The Hebrew is a little ambiguous here, because it could mean Hosea was a conduit or a receiver. We need not choose between these options for the book at large, since it has already been established that Hosea is God’s word for his people (Hosea 1:1; Hosea 14:9). However, it is worth noting that the messenger, Hosea, is not unaffected by the message of judgment and hope that he is tasked with delivering.
Similar to other prophets (see Isaiah 7:1 – 8:22; Ezekiel 3:1 – 5:17), Hosea is commissioned by God to not only preach but also to carry out symbolic acts that illustrate his message.1 Thus Israel’s spiritual adultery or whoredom (Hosea 1:2), This ugly, shocking accusation is to be made clearly evident to the people through Hosea’s own heartache as a husband married to an adulterous woman.
2 In this sense the word of God is seen through not only Hosea’s proclamation but also in his person. There is no private word
to the prophet.
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.”