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  • Hosea 1:2-3

    God commands Hosea to marry

    When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him,“Go, marry a prostitute and have children of prostitution, for the people of the land commit great prostitution by deserting the Lord.” So Hosea went and took Gomer, Diblaim’s daughter, and she became pregnant and bore him a son.

  • Hosea 3

    The lesson of infidelity

    Then the Lord said to me again, “Go, make love to a woman who has a lover and is involved in adultery, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” So I bought her for fifteen pieces of silver, a large amount of barley, and a portion of wine. I said to her, “You must stay with me for many days; you won’t act like a prostitute; you won’t have sex with a man, nor I with you.” Similarly, the Israelites will remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred standing stone, without a priestly vest or household divine images. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; they will come trembling to the Lord and to the Lord’s goodness in the latter days.