1. Hosea 1:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does Hosea give us so little background information about Gomer and the children?

Hosea 1:2 (ESV)

2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.”

Hosea tells us as much as we need to know to serve his purpose. As we have already pointed out, that purpose is to help Israel understand how they have been unfaithful to the Lord. Any information that does not serve that purpose is not ultimately important. This is also why we are not told how Hosea felt about marrying Gomer, how he went about it, or what his children were like. This book is not a modern memoir but a prophetic proclamation on behalf of the living God.