The theme of the prophecy is gods mercy to a sinful israel, who in the end will come to god in heartfelt and genuine repentance. Hosea prophesied during a dark and melancholic era of israels history, the period of the. The book of hosea is a loose collection of the prophet s oracles. The text is quite corrupt and contains difficult problems of interpretation. Chapter 14 closes with an appeal to true repentance. Hosea used to say, it s hard to be a seer, and prophet bard. God sent him to condemn the peoples sin and call them back to the true god. By them hosea expresses his deep woe over israel s condition.
These messages came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. Like the book of amos, the book of hosea is addressed to the people of the northern kingdom israel. The theme of israels indifference to gods love is translated in the experience of the prophets own unhappy marriage. Like gomer, israel has committed adultery against god by. Title the title is derived from the main character and author of the book. It moves from the heights of an intimate knowledge, symbolized by marriage and paternal love, to the depths of anguish and despair over israels apostasy and idolatry as pictured by the adultery of gomer. However, all of scripture is somewhat of a parable, with applicability to all times and generations. Interesting facts about hosea biblical facts and comments. Redeeming love is one of those mustread romances worth reading at least once there are two versions of redeeming love. The three children begat by hosea through gomer have names representing the lost ten tribes in their places of. In contrast, what did god promise to do for judah 1. Please enter your name, your email and your question regarding the product in the fields below, and well answer you in the next 2448 hours.
First, etymological studies of the names gomer and diblaim gomers father mentioned in verse 3 reveal no hidden or allegorical meanings. The theme of israel s indifference to god s love is translated in the experience of the prophet s. The material found in the book s third chapter suggests what hosea regards as the meaning of his experiences in relation to yahweh s dealings with the people of israel. The book s final word is not one of an angry deity committed to destroying a sinful nation the expositor s bible commentary, revised edition. Yahweh s compassion for israel, however, is generally the dominant theme. Hosea and gomer s story is the story of god and israel. The children stood in wonder of the way he loved, and gomer too. Hosea, theology of foundational to hoseas message and teaching about god are his marriage to gomer and her departure after the birth of three children. That was 5yearold conner s question after his first week of kindergarten. The book of hosea depicts the ten tribes in their places of exile as children of the prophet hosea and his wife gomer daughter of diblaim. Thus the books content has meaning for our day as we witness the fulfillment of the lords words to hosea over two thousand seven hundred years ago. That hoseas marriage to gomer was to depict gods marriage to israel is clearly set forth and becomes the key to the theme of the book. The first chapter of hosea is a biographical report of the prophets marriage to gomer.
A team of editors takes feedback from our visitors to keep trivia as up to date and as accurate as possible. Some due to length, have been shortened into continued sections. Gomer represents the cimmerians, diblaim means figs pressed together and connotes assimilation. The command assumes that the previous description of god s dealing with israel has been reproduced in hosea s relations with gomer. The lord used hosea and gomers relationship as an object lesson to show how israel had sinned against him by following other gods and how god remains faithful even when his people dont. God s relationship with israel is demonstrated through hosea s marriage with the prostitute gomer. As an account full of harsh judgment unfolds, we find in its midst a rare and pure gem. Yahwehs compassion for israel, however, is generally the dominant theme. This point to the future unfaithfulness of their mother. Origin, hospital emergency room slang for extremely old, alzheimer s ridden, mute, sick people. She had been a prostitute and god told hosea to go take gomer as his wife, so hosea was obedient and did that. We have detailed a brief summary of the book of hosea for bible study or sunday school lessons. In the book gomers prove to be the ideal practice objects for interns.
Book of hosea overview insight for living ministries. In the middle eastern culture where your name is your verb, this name defined who she was destined to become. Nobody home by pink floyd song meanings at songfacts. Hoseas message is the central theme that all the prophets hold in common.
