plumb line (a literary metaphor), Hosea’s prophecy operates through “real-life theater.” Whether God literally commanded Hosea to marry a prostitute or Hosea’s experience inspired his prophetic message, his actual marriage to Gomer becomes the canvas on which God paints the story of Israel’s unfaithfulness. This embodied prophecy makes the message more visceral and personal than abstract metaphor.

The Three Children as Prophetic Signs

God commands specific names for Hosea’s children, each carrying prophetic meaning:

  1. Jezreel (“scattered”) - References the massacre at Jezreel and prophesies the scattering of Israel
  2. Lo-Ruhamah (“not loved”) - Signifies God’s withdrawal of love from Israel due to their unfaithfulness
  3. Lo-Ammi (“not my people”) - Declares the breaking of the covenant relationship

These names function as walking prophecies, constantly reminding the community of their broken relationship with God. Yet even in naming them, God provides hope: “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore… they will be called sons of the living God.”

The Integration of Sources A and B

Hosea uniquely integrates what the podcast identifies as “Source A” (focused on idolatry/worship) and “Source B” (focused on justice/people). While the marriage metaphor naturally emphasizes spiritual adultery (idolatry), Hosea consistently connects false worship to social injustice:

  • “There’s no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There’s only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery” (Hosea 4:1-2)
  • Priests “feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness” (Hosea 4:8)
  • “Bands of priests… murder on the road to Shechem” (Hosea 6:9)

The prophet demonstrates that idolatry isn’t merely choosing the wrong god; it’s adopting narratives that enable exploitation and injustice. When people worship false gods, they escape accountability to God’s demands for mercy and justice.

“I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice”

This pivotal statement (Hosea 6:6) reveals God’s priorities and later becomes central to Jesus’s teaching. The verse challenges religious people who focus on ritual correctness while ignoring justice:

  • The temple exists for mercy, not sacrifice; sacrifice merely facilitates mercy
  • Right worship of God necessitates right treatment of people
  • Israel’s role as “a kingdom of priests” means mediating God’s mercy, not just performing rituals
  • God wants His people “in right relationship with me, not committing adultery with other gods, not buying into other worldly narratives”
The Anti-Story

Hosea introduces a concept that recurs throughout the prophets: God’s people have not merely forgotten the story but have become “the anti-story.” They don’t simply fail to live up to God’s standards; they actively embody the opposite of what God intends. The priests who should protect victims instead “lie in ambush” like “marauders” waiting to exploit people (Hosea 6:9).

Divine Angst and Hope

Chapter 2 and Chapter 11 reveal God’s emotional struggle - the angst of a faithful spouse longing for reconciliation with an unfaithful partner:

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?… My heart is changed within me, all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger… for I am God and not man” (Hosea 11:8-9)

This passage demonstrates that God’s nature as divine (not human) means His mercy outlasts human patience. Despite legitimate anger, God’s love remains stronger than His wrath.

The Valley of Achor as a Door of Hope

God promises to “lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her” and “make the Valley of Achor a door of hope” (Hosea 2:14-15). This references:

  • The desert as Israel’s “honeymoon” period after the exodus
  • Mount Sinai as the location of the covenant “marriage”
  • Achor as the valley where Achan’s sin was punished (Joshua 7) - transforming a place of judgment into hope

God promises renewal by returning to the relationship’s beginning, offering a fresh start despite past failures.

The V’erastich Prayer

Hosea 2:19-20 became a daily Jewish prayer recited while wrapping tefillin (phylacteries):

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.”

This prayer emphasizes God’s faithfulness rather than human faithfulness. It’s God’s commitment that enables humans to truly know (yadah/experience) Him. The structure of beginning class with this prayer followed by the Shema creates a pattern: God promises faithfulness, and believers respond “I do” by committing to love God with all their heart, soul, and strength.

Examples & Applications

Ancient Context

Historical Setting: Hosea prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Judah) and Jeroboam son of Jehoash (Israel), placing him in the pre-Assyrian prophetic period alongside Amos. The Northern Kingdom was prosperous but spiritually corrupt, worshiping at high places and engaging in Baal worship while exploiting the poor.

Priestly Corruption: The priests who should have taught mercy instead became predatory, “feeding on the sins of my people” and lying “in ambush for a victim” like bandits. This wasn’t individual corruption but systemic conspiracy to exploit rather than serve the people.

Idolatry’s Social Impact: Worshiping Baal and other fertility gods involved sacred prostitution and raisin cakes offered to idols. But this wasn’t merely “wrong worship” - it represented buying into empire narratives that justified treating people as commodities rather than image-bearers of God.

Modern Applications

Religious Hypocrisy: Churches and religious leaders can become the “anti-story” when they focus on ritual correctness, doctrinal purity, or institutional preservation while ignoring injustice, exploitation, or the suffering of vulnerable people. God still desires mercy, not sacrifice.

Marital Metaphor: While the marriage metaphor can be misused to justify abusive relationships, properly understood it emphasizes God’s faithful commitment despite human unfaithfulness. In healthy relationships, this models grace, patience, and redemptive love rather than enabling abuse.

Systemic Injustice: Like the “bands of priests” conspiring to exploit people, modern institutions (financial, political, religious) can become organized systems of injustice rather than isolated incidents of individual wrongdoing.

Worship and Justice Integration: Contemporary worship that doesn’t lead to justice for the marginalized fails God’s test. Praise songs and theological precision matter less than mercy, compassion, and advocacy for the vulnerable.

