HOSEA, his wife, and children were used as graphic living symbols of Israel in her relation to God. In Chapter I appears the account of the Lord's commanding him to take a fallen woman, Gomer by name, as his wife, who bore him a son, who was Jezreel. Her second child, a daughter, was named "Lo-ruhamah" which signified that "I (God) will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel that I should in any wise pardon them." Their third child, a son, was given the name "Lo-ammi," the significance of its name being "Ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." After this it seemed that Gomer deserted her husband and went back into the sinful life which she lived before her marriage to the prophet.

The Lord spoke again to the prophet commanding him to go and love "a woman beloved of her friend, and an adulteress." (The indication here is that this woman was none other than Gomer, his unfaithful disloyal wife). Obedient to the command of God, he went and purchased her, paying the price of an ordinary slave, charging her "thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot and thou shalt not be any man's wife," and promising her "so will I also be toward thee." Israel's entire history through the centuries is thus graphically set forth pictorially before the people in the persons of Hosea and his wife. Terah, the father of Abraham, was an idolater (Josh. 24:2); in Egypt Israel worshipped idols (Ezek. 20:8); and during the time of the Judges and that of the monarchy both Israel and Judah engaged more or less in idolatry, by which conduct they showed their disloyalty to God; hence, spiritually speaking, they were guilty of adultery, for God was the husband of the nation of Israel (Isa. 54:4-8). At the time of the Babylonian captivity the Shekinah of Glory departed from the temple הֵיכַל which act symbolized God's giving Israel up. Here terminates the period of Israel's marital relationship with God, her husband.

With the captivity Israel entered upon the period of her widowhood (Isa. 54:4) which will continue until her Messiah comes in glory. The seventy years of residence in Babylon with its persecutions and the curtailment of her liberties proved to be a purifying time during which every vestige of the grosser forms of idolatry was purged from the nation. During the present period, Israel, though scattered among the nations, has never been assimilated into them but has maintained her national life and independent existence, which facts are the fulfillment of the symbolic act of Hosea's wife's obeying the charge "thou shall abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife."

In Chapter 3:4,5, Hosea, explaining the significance of his living in separation from his wife and of their waiting for the time when they will again enter the marital state, said:

כִּי יָמִים רַבִּים יֵשְׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵין מֶלֶךְ וְאֵין שָׂר וְאֵין זֶבַח וְאֵין מַצֵּבָה וְאֵין אֵפוֹד וּתְרָפִים׃ אַחַר יָשֻׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִקְשׁוּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֵת דָּוִיד מַלְכָּם וּפָחֲדוּ אֶל־יְהוָה וְאֶל־טוּבוֹ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים׃

"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim: afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto the Lord and to His goodness in the latter-days."

During her present period of widowhood (from captivity to coming of the Messiah in glory), Israel has neither king nor prince; sacrifice nor pillar; ephod nor teraphim.

Here appear three pairs of opposites, which series accurately portrays her condition and explains her miserable lot during these centuries. The first member of each of these pairs presents the divine side whereas the second gives the human; hence the king is of divine appointment, since the kingdom of Israel is the kingdom of the Lord (I Chron. 28:5) and the throne upon which He sits is the כִּסֵּא יְהוָה throne of the Lord (I Chron. 29:23). But, says the prophet, "many days" Israel shall not have a king, that is, God will not give them a king; neither shall they have a prince שָׂר, that is, a ruler of their own choice. That the word prince refers to a ruler selected by the people is seen when one notes the fact that this verse is written in Hebrew parallelism, and that the second member of the latter two pairs refers to things of human origin. Hence "prince," the second member of the first couplet, falls into the same human category as the second member of the latter two couplets.

The second couplet affirms that during this period Israel is not to have any sacrifices, that is, no acceptable system of ceremonies and worship in which God will be pleased and which he will accept.¹²

Likewise, they shall be without pillar, that is, shall not engage in idolatrous worship. That such is the meaning of the statement is clear from the fact that from the exodus onward the word מַצֵּבָה pillar, with the exception of Ex. 24:4 and Isa. 19:19, universally refers to idolatrous worship, which is forbidden in Lev. 26:1. The captivity of the ten tribes into Assyria is attributed to a violation of this injunction (II Kgs. 17:10,11,18).

The first member of the third couplet is an ephod, which Israel shall lack during this period of widowhood. As is well known to Bible students, the ephod was part of the paraphernalia of the High Priest to which were attached the Urim and Thummin. At various times God revealed His will in Israel through it (see I Sam. 23:9-12; 30:7,8). The second member of this last couplet is "teraphim." The teraphim³ was an image which was used by the heathen as an object of worship and also as a means of receiving communications from heathen gods. In the degenerate days of the judges, when every man did that which was right in his own eyes, Micah, an Ephraimite (Judg. 17:5) had "a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim." Of course, such gross idolatry was forbidden of God; therefore during this period under consideration, God has purged out this evil abominable practice.

The gist of the message set forth in these three couplets may be expressed in the language of another: "the first speaks plainly of a king; the second of the sacrifice, with which, of course, is bound up the idea of priesthood; and in this last we have a reference to the revealing of the mind of God which is more properly connected with the prophetic office." That the above interpretation is not one patent to Christians is seen by an examination of Kimchi's comment on the expression "many days." "These are the days of this present captivity, in which we are in the power of the Gentiles, and in the power of their kings and princes, and we are 'without a sacrifice and without an image,' i.e., without a sacrifice to God and without an image to false gods; and 'without an ephod and without teraphim.' i.e., without an ephod to God, by means of which we could foretell the future as with the Urim and Thummin; and without teraphim to false gods. This is the present condition of all the children of Israel in this present captivity"* (Baron).

