Waiting for Restoration
1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again; show love to a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, q just as the LORD loves the Israelites though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” r
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and five bushels of barley. ,,s 3 I said to her, “You are to live with me many days. You must not be promiscuous or belong to any man, and I will act the same way toward you.”
4 For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, t without sacrifice u or sacred pillar, v and without ephod w or household idols. x 5 Afterward, the people of Israel will return y and seek the LORD their God and David their king. z They will come with awe to the LORD a and to his goodness in the last days.
3:1–3. The story provides no information about when this occurs, but God speaks directly to Hosea, telling him that he should show his love to his adulterous wife, even though another man loves her (3:1). This act will mirror God’s deep love for adulterous Israel, who has been following other gods.
3:4–5. Hosea’s action is in some ways parallel to God’s dealings with Israel. Israel will be in exile for some time without a king or the ability to offer sacrifices (because the temple will be destroyed, 3:4). Then at some point in the future God will return his people to their land, where they will reestablish their covenant relationship with God and have a Davidic messianic king ruling over them (3:5; cf. 2 Sm 7:11–16). This assures the audience that God’s promise to establish a king on the throne of David forever will be fulfilled.