Hosea came to his vocation through a tragic experience in his life. This does not give too long a time for hosea s activity, and it leaves the accuracy of the superscription unchallenged, whoever may have written it. The book of hosea is one of the most passionate of the minor prophets. The marital life of hosea and his wife, gomer, provide the rich metaphor which clarifies the themes of the book. We are currently reading from the book of the prophet hosea at daily mass. Powerful love overcomes rebellion in the book of hosea. Nov 01, 20 hoseas book is the first of the minor prophetsthe last 12 books of the old testament.
The lords true love from his people is unending and will tolerate no rival. Archdiocese, assisted suicide, bible, blog main theme, christian life. At the same time he shows the future ways of god with his people. The book of hosea is one of the books of the hebrew bible. Gomer, magog, madai, javan, tubal, meshek and tiras. Jan 28, 20 hosea came to his vocation through a tragic experience in his life. The eventual reconciliation of hosea and gomer is treated as a hopeful metaphor for the eventual. Hosea quizzes there are 29 questions on this topic. This seems like such a ridiculous thing for hosea to do. This is particularly important continue reading hoseas stormy marriage. Brooke fraser has a song called hosea s wife in her album albertine. Whether this story is to be regarded as a parable or as a record of actual experiences in hosea s home life is a question concerning which there are different opinions. Gomer s naivete and simple are constantly juxtaposed against the military realism of sgt. The book of hosea is a deeply personal and passionate love story, yet it s a difficult story.
Hosea revealed little about his background, though his book of prophecy offers a few glimpses into his life. A number of accusations are made of israel by god in hosea including idolatory throughout the book, the people are shown to have ignored the command of exclusive worship of god, for example in hosea 8. In fact, even there, the godisrael marriage was the real focus, with the symbolic names of the children being applied to gods relationship with israel rather than to hoseas relationship with gomer. Hosea revealed little about his background, though his book of prophecy offers a. Overview of the book of hosea third millennium ministries. The lord made hoseas family into a living example of gods relationship to israel. The lord used hosea and gomer s relationship as an object lesson to show how israel had sinned against him by following other gods and how god remains faithful even when his people dont.
The book of hosea may feel complex, but interpretative help is found when we realize that it is intended to be approached as a living parable. Origin, hospital emergency room slang for extremely old, alzheimers ridden, mute, sick people. Throughout the book, the prophet speaks to the people of israel about the critical situation that developed during the. The word is the dual or might be pointed as a plural of a word, debhelah, meaning a fruitcake, i. Hosea, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Through gomer s journey, we are asked to consider how each one of us must articulate not only our own defiance, but tally the costs of earning our individuality. Gomer gomer was the wife of the prophet hosea 8th century bc, mentioned in the hebrew bible s book of hosea. Gomer, a harlot, was the wife of the old testament prophet hosea. Through the symbolic presentation of the marriage of hosea and gomer, god s love for the idolatrous nation of israel is displayed in a rich metaphor in the themes of sin, judgment, and forgiving love. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets set around the fall of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of hosea denounces the worship of gods other than yahweh, metaphorically comparing israel s abandonment of.
If it is the work of a later editor, it may be that hosea s ministry ceased before the reign of hezekiah, though he may have lived on into that king s reign. Francine rivers 1991 novel redeeming love tells the story of a prostitute named angel in the 1850s american west, based on the story. Whenever one studies the book of hosea, one is fascinated by the events related to his marriage to gomer. Hosea s marriage to gomer god gave a curious instruction to hosea. Gomers song is a great fable for finding our humanity in the confusion of a post911 world. The name gomer evidently comes from a verbal root which means to accomplish and thus is an expression of thanks for yahwehs or baals guidance in the successful accomplishment of gomers birth. An adulterous wife gomer and a faithful husband hosea. The story of gomer has been performed across the nation, reaching thousands of people with the message of god s faithfulness and love. God is a jealous husband and his people are his bride. No more reading books together while the baby plays in the. This experience gave hoseas message its characteristic shape. Aug 12, 2019 in the office of readings of the liturgy of the hours last week we read from the book of the prophet hosea.