The period of widowhood is brought to a close "in the latter days" when the children of Israel shall return, "seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto the Lord and to His goodness." The statement that Israel shall return and shall seek the Lord her God assumes that she has departed from Him during this period, and that she has been out of fellowship with Him. This assumption is confirmed by various statements from the prophets. The message of Azariah, the son of Obed, to King Asa of Judah states clearly the principles underlying God's rejection or setting Israel aside, and of their return to Him.

וַעֲזַרְיָהוּ בֶּן־עוֹדֵד הָיְתָה עָלָיו רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים׃ וַיֵּצֵא לִפְנֵי אָסָא וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ שְׁמָעוּנִי אָסָא וְכָל־יְהוּדָה וּבִנְיָמִן יְהוָה עִמָּכֶם בִּהְיוֹתְכֶם עִמּוֹ וְאִם־תִּדְרְשֻׁהוּ יִמָּצֵא לָכֶם וְאִם־תַּעַזְבֻהוּ יַעֲזֹב אֶתְכֶם׃ וְיָמִים רַבִּים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל לְלֹא אֱלֹהֵי אֱמֶת וּלְלֹא כֹּהֵן מוֹרֶה וּלְלֹא תוֹרָה׃ וַיָּשָׁב בַּצַּר לוֹ עַל־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְבַקְשֻׁהוּ וַיִּמָּצֵא לָהֶם׃ וּבָעִתִּים הָהֵם אֵין שָׁלוֹם לַיּוֹצֵא וְלַבָּא כִּי מְהוּמֹת רַבּוֹת עַל כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָאֲרָצוֹת׃ וְכֻתְּתוּ גוֹי־בְּגוֹי וְעִיר בְּעִיר כִּי־אֱלֹהִים הֲמָמָם בְּכָל־צָרָה׃ וְאַתֶּם חִזְקוּ וְאַל־יִרְפּוּ יְדֵיכֶם כִּי יֵשׁ שָׂכָר לִפְעֻלַּתְכֶם׃

"And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded; and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him: Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: but when in their distress they turned unto the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity. But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded" (II Chron. 15:1-7).

At various times in her history Israel has forsaken God Who, in turn, gave her up; hence she was "without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: but when in their distress they turned unto the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them." The period referred to by "many days" is the longest period during which she has been without God, and, thank God, it will be the last one, for at the termination of this period she will seek the Lord earnestly with all her heart and find Him (Jer. 29:13). For predictions of her national repentance and her turning to God at the termination of this period, see Isa. 53:1-9, Jer. 3:21-25, Zech. 12:10-14.

The statement given by Ezekiel in Chapter 21:25-27 confirms the interpretation of this passage: "And thou, O deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove the mitre, and take off the crown; this shall be no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him." Ezekiel in the form of a command announced the deposing of both the priesthood and the regal line in the following words: "Remove the mitre and take off the crown." The expression "this shall be no more the same" means that the order existing prior to that time shall be discontinued. The next statement, "Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high," though in the form of a command, in reality is but another way of saying, "If ye exalt that which is low and abase that which is high," and forms the condition to which the following words are the conclusion, "I will overturn, overturn, overturn it." These words assert to the "deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day is come in the time of the iniquity of the end" that whatever efforts are made at a revolution to overthrow any existing order or to establish a certain program in Israel will be unsuccessful, for God will bring to nought every effort of man to re-establish the priesthood and royal line. For there is to be no such thing "until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him."

When He comes "Whose right it is," Israel's sorrow and long night will be turned into joy and the bright, glorious day--"a morning without clouds" (II Sam. 23:4). He will ascend the throne of David (Isa. 9:6,7) which is the throne of the Lord (I Chron. 29:23), and His reign will endure forever, and His throne as the sun before Me (Lord) (Psa. 89:36,37). The kings of the Davidic line sat upon the throne of the Lord as substitutes, functioning as rulers of the chosen race, the kingdom of God in their day, and in their imperfect way occupying the time "until He come Whose right it is" (cf. Gen. 49:10). None of them could claim an absolute inherent right to the throne of David, the throne of God, because they were imperfect, sinful men; but the Child Whose birth Isaiah predicts (Isa. 9:6,7 (5,6) and Who is named "Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" is the Only One Who can rightfully claim it and sit thereon, because He is the God-Man, God manifest in the flesh; hence He has an absolute right to the throne of the Lord. At that time the Lord shall be King over all the earth (Zech. 14:9) and there shall be no more curse (v. 11). When King Messiah reigns, according to this passage and many others, "the children of Israel shall return, and seek the Lord their God" from Whom they have during these long centuries turned away. Furthermore, they will seek David their king. This prediction of their seeking David simply refers to the return of the ten Northern tribes who turned away from the house of David (I Kings 12:16), the expression "David their king" referring to the Messiah, Who is, humanly speaking, a descendant of David. Furthermore, they will "come with fear unto the Lord and to His goodness in the latter days." This statement repeats the prediction that Israel shall in penitence return to God and, in her turning to God, she comes unto His goodness, i.e., the blessings of a material nature and likewise spiritual which He will bestow upon her (cf. Hos. 2:8).

The analysis of this prediction sets forth very graphically the crooked and uneven path over which Israel has journeyed and will in the future travel.