Marriage, adultery and broken relationships - what spiritual lessons can we learn from Hosea and God's love?

Marriage is the deepest union possible between two people. What parallels can be drawn from Hosea who was told by God to marry a harlot? Is there such a thing as spiritual adultery and what is the link between Hosea, Israel and our relationship with God?Marriage, adultery and broken relationships - what spiritual lessons can we learn from Hosea and God's love?
The breakdown of family values is having a devastating effect on society, older people are no longer respected by the young, lawlessness abounds, everyone does what they like with no thought for their neighbours, politicians and the government are viewed as corrupt. The leaders of the church are out of touch, out of mind and out to lunch.





This scenario is not taken from last weeks' tabloid press but from the disturbed times of the prophet Hosea in the 8th century before Christ.





Hosea's message shows there is hope for us today because God can be trusted to win back the love of His covenant people despite a bleak outlook. Hosea's own disastrous marriage 'speaks' to us of God's constant love and perfect judgement. Yet the ones who forsake the covenant must repent. One of the saddest things we see is the way some people (appearing to be pious) point their finger at those who go astray and refusing to move towards them, to reach out to them in love. They speak of God's love and forgiveness, yet have harsh rules and shunning tactics for those who break their own rules. Such ones have learned nothing of God's covenantal love.





It was no accident that Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 at least twice (Mat. 9:13; 12:7) and alluded to it on another occasion (23:23). The appeal, 'Have mercy', was one that seemed to have unusual power with Him (9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30,33). Mercy is not mentioned much in the Mosaic legislation but it is a part of 'the knowledge of God' which is superior to offerings. True knowledge of God is not simply the accumulation of data about God. It is life-changing awareness of His holy presence, practical realisation of His greatness, empowering by His influence. One of its supreme by-products is mercy. Hosea's marriage showed this awesome power.Marriage, adultery and broken relationships - what spiritual lessons can we learn from Hosea and God's love?
Hosea saw the failure to acknowledge God as Israel’s basic problem. God’s relation to Israel was that of love . The intimacy of the covenant relationship between God and Israel, illustrated in the first part of the book by the husband-wife relationship, is later amplified by the father-child relationship. Disloyalty to God was spiritual adultery. Israel had turned to Baal worship and had sacrificed at the pagan high places, which included associating with the sacred prostitutes at the sanctuaries and worshiping the calf images at Samaria. There was also international intrigue and materialism. Yet despite God’s condemnation and the harshness of language with which the unavoidable judgment was announced, the major purpose of the book is to proclaim God’s compassion and covenant love that cannot—finally—let Israel go.
One good parallel I can think of is Ted Haggard. Give him a few more years and he'll be claiming god told him to sleep with male prostitutes and smoke meth. It amazes me how something like visiting a prostitute can be turned into a spiritual lesson - it's nothing more than a guy visiting a prostitute and then trying to justify it after the fact.


The only lesson to be learned is that people sometimes manage to do whatever they want while claiming to have god's backing. Hosea was just a man.
yes the Israelites commited spiritually adultery and Jehovah still took them back as his people just as God had Hosea take his wife back even though she committed immorality and had children from other men. The link is that we should forgive others for their mistakes and take them back just as Jehovah did with the Israelites. I love this example in the bible it makes me feel good about my relationship with my husband.
Have you ever asked yourself, ‘What sacrifices would I be willing to make to do Jehovah’s will?’ Think of Hosea, who lived about the time of Isaiah and Micah and who served as a prophet for some 60 years. Jehovah instructed Hosea to marry Gomer, “a wife of fornication.” (Hosea 1:2) Of the three children Gomer later bore, apparently only one was Hosea’s. Why would Jehovah ask anyone to endure the indignity of spousal infidelity? Jehovah was teaching a lesson in loyalty and forgiveness. The northern kingdom had betrayed God as an adulterous wife does her husband. Still, Jehovah would show his love for his people and try to help them repent, which certainly is heartwarming for us to consider.
God won't mind if we whore around with other gods as long as we come back to him in the end and love him long time.
Dry your eyes, mate. I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up - there's plenty more fish in the sea.
Clean up the 55% divorce rate among American Christians first and we'll talk.





It wont happen.Trust me it WON'T happen.
god dont like israel. that why god let hitler on earth.
Who wants to marry a whore with miles of co ck through her? She must have really turned out old boy Hosea to convince him to actually marry her.
It shows what great love God has.
The story of Hosea was meant to demonstrate God's love for Israel. Even though they kept wandering away from Him and following after other gods, He still loved them and was trying to draw them back to Himself.





After Hosea's wife had left him to return to her life of prostitution, God told Hosea to go and get her back. Hosea's wife was like Israel. Israel was being unfaithful to God. God wanted to bring them back, though, and restore them to a right relationship with Him. Likewise, Hosea was to go and get his wife back, to restore a right relationship with her.





A key point to consider is that it is Hosea who takes the initiative to get his wife back. Likewise, it is God who takes the initiative to restore His wandering children.





There are many other things I could mention; the story of Hosea has rich lessons throughout. But that's a basic summary of what Hosea's story is about. God bless!
we learn that god specifically tells people to do things that he hates...





edit: why the thumbs down... that is what the text says!
We have to learn to obey the Lord our God. spiritual adultery is to do whats wrong -turning away from God.
Many of the ancient interpreters and those of the rabbinical period held a more strict and literal interpretation of this episode. Today, however, only a few seem to hold to a strict literalist view. Some scholars feel that whereas there was indeed an actual marriage between Hosea and Gomer, which served as a symbolic basis for his prophetic message, they contend that she had neither prostituted herself nor committed immoral acts but merely had those inclinations as indicated by her later unfaithfulness. This common interpretation suggests that Gomer was faithful and virtuous at the time of her marriage to Hosea but later became ';an adulteress.'; (Hosea 3:1.) This view in some respects best fits the symbolism of the text. Another modified-literal view is that Gomer had been immoral in some unspecified way previous to her marriage, had repented and reformed,et later rejected her marriage to Hosea and became unfaithful and immoral again. Still others indicate that the text gives evidence that Gomer was a Baal worshiper, not a common harlot. Guilty of spiritual harlotry and driven by her own fanatic devotion, she had perhaps participated in the sexual fertility rites of Baalism.





Because of Gomer's blatant and willful violation of her covenants, there was a deserved divorce with its accompanying pain, punishment, and deprivation of covenantal blessings. This divorce, which symbolizes the suffering and punishment inflicted upon Israel during her captivity, did not minimize or negate Hosea's steadfast love for his former wife. Combining this love with mercy, Hosea later reclaims Gomer as his wife: ';Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.'; (Hosea 3:1-3.)