Hosea 3 Study Notes: Hosea Buys Back His Wife
The LORD tells Hosea to love his unfaithful wife again, just as God loves idolatrous Israel, so Hosea buys her back and sets a long season of faithful waiting. This pictures Israel living long without ruler or worship before turning back in awe to seek the LORD and David as their king.
General
After Hosea buys his wife back, what does he tell her in 3:3?
Answer: She must stay with him a long time, faithful only to him
Hosea obeys the LORD and pays a price in silver and barley to bring his wife back (3:2). Then he tells her that she must remain with him for a long time, without being unfaithful or giving herself to any other man, and he promises to treat her in the same faithful way (3:3). The price shows that bringing her back cost him something, and the waiting time pictures what Israel would go through, as the next verse explains (3:4). In the same way the LORD calls Himself His people’s Redeemer, the one who pays to set them free, and He calls back a deserted wife with great compassion (Isaiah 54:5-7). He invites faithless Israel to return to His mercy (Jeremiah 3:12) and plans to win her back in the wilderness (Hosea 2:14).
- Hosea 3:2 (BSB)“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.”Hosea pays a price in silver and barley to bring his wife back.
- Hosea 3:3 (BSB)“Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.””Hosea tells her she must remain with him a long time without unfaithfulness, and he binds himself in the same way.
- Isaiah 54:5-7 (BSB)“For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God. “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.”The LORD names Himself His people’s Husband and Redeemer, who calls back a deserted wife with great compassion.
- Jeremiah 3:12 (BSB)“Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.”The LORD calls faithless Israel to return, promising mercy rather than lasting anger.
- Hosea 2:14 (BSB)““Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.”God’s plan to win back His people through a time in the wilderness matches Hosea’s period of waiting.
Theological
What terms does Hosea set for his wife in 3:3 after redeeming her?
Answer: She must stay with him a long time, faithful only to him
Hosea purchases his wife back with silver and barley (3:2), then imposes a long period of exclusive faithfulness: she is not to be unfaithful or give herself to another man, and he pledges himself to the same (3:3). The redemption is costly, and the probation is a sign interpreted in 3:4 of Israel’s coming season of deprivation. The LORD likewise presents Himself as the Husband-Redeemer who recalls a forsaken wife with great compassion (Isaiah 54:5-7), summons faithless Israel back to His mercy (Jeremiah 3:12), and woos her through a wilderness season (Hosea 2:14).
- Hosea 3:2 (BSB)“So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.”Hosea pays a price in silver and barley to bring his wife back.
- Hosea 3:3 (BSB)“Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.””Hosea tells her she must remain with him a long time without unfaithfulness, and he binds himself in the same way.
- Isaiah 54:5-7 (BSB)“For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God. “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.”The LORD names Himself His people’s Husband and Redeemer, who calls back a deserted wife with great compassion.
- Jeremiah 3:12 (BSB)“Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.”The LORD calls faithless Israel to return, promising mercy rather than lasting anger.
- Hosea 2:14 (BSB)““Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her to the wilderness, and speak to her tenderly.”God’s plan to win back His people through a time in the wilderness matches Hosea’s period of waiting.
General
In 3:1, what example does the LORD give Hosea for how he is to love his wife again?
Answer: The LORD’s love for Israel even while it chases idols
The LORD tells Hosea to go and show love to his wife again, even though someone else loves her and she has been unfaithful. The pattern for this love is the LORD’s own love for the Israelites, even while they chase other gods and delight in bringing idols offerings of raisin cakes (3:1). God’s love for His people does not depend on their faithfulness; He set His love on Israel simply because He chose to love them (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). The New Testament shows the same love most fully: God loved us when we were sinners and gave His Son for us (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10).
- Hosea 3:1 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.””The LORD tells Hosea to love his unfaithful wife again, modeled on His own love for idolatrous Israel.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”Moses says the LORD loved Israel not because of anything in them but simply because He loved them.
- Romans 5:8 (BSB)“But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”God shows His love in that Christ died for people while they were still sinners.
- 1 John 4:10 (BSB)“And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”Love begins with God loving us, not with our loving Him.
Theological
What pattern does the LORD set for Hosea’s renewed love in 3:1?
Answer: The LORD’s love for Israel even while it chases idols
Hosea is commanded to love his wife again although another man loves her and she has committed adultery, and the model is explicitly the LORD’s love for the Israelites while they chase other gods and delight in bringing idols offerings of raisin cakes (3:1). Divine love here is unconditioned by its object: it persists toward a people actively unfaithful, as Moses taught when he grounded Israel’s election in nothing but the LORD’s free love (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). The same sovereign love that takes the first step is displayed at the cross, where God loved sinners before they loved Him (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10).
- Hosea 3:1 (BSB)“Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.””The LORD tells Hosea to love his unfaithful wife again, modeled on His own love for idolatrous Israel.
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (BSB)“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”Moses says the LORD loved Israel not because of anything in them but simply because He loved them.
- Romans 5:8 (BSB)“But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”God shows His love in that Christ died for people while they were still sinners.
- 1 John 4:10 (BSB)“And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”Love begins with God loving us, not with our loving Him.
General
True or False: According to 3:4, Israel would go a long time with no king or prince, and with neither its sacrifices nor its idols.
