Gomer is one of Scripture's quietest women. She never speaks. We know her father's name, Diblaim, that she married the prophet Hosea, and that she bore three children whose names became warnings to Israel.
She left Hosea for other lovers. Her story could have ended there. Instead God sent Hosea to love her again, and he bought her back. Her life became the picture of God's promise to his wandering people: I will speak tenderly to her, and make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope.
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I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
Name means
Scripture does not say; often linked to completion
Home
The northern kingdom of Israel
Role
Wife of Hosea, daughter of Diblaim
Read in
Gomer's story
A door of hope
Beginning
Married to a prophet
Hosea marries her, daughter of Diblaim.
Turning point
Three children
She bears Jezreel, then a daughter and a son whose names announce judgment.
Low point
She leaves
She goes after other lovers.
Turning point
Bought back
Hosea buys her for fifteen shekels of silver and barley, and asks her to stay with him.
Ending
A door of hope
The promise spoken over her and Israel: tenderness, a new covenant, and faithfulness.
Starts as a wife who walked away. Ends as a woman bought back and spoken to tenderly.
Where Gomer lived and went
Only places Scripture records. Softer, dotted pins are traditional or uncertain sites. Tap a pin for the passage.
HomeMinistryKey momentTraditional or uncertainPinch or use + to zoom. Tap a cluster to spread it out.
Scripture does not say where Gomer lived.
How Gomer is wired
Why there's no type here
Scripture tells us what happened to her, but never gives us her own words, so a type would be guesswork.
Strengths & struggles
What's good in Gomer
Scripture does not say.
Where Gomer struggles
She went after other lovers and left her husband ().
What Gomer wanted most
What she thought her lovers gave her: bread, water, wool, oil and drink ().
Gomer was bought back by a husband who would not give up. That is the gospel in miniature.
God says through Hosea that people once called Not My People will be called children of the living God (), and Peter applies it to the church (). We are Gomer. Christ is the husband who came after us and paid the price to bring us home.
Questions to sit with
1
What lovers, other than God, have promised you what only he can give?
2
Gomer never speaks in her story. How does it feel to be loved before you have said anything right?
Study Gomer with your group
Ready-to-lead group studies with discussion questions and a leader's note are on the way.
