Hosea 3 explained: Buying Back an Unfaithful Wife

Love her again (v. 1)

God tells Hosea to love a wife who has been with another man, as a picture of God still loving Israel while the people worship other gods. The raisin cakes seem to have been part of that worship of other gods, though exactly how they were used is not known.

The price paid (v. 2)

Hosea pays some silver and some barley, a cheap grain, to get her back, which many take to mean she was bound to someone and had to be bought free. Scholars are unsure what the payment was for; one older view notes the silver is half the price the law set for a slave, with grain making up the rest.

A time of waiting (v. 3)

She must live with him for a long time without other men, and he will hold back from her too. The marriage is not ended, but closeness is put on hold for a time of testing.

Israel without its supports (v. 4)

This is what the waiting stands for: Israel will lose its kings, its sacrifices, and the objects it used in worship, such as standing stones at shrines, the ephod (a priest's garment used when asking God for guidance) and small household idols. The northern kingdom was in fact conquered by Assyria about 722 BC and its people scattered.

Coming home (v. 5)

Afterward the people will come back to the LORD and to a king from David's family, the royal line the northern tribes had broken away from. Many Christians read 'David their king' as pointing to Jesus, who came from David's family.

Key verse: Hosea 3:1

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether this chapter describes a real event in Hosea's marriage, and if so whether the woman is Gomer from chapter 1, or whether it is mainly a symbolic story acted out or told to make a point about God and Israel.

Something to think about

Is taking someone back after they have deeply hurt you different from excusing what they did, and where would you draw that line?