Answer: True
This is true. Hosea’s instruction that his wife must wait many days (3:3) pictures what Israel would go through: a long time with no king or prince, no sacrifices or sacred pillars, and no ephod and no idol (3:4). An ephod was a priestly garment, and a sacred pillar was a standing stone used in worship, which the law forbade (Deuteronomy 16:22). The list takes away both Israel’s rulers and every means of worship the people leaned on, true and false alike. Later in Hosea the people admit they have no king because they lack reverence for the LORD (Hosea 10:3). The purpose of this hard season is that Israel would stop relying on these things and seek God Himself (Hosea 5:15; 3:5).
- Hosea 3:4 (BSB)“For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.”Israel’s long season of deprivation is spelled out: no ruler, no sacrifice, and none of the objects of worship they relied on.
- Hosea 10:3 (BSB)“Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?””Later in Hosea the people themselves admit they have no king because they lack reverence for the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 16:22 (BSB)“and do not set up for yourselves a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates.”The law forbade setting up a sacred pillar, showing that some items in 3:4 belonged to false worship.
- Hosea 5:15 (BSB)“Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.””The LORD says He will withdraw until His people confess their guilt and look for Him, the purpose of the waiting.
Theological
True or False: In 3:4 Israel’s long period of waiting includes the loss of both its rulers and its sacrifices and idols.
Answer: True
This is true. The waiting imposed on Hosea’s wife (3:3) is interpreted as Israel’s prolonged deprivation of king and prince, sacrifice and sacred pillar, ephod and idol (3:4). The list strips away civil leadership together with both lawful and forbidden apparatus of worship, the pillar being expressly prohibited by the law (Deuteronomy 16:22). Later in the book the people confess that they have no king because they lack reverence for the LORD (Hosea 10:3). The deprivation is disciplinary, aimed at bringing the people to confess their guilt and turn to the LORD’s face (Hosea 5:15), the return described in 3:5.
- Hosea 3:4 (BSB)“For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.”Israel’s long season of deprivation is spelled out: no ruler, no sacrifice, and none of the objects of worship they relied on.
- Hosea 10:3 (BSB)“Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?””Later in Hosea the people themselves admit they have no king because they lack reverence for the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 16:22 (BSB)“and do not set up for yourselves a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates.”The law forbade setting up a sacred pillar, showing that some items in 3:4 belonged to false worship.
- Hosea 5:15 (BSB)“Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.””The LORD says He will withdraw until His people confess their guilt and look for Him, the purpose of the waiting.
General
What does 3:5 say Israel will do afterward, when the long waiting is over?
Answer: Turn back and seek both the LORD and David as their king
After the many days of 3:4, Israel will turn back, seeking the LORD as the God they belong to and David as their king, and they will approach trembling, that is, in deep awe, before the LORD and His goodness when the final days come (3:5). David had died long before Hosea’s time, and other prophets likewise speak of a David whom God will raise up as king and appoint as shepherd over His people (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23-24). The angel told Mary that God would give her Son His forefather David’s throne (Luke 1:32-33), and many Christians have seen in 3:5 a picture of Christ as that King. The trembling is directed toward the LORD and His goodness, an awe stirred by the good He does (compare Jeremiah 33:9).
- Hosea 3:5 (BSB)“Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.”After the long waiting, Israel will turn back to seek the LORD and David as their king and come in awe to His goodness.
- Jeremiah 30:9 (BSB)“Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”Jeremiah also promises that God’s people will serve Him and a David whom God will raise up as their king.
- Ezekiel 34:23-24 (BSB)“I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.”Ezekiel speaks of God appointing His servant David as the one shepherd and prince over His people.
- Luke 1:32-33 (BSB)“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!””The angel tells Mary that God will give her Son His forefather David’s throne to reign forever.
- Jeremiah 33:9 (BSB)“So this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I do for it. They will tremble in awe because of all the goodness and prosperity that I will provide for it.”Jeremiah likewise pictures the nations trembling in awe at the good God does for His people.
Theological
What future response of Israel does 3:5 describe?
Answer: Turn back and seek both the LORD and David as their king
After the deprivation of 3:4, Israel will turn back, seeking the LORD as the God they belong to and David as their king, and will approach the LORD and His goodness with trembling when the final days come (3:5). Since David was long dead, the prophets speak of a David whom God will raise up and appoint as shepherd and prince over His people (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23-24). The angel’s announcement that God will give Jesus His forefather David’s throne (Luke 1:32-33) leads many Christians to see Christ as the David of 3:5. The trembling is reverent awe drawn out by divine goodness, as in Jeremiah’s picture of nations trembling at the good God does (Jeremiah 33:9).
- Hosea 3:5 (BSB)“Afterward, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.”After the long waiting, Israel will turn back to seek the LORD and David as their king and come in awe to His goodness.
- Jeremiah 30:9 (BSB)“Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.”Jeremiah also promises that God’s people will serve Him and a David whom God will raise up as their king.
- Ezekiel 34:23-24 (BSB)“I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd. I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be a prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.”Ezekiel speaks of God appointing His servant David as the one shepherd and prince over His people.
- Luke 1:32-33 (BSB)“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!””The angel tells Mary that God will give her Son His forefather David’s throne to reign forever.
- Jeremiah 33:9 (BSB)“So this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I do for it. They will tremble in awe because of all the goodness and prosperity that I will provide for it.”Jeremiah likewise pictures the nations trembling in awe at the good God does for His people.