Hosea and the Gospels
The Gospel writers, MatthewA tax collector who became one of Jesus' 12 disciples. and LukeThe "beloved physician" and companion of Paul., each quote Hosea in relation to Jesus’s life. In Matthew 2:15, Jesus’s flight with Mary and Joseph to Egypt is read as a fulfillment of Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” If one reads the parallel poetic lines in Hosea, the child is clearly Israel. Yet, Matthew understands the prophecyProphecy is the gift, inspired by God, of speaking and interpreting the divine will. Prophets such as Amos, Isaiah, and Ezekiel spoke words of judgment and comfort to the people of Israel on behalf of God. to speak of JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity.. Further, in Luke 23:30, Jesus speaks eschatologically on his journey to the cross about coming judgment. In his speech, he quotes Hosea 10:8, which uses the imagery of people calling on the mountains to fallThe Fall refers specifically to the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they listened to Satan rather than adhering to God's command not to eat the fruit from the tree. When people act contrary to God's will, they are said to fall from from grace... on them because of God’s judgment.
Contemporary Romance Novels
Several contemporary Christian romance novels tell the story of Hosea and Gomer’s marriage [e.g., The Preacher and the Prostitute by E.K. Bailey (2004) and Faithless Heart: A Love Story by Cliff Keller (2017)]. The most well-known romance is Francine Rivers’s novel Redeeming Love, originally published in 1991 and revised to become more explicitly Christian in 1997. The novel concerns Michael Hosea, who rescues Angel from prostitution. It is a very loose telling of the biblical story, turning Hosea’s character into a hero and ignoring his threats of abuse against Gomer/Angel.
Contemporary Christian Films
21st-century Christian films draw upon the early chapters of Hosea as inspiration for their modern retellings of the story of the prophet and Gomer. Oversold, directed by PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. Morrell (2008), tells the story of a Christian pastor who falls in love with a Vegas stripper. Other recent Christian films include Amazing Love (2012) and Hosea (2019). These films use the relationship between a husband and his “unfaithful” wife to support themes of redemption and abuse and to uphold conservative Christian ideals of masculinity and femininity.
Literal or Allegory
Through the centuries, the Christian tradition has interpreted Hosea’s relationship with Gomer in two primary ways. Some early church interpreters preferred to read the story as entirely allegory. This interpretation prevented the need to explain or defend the scandalous quality of the relationship. One could more easily skip to the allegory’s deeper theological meaning. Other interpreters argued for a literal marriage between the prophet and his adulterous wife. Jerome, for example, promoted both meanings. Martin Luther seems to have moved from a literal interpretation earlier in his life to a figurative one later, noting that we are not to believe that God would direct a prophet to marry a prostitute.
