Hosea

Hosea

Finding the Context:

The prophet Hosea is the author of the book of Hosea. He lived during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were reigning as kings in Judah. Jeroboam was the king of Israel during this time (1:1). He was ordered by the Lord to marry a prostitute who happened to be named Gomer (1:2,3). The book was written to the northern kingdom of Israel (1:2; 4:15; 9:1; 10:9; 14:1). It was written before Israel went into captivity but the kingdom of Judah preserved the writing because they were able to maintain their identity as a nation after the exile, whereas the northern kingdom of Israel remained scattered.

Idols and prostitution are main themes for this book because throughout the book God is telling His people that they have prostituted themselves to idols and have forsaken Him (1:2; 2; 4:15; 8:4,6,10; 10:1,2). You also see that God uses Hosea’s marriage with a prostitute as an enacted symbol of His relationship with Israel (1:2-10; 3:1-3). Hosea was written because the people of Israel had wondered away from the Lord in idol worship (1:2). God wanted His people to see that His heart was extremely broken over the fact that He had been abandoned by Israel and was longing to have that relationship restored (3:1; 11:1-11).

Theme Tracing:

1     What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

God shows that He is a God of great emotion. His heart breaks in pain when He is abandoned and He longs for the people that He loves. You even see that He reminds them of the fact that they had asked for a king (9:15; 13:10,11). Yet He longs to have this relationship restored (2:13,14-23; 5:3; 6:1-7; 11:8-12; 14). In 1:2 and 2:14 you also see that God is a pursuer. He does not wait for Israel to make the first move to come back to Him even though they are the ones at fault. Out of love He makes the first move to pursue and win her back.

      What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

Despite the fact that Israel has sinned against God, God is over and over again telling them that He is going to bring them back. He is going to redeem His people by restoring the broken relationship that He has with them. He reveals to them that He will bring them back after they have been cast away. He never leaves them turned away. He always restores (2:14,15; 3:5; 6:1-3; 10:10-15;11;14).