God commands hosea to marry a prostitute named gomer to make an example where hosea represents a faithful god while gomer represents unfaithful israel and adultery equals idolatry. Through his covenant relationship with israel and illustrated hosea s marriage to gomer and baalism. Hopefully, this introduction to the book, describing the essential laws and jargon, will. The second part of the book contains longish lamentations of hosea.
The book of hosea is a commentary on that relationship. Gomers theme music download christian book distributors. When god had a message for the people, he gave his message through the prophets. The theme of hosea is gods loyal love for his covenant people, israel, in spite of their idolatry. The symbolism inherent in hoseas family relations prepares the reader for the present account dealing with the lords relation to israel. General commentthis song is about a story in the old testament book of hosea. Because of gomers unfaithfulness, the prophet divorced his wife and lived apart from her. Hosea prophesies against the corruption of israel s priests, who led israel away from knowing god and into idol worship. Carter, and gomer s eternal optimism continues to be a. We can hardly read it without being gripped by the deep emotional and personal involvement of the prophet.
Three major themes are reflected in the book of hosea. The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. Summary like the book of amos, the book of hosea is addressed to the. New international version 1 this is the account of shem, ham and japheth, noah s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood. The book of habakkuk offers hope to people living in an evil. Who was gomer s next child, and what was she named 1. Hosea s message is also one of warning to those who would turn their backs on god s love. Gomer gomer was the wife of the prophet hosea 8th century bc, mentioned in the hebrew bibles book of. The book of habakkuk is a compilation of the prophet s laments, not an accusation against israel and its sin or a message to the people on god s behalf like some of the other prophetic books. Hosea 1 the most notable question arising from hosea 1 has centered on the meaning of hoseas marriage.
The prophets name means salvation, likely a reference to hoseas position in israel as a beacon of hope to those who would repent and turn to god because of his message. Instead, habakkuk questions god s goodness because he sees so much injustice, evil and tragedy in the world. Even hosea and gomer s children represent problems in the lord s relationship with his people see ch. O come, o come, emmanuel he will not rest justin rizzo feat. After a while, gomer left him and went back to being a prostitute. Thus, hosea has been called john the apostle of love of the old testament. The book of hosea, the first of the canonical twelve minor prophets, was written by hosea whose name means salvation, the text is quite corrupt and contains difficult problems of interpretation. Gomer is an acronym for get out of my emergency room. Untersuchungen, leipzig, 1902, who endeavors to enforce it by giving a symbolic meaning to gomers name, bathdiblaim. Note, it s not a reimagining because the actual story of her in hosea gives almost no information besides that god commanded hosea to marry a harlot as a representation of the israelites unfaithfulness to god.
There is no way of knowing whether gomer was already a common prostitute, a temple prostitute, or if. God chose us, adopted us as sons and daughters, despite our sin. Gomer was the daughter of diblaim, of whom nothing is known other than that the name is possibly of foreign origin. Kwame dawes s book, gomer s song, is an imagining of gomer s story.
Marriage between the prophet hosea and gomer religion essay. Kwame dawes s book, gomers song, is an imagining of gomer s story. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. But even after marriage to hosea, she refused to conform to her expected role.
This experience gave hosea s message its characteristic shape. Taking these passages as historically true may defeat the nature of the righteousness of god. Gomer in the bible was the unfaithful wife of hosea the prophet. The meaning of his name, salvation, is the same as that of joshua cf. The 1997 version is basically the same as the original, but was edited to remove any descriptions of the love scenes and any coarse language to make it suitable for the christian. While the entire second chapter of hoseas prophecy describes jehovahs relationship with his unfaithful wife israel, it is difficult to escape the feeling that it grows out of hoseas relationship with gomer, sandwiched as it is between two chapters that clearly describe that sad and sordid story. Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry spiritual. Third day has a song called gomers theme on their album conspiracy no. Lamentations and song of songs the apocrypha and the pseudepigrapha. Adapted from the book of hosea in the bible, we journey with gomer, a harlot lost in her sin until hosea, a prophet of god, offers to marry her and redeem her life from darkness.
