Old Testament Husbands – Isaac, Jacob, Hosea

What was the main problem with Jacob and Esau? (Gen 27:1ff)

Other than the fact that God had chosen one?  Each of the parents had chosen favorites, and there was no secret that the father preferred the older.  This is a problem that would manifest itself in the next generation, as Jacob would also consider Joseph his favorite.

What should a young man be willing to do for the woman that he loves? (Gen 29)

Jacob was willing to work for Laban for seven years, and then another seven years for Rachel.  While I’m not advocating working for fourteen years to earn the right to marry a woman, the commitment needs to be secure before entering marriage.  This follows through with the bride price, etc.  A woman is valuable—she completes a man, she is his helper, and therefore entering into a marriage covenant should not be taken lightly or simply because of feelings.

Was it wrong for Jacob to give Joseph a special coat? (Gen 37)

While it seems, on the face of it, that there was no problem giving him a fancy coat, he was rewarding one wife over the other—something we have seen the law would eventually address.  It is just this event that caused Joseph to be sold into slavery, and though God worked everything out for good, setting up one son as the favorite did not bring the family closer.

What was Hosea’s Instructions? (Hos 1:2-3)

He was instructed to take a wife who he knew had commitment issues.  God calls her a “wife of whoredoms” and “children of whoredoms.”  He would marry a woman that would not be faithful and have children who would not be his.  This seems like it’s against God’s order on its face, and it may be that this was more prophetic than a current state. What I mean by this is that Gomer may not have been a prostitute at the time of her marriage to Hosea, but she would soon be. In fact, only the first child that Gomer has is attributed to Hosea, with the others being stated as “she had a child” rather than “she bore him a son” as he did in the first.

What was the point of who Hosea was to marry?

God was being pictured in Hosea, and therefore, God wanted to show unconditional love to His people.  At the same time, God wanted to show through Hosea just how much Israel’s unfaithfulness hurt.  Hosea would go through much pain while his wife was unfaithful.  He would see her cheat, knowing she would cheat, and this was not to stop him from loving her or wanting her as his wife.  This is the depth of God’s love for His people, and this underscores the fact that God hates divorce.

God expected that Hosea would still care for, love, and stay committed to Gomer even though Gomer was at the point where she was basically a slave– Hosea had to buy her back…

So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. – Hosea 3:2

This is a wayward woman that chose to leave her husband, and the love that the husband has to have is that even though she was practicing whoredom he’d still bring her back, take care of her, and provide for her– as God would do for the children of Israel.