Jesus’s Use of Hosea

Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 (“I desire mercy, not sacrifice”) in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7, telling the Pharisees to “go and learn what this means.” He applies it to criticizing religious leaders who condemn others for violations of ritual purity while ignoring the weightier matters of justice and mercy - exactly Hosea’s point.

Liturgical Practice

The practice of reciting V’erastich before the Shema creates a liturgical pattern that begins with God’s promise rather than human commitment. This order matters: we can only respond faithfully because God first commits faithfully. Our “I do” (Shema) follows God’s betrothal promise.

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

  1. Comparative Study of Prophetic Images: How do different prophets’ central images (Amos’s plumb line, Hosea’s prostitute, Isaiah’s vineyard, etc.) shape their unique messages? What does each image reveal about God’s relationship with His people?

  2. The Theology of Divine Emotion: How should we understand the emotional language describing God (jealousy, anger, compassion, longing)? What does it mean that God experiences these emotions yet “is God and not man”?

  3. Marriage as Covenant Metaphor: How does the ancient Near Eastern understanding of covenant marriage illuminate the God-Israel relationship? What are the proper and improper applications of this metaphor in various contexts?

  4. The Sources Question: What is the relationship between “Source A” (idolatry-focused) and “Source B” (justice-focused) traditions? How do prophets like Hosea integrate these concerns, and why were they ever separated?

  5. Prophetic Theater in Ancient Israel: What other examples exist of prophets acting out their messages physically (Isaiah walking naked, Jeremiah’s yoke, Ezekiel’s siege model)? What made embodied prophecy effective?

  6. The Doctrine of Divine Faithfulness: How does God’s self-binding commitment (covenant) work theologically? Can God “change His mind” while remaining faithful? How do judgment and mercy coexist?

  7. Redemption Patterns: How does the redemption cycle in Judges compare to the pattern in Hosea? What does repeated restoration despite repeated failure reveal about God’s character?

  8. Names and Identity in Hebrew Culture: How did naming function in ancient Israel? What impact did prophetic names like Lo-Ruhamah have on both the named children and the community?

  9. The Valley of Achor Transformation: How does God transform places of judgment into places of hope throughout Scripture? What pattern does this establish for understanding redemption?

  10. Liturgy and Memory: How do repeated prayers and practices (like V’erastich and Shema) shape communal identity and theological understanding? What role does embodied practice play in formation?

Comprehension Questions

  1. How does Hosea’s marriage to Gomer function as “prophetic theater,” and what specific aspects of Israel’s relationship with God does it illustrate?
    • Consider the sequence: marriage, children’s names, adultery, and redemption
    • Think about how physical experience makes spiritual truth concrete
  2. Explain the statement “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” in the context of Israel’s role as a kingdom of priests. Why does God prioritize mercy over ritual worship?
    • Consider the purpose of the temple and priestly system
    • Reflect on the connection between right worship and right treatment of people
  3. What does Hosea reveal about the relationship between idolatry and social injustice? How are worship choices connected to treatment of people?
    • Think about competing narratives (God’s story vs. empire’s story)
    • Consider why the prophets integrate “Source A” and “Source B” concerns
  4. How does the naming of Hosea’s three children (Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, Lo-Ammi) communicate both judgment and hope?
    • Examine what each name means and what it prophesies
    • Note the promise that follows even the harshest judgments
  5. Why does the V’erastich prayer emphasize God’s faithfulness rather than human faithfulness? How does this shape the believer’s response in the Shema?
    • Consider the order: God’s promise first, then human response
    • Reflect on how experiencing God’s faithfulness enables human knowledge of God (yadah)

Personalized Summary

Hosea presents one of Scripture’s most emotionally powerful portraits of God through the lens of betrayed yet persistent love. By living out the pain of loving an unfaithful spouse, Hosea embodies God’s experience with Israel - and by extension, with all of us. The prophet doesn’t merely talk about unfaithfulness; he lives it, naming his own children with words that break his heart: “not loved” and “not my people.”

Yet the devastating honesty about human failure ultimately serves to highlight divine faithfulness. God’s anger and disappointment are real, but they cannot overcome His commitment to His people. The declaration “I am God and not man” means God’s patience exceeds human limits, His mercy outlasts human endurance, and His faithfulness persists despite our faithlessness.

The revolutionary insight that “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” challenges every generation of religious people who think correct ritual or doctrinal precision matters most to God. Instead, Hosea insists that worship and justice must integrate - that idolatry isn’t merely worshiping the wrong god but adopting narratives that enable exploitation. The priests who became predators rather than protectors represent the ultimate corruption: using religious authority not to mediate God’s mercy but to facilitate injustice.

Most powerfully, Hosea refuses to end in despair. Despite naming children “not my people,” the prophet promises they will become “sons of the living God.” Despite declaring “not loved,” God vows to betroth Israel forever “in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.” The Valley of Achor - the place of Achan’s judgment - will become a door of hope. God will lead His people back to the desert, back to their honeymoon, back to the beginning, and speak tenderly to them once more.

This is why the Jewish tradition made Hosea 2:19-20 a daily prayer. Before affirming our love for God (Shema), we need to hear God affirm His love for us (V’erastich). Our faithfulness rests upon His faithfulness. Our “I do” responds to His proposal. We can only love because He first loved us, and His love - unlike ours - never fails.

In Christ, we see Hosea’s prophecy ultimately fulfilled. Jesus quotes “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” to challenge religious hypocrisy, extends mercy to prostitutes and sinners, and becomes the faithful bridegroom who never abandons His bride. The hope Hosea proclaimed finds its fullest expression in the one who loved the church and gave Himself up for her, presenting her holy and blameless through His own faithfulness when ours fails.

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