Perhaps the strangest marriage in the Bible involved Hosea and Gomer.

Hosea, told by the Lord to marry a promiscuous woman, asked around and found Gomer, who fit the necessary criteria. They married, produced children, and gave them odd names, including a daughter named Lo-Ruhamah (which means not loved), and their son Lo-Ammi (not my people). Hopefully, the kids discovered therapy in adulthood.

Later, Gomer left Hosea for another man. He found her and swapped her back for 15 shekels of silver ($140 today) and 430 pounds of barley ($3,000 in today’s organic barley prices, assuming Hosea trafficked in organic barley).

This absurd marriage demonstrated the relationship between the Lord and the people of Judah and Israel. In the midst of their promiscuity with other gods, the Lord stayed faithful. Despite wandering hearts, reconciliation beckoned.

As Hosea returned for Gomer, the Lord returned for his people. In a vision for the future, Hosea purchased Gomer back for himself, just as the Lord purchased each one of us for himself through Jesus Christ.

The life of an Old Testament prophet? No thank you. But the language of promise spoken by such a prophet? Yes, please (note the Lord’s message of hope for Israel, including those kids with unfortunate names):

I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’

Hosea 1-3 in week thirty-two of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Edwin Andrade