1 THEN said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, [Or, a lover of evil; or, loving another] yet an adulteress, [ The Lord tells Hosea to take a second wife, or in this case posssibly a concubine in addition to his first wife, a woman prone to adultery. But notice the conditions of the arrangment as per verse 3. Has has forbidden her any sexual activity with anyone including himself.] according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

2 so I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: [ It is interesting to note that this sum for the bride price - in relation to the price paid to purchase a slave - the life of a slave was valued at 30 shekels of silver (cf. Exod. 21:32). not only was it the price of a slave but half was paid in barley, not money. Barley is one of the least used grains and was generally despised.

Since t he price paid for the woman was less than that of a slave - what message do you suppose that the prophet trying to get across? The circumstance that the prophet gave no more for the wife than the amount at which a slave could be obtained, . . . and that this amount was not even paid in money, but half of it in barley—a kind of food so generally despised throughout antiquity . . . —was intended to depict still more strikingly the deeply depressed condition of the woman. . . . [If] the woman was satisfied with fifteen shekels and fifteen ephahs of barley, she must have been in a state of very deep distress” (Commentary, 10:1:68–69).

When one considers Gomer as symbolic of Israel, the purchase price implies that Israel’s freedoms had been or would be lost, and in addition she suffered the slavery of sin, which also requires a purchase price before Israel can be reconciled with her Savior. Hosea desired to purchase his wife from slavery just as Heavenly Father seeks after His children to redeem them from Satan’s power with the blood of His son Jesus Christ.

There was little that Israel could do for herself, she was in the throws of sin, a slave to satan unless somone purchased her - but who would do that for a woman in such a state of despare?

Keil and Delitzsch write that “it is a very natural supposition . . . that at that time an ephah of barley was worth a shekel, in which case the whole price would just amount to the some of which, according to Ex. xxi. 32, it was possible to purchase a slave, and was paid half in money and half in barley. . . The circumstance that the prophet gave no more for the wife than the amount at which a slave could be obtained, . . . and that this amount was not even paid in money, but half of it in barley—a kind of food so generally despised throughout antiquity . . . —was intended to depict still more strikingly the deeply depressed condition of the woman. . . . [If] the woman was satisfied with fifteen shekels and fifteen ephahs of barley, she must have been in a state of very deep distress” (Commentary, 10:1:68–69).

In ancient Israel, as in many other ancient cultures, women were considered the property of their husbands. Since the woman being bought now “belongs” to someone else, if Hosea wants her back, he must compensate her lover and buy her back. How is that an image of our own situation? What symbolism is there here for how the Savior views his role with/to us? ]

3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: [Hosea informs her she will now be staying under his roof, but she will not be cohabiting with him, and she will not be permitted to be with any man. What has or does a harlot do? Commits adultry - What has Israel done? committed idolatry Symbolically what could the prophet be implying here? Israel will be put away so to speak - or ownership turned over to the Assyrians. In the first marriage Hosea represents the Lord's present relationship with Israel, they are still wedded but the wife is unfaithful. In this concubinage Hosea represents the Lord's imminent change in relationship with Israel, as He is about to bring Assyria up to sack her and cut her off from her present idolatry, and end Israel's existence as a nation. She has cheated on her husband (the Lord), and so she will be sold off to another (the Lord turns her over to Assyria) and left without any support (Israel ceases to exist as a nation). What is implied when the Lord says: “Thou Shalt Not Play the Harlot"?
Even though the purchase price mentioned in Hosea 3:2 has been paid, there is a time of testing, of waiting and preparing, before one is reinstated to all the blessings of the covenant and enjoys the company of a husband and a savior. This principle is valid whether applied to Gomer as a person or to Gomer as a figure for Israel. ] so will I also be for thee. [That is, if thou, Israel, wilt keep thyself separate from thy idolatry, and give me proof, by thy total abstinence from idols, that thou wilt be my faithful worshipper, I will receive thee again, and in the meantime support thee with the necessaries of life while thou art in the land of thy captivity.]

4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, [ alludes to Israel’s impending captivity when they would be without leadership (“kings,” “princes”) - "Hitherto this prophecy has been literally fulfilled. Since the destruction of the temple by the Romans they have neither had king nor prince, nor any civil government of their own, but have lived in different nations of the earth as mere exiles. They have neither priests nor sacrifices nor urim nor thummim; no prophet, no oracle, no communication of any kind from God." Adam Clarke ] and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, [ Or they would also be without revelation (represented by the ephod, to which the Urim and Thummim were attached as past of the high priest's garment of ceremony); the urim and thummim belonged to the breastplate, which was attached to the ephod. ] and without teraphim: [the teraphim were some kind of amulets, telesms, or idolatrous images; Israel will be dissolved as a nation so they will be deprived of their corrupt leaders and idolatry. It is important to review some of the history here. Right from the start of Israel's secession from Judah under Jeroboam, national idolatry was imposed (1 Kings 12). The Northern Ten never recovered from this. Her kings were an uninterrupted series of idolatrous miscreants who never brought about reform as did some of the kings of Judah. Thus, Israel would be bereaved of both their present kings and priests. ]

5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. [ Note here that even though the Lord has allowed Israel to be owned by another in order to stop her adultrous ways - he has not cut her off and waits for her to return to seek him out. So after Israel has been subject to the punishment of her own causing for some time Israel will repent
and seek reconciliation with the Lord and political unity with Judah, and subsequently be blessed by the Lord, cp. Micah 4-5]