Today’s post is a “mothers-daughters” Bible study now located on the Deeper Insights” page.  It was done by by Beth Johnson and here is an excerpt from this study.

As a wife, how does Gomer compare to the nation of Israel or to the church today in her ingratitude to her husband?

The word “departing” is used only once (Hosea 1:2), but it appears to be a key word. God called Hosea to marry a woman of harlotry so, by his testimony, Israel could understand their unfaithfulness. That token would testify to Israel that God had departed from them.

The Israelites were God’s own people, people who had rejected Him in favor of idols designed and constructed by men. The Israelites knew that He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 14:8; Num. 33:3; Eze. 20:28), parted the Red Sea so they could cross over on dry ground (Exod. 14:16; Exod. 14:22), and later the Jordan River (Joshua 3:17), provided manna the entire time between their departure from Egypt until they went into the land of Canaan (Exod. 16:15, 31, 33; Deut. 8:3, 16; Joshua 5:12) and given them quail in the wilderness (Exod. 16:13; Numb. 11:31-32; Psa. 105:40) and later sent them to dwell in a land flowing with milk and honey (Exod. 3:8, 17; Exod. 13:15; Exod. 33:3; Deut. 6:3) in houses they did not build (Deut. 6:11; Deut. 19:1) to eat fruits from vineyards they did not plant (Joshua 24:13). God was the faithful “Husband” who had provided for them in wondrous and loving ways, and Gomer was this unfaithful Israel. For a full picture of what actually happened, read the warning given by God in Deuteronomy 8:11-20.

If you would like to read the entire article, it is available here.