Synopsis: 

Hosea was one of three prophets sent by God to the northern kingdom of Israel after the death of Solomon.  He was sent to warn Israel that God was about to judge them for their spiritual harlotry and idolatrous practices.  God would ask Hosea to do the unthinkable in order to deliver His message to the people of the northern kingdom in an object lesson they would never forget.  Hosea was instructed to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him, bear children that were not his own, and ultimately have his wife leave him and play the town harlot to the embarrassment and shame of Hosea and her children.  But God gave Hosea such a magnanimous love for his wife that he could not give her up.  Ultimately, God would tell him to go out in search of her, forgive her, and bring her back home again.  The whole story parallels what God will do for Israel in the days ahead.