Hosea prophesied in the northern kingdom of Israel between about 745-722 BC.  His family life symbolized God's relationship to his people.  As a wife was to have only one husband, Israel was to have only one God, yet Israel repeatedly worshiped other gods.  The book of Hosea tells how Hosea married a prostitute named Gomer to illustrate the situation.  They had three children named "Jezreel" (a battlefield), "Not Pitied," and "Not My People" to warn of God's judgment.  Yet there was also hope that in time the judgment would be reversed so that the battlefield would become a fruitful field. God would call Israel "Pitied" and "My people," and Israel would say "you are my God."

Hos 1-2 - The marriage to Gomer