Jef from passaic, nj the voice of jim nabors can be heard interjecting his famous gomer pyle tag line surprise, surprise, surprise. That aside, the book is still a pretty good read, and still preserves many of the themes from the show. Jan 07, 2014 most agree that the book of hosea is largely allegorical and that hosea represents god, while gomer represents unfaithful israel. In the novel house of god samuel shem, 1978 gomers are defined essentially as sickly old people who now because of dementia have lost whatever quality it is that makes someone a person. Author jennifer rothschild tells the remarkable love story of hosea, a story that belongs to everyone because of god s love. Jun 30, 20 o come, o come, emmanuel he will not rest justin rizzo feat. Through the symbolic presentation of the marriage of hosea and gomer, god s love for the idolatrous nation of israel is displayed in a rich metaphor in the themes of sin, judgment, and forgiving. The imagery of hoseas family and the restoration of israel. The opening surprise of the book is that god initiated hoseas marriage to this harlot 1. Book of hosea, the first of 12 old testament books that bear the. An old gospel song says, oh lord ive sinned but youre still calling my name. The text of hosea is so strait forward it reads like a novel. His text addresses the 10 northern tribes of israel during the 8th century bce when the leadership of the northern dynasty worshipped baal or baalima plurality of gods instead of the one true god.
Gamer was the eldest son of japheth and of the japhetic line, and father of ashkenaz, riphath, and togarmah, according to the table of nations in the hebrew bible genesis 10. In the latter context, whom do you believe gomer s three children represent. The incredible scandal of gods perfect love found in hosea. The price is high when he must sing a song of ruin over everything in lyrics written with his life and lose his children and his wife. At the centre of the hebrew bible in the book of hosea chapters one and three, lays a controversy about the marriage between the prophet hosea and gomer the harlot. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 2009. Hosea s personal life and experiences illustrate his prophetic message. In gomer, poet kwame dawes finds the subject for a beautiful contemporary exploration on the cost of arriving at freedom with an uneasy grace. This is tender a book with profound lyrical insights. What did god say was the significance of this name as regarding the nation of israel. Gomer s song is a great fable for finding our humanity in the confusion of a post911 world. The series was a spinoff of the andy griffith show, and the pilot episode was aired as the season finale of the fourth season of its parent series on may 18, 1964.
Aaron schade, the imagery of hoseas family and the restoration of israel, in the gospel of jesus christ in the old testament, the 38 th annual byu sidney b. And this is our story, along with all of gods people throughout history. Gomer, standard hebrew gomer, tiberian hebrew gomer, pronounced. Thus, the two marriages godisrael and hoseagomer are interwoven in. To explain that the turmoil of the northern kingdom was god s just judgment leading to exile and to assure god s people that a great restoration would take place after the exile. This passage is one of the most beautiful in the bible, a love song par excellence. Old testament tanakh this category is for questions and answers related to hosea, as asked by users of. Gomer, the mother of moses, has an amazing story of faith. Pepper from athens, tn george from bolivia, syd was an expirimental person, hence his music, and the cause of his mental breakdown.
Its fourteen chapters contain both a warning concerning future events and an interpretation of these events meanings. Hosea married gomer, a bride god described as a wife of harlotry hosea 1. It relates something of the career of the prophet hosea who preached against the sins of the northern kingdom of israel in the third quarter of the 8th cent. The main theme within hosea is of god s judgement of a people who have abandoned him, yet his plan to forgive and restore them despite this. The story of the prophet hoseas troubled marriage is a powerful testimony to two things. Carter, and gomer s eternal optimism continues to be a source of annoyance to his more cynical buddies. Third day has a song called gomer s theme on their album conspiracy no. Hosea, an oldtestament prophet, preached his own life message using his marriage as the sermon illustration.
The story of hosea and what it teaches about god and holy. Note, it s not a reimagining because the actual story of her in hosea gives almost no information besides that god commanded hosea to marry a harlot as a representation of the. Hosea with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Watch kwame dawes and vampire weekends appearance at barnes and nobles upstairs at the square. We dont know about gomers past, but we know that it was against all worldly logic that hosea, a prophet, a man of god, would take her to be his wife.