Daily Devotions
Hosea
"So I bought her for myself"
Text: Hosea 3:2
REMEMBERING THE YEARS OF SLAVERY IN EGYPT
Israel was once a slave to Egypt. For four hundred long years, Israel had to endure harsh conditions under the tyranny of the Pharaoh.
God sent Moses and he became the deliverer of Israel. He led them for the next forty years in the wilderness. Joshua led the next generation to conquer Canaan and to make the land their own. Unwisely, Israel did not heed the Lord’s command to destroy their enemies. Instead Israel thought that it would be better if the enemies were made their slaves to help them till the ground.
Before too long, there arose a generation that did not know God. The enemies that were initially subdued grew strong and began to harass Israel. For many decades, in the period of The Judges, Israel suffered much from the oppression of the Philistines, the Midianites and other tribal nations.
ANOTHER EPISODE OF SLAVERY
Gomer had turned away from Hosea to her lovers. Gomer’s sorry state saw her selling herself as a slave to a lover. This reflected the state of Israel. She became overly dependent on other nations for survival. She was no better than a slave.
God instructed Hosea not to divorce her or abandon her to her sad state. Hosea, ever the obedient servant of God sought to obey the Lord God fully.
“So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver,
and one and one-half homers of barley.”
Hosea 3:2.
1. “So I bought her for myself”
a) This was not a bridal dowry.
b) Gomer had been reduced to a very poor state.
c) Hosea had to redeem her from her lover.
d) She was traded as a mere slave and a very poor quality one at that.
2. The price Hosea paid for Gomer
a) Fifteen shekels of silver was not very much.
i) In Zechariah 11, the prophet Zechariah described a time when he worked as a shepherd.
ii) He was paid thirty pieces of silver for his work (Zechariah 11:12).
iii) Fifteen shekels of silver was affordable, even for a poor prophet like Hosea.
b) One and one-half homers of barley
i) Barley was a crop of the poor.
ii) It was much less costly than wheat.
c) The homer measure
i) One homer is equivalent to 220 litres (dry or liquid measure).
ii) 1 1/2 homers is 330 litres of barley.
3. The emotional cost
This must have been a painful time for Hosea. He had to redeem his wife from her deplorable state as a slave.