Hosea
Notes
Transcript
Theme: Unfaithfulness
Date written: 755–715 B.C.
Author: Hosea
Setting: Northern kingdom
Theme Verse:
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; And I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; And they shall say, Thou art my God.
Chronological Order and
Approximate Dates
of the Minor Prophets
Obadiah 840
Joel 835
Jonah 760
Amos 755
Hosea 740
Micah 730
Nahum 660
Zephaniah 625
Habakkuk 607
Haggai 520
Zechariah 515
Malachi 430
The Northern Kingdom is months away from captivity from the Assyrians.
Hosea is the next prophetic book, and it’s the first of a series of 12 prophetic books called the Minor Prophets—not because they are less important, but because of their size.
Each of the minor prophets is named after its author. Hosea’s ministry begins during a time of prosperity in the northern kingdom. But the prosperity is only external. Inwardly, the people are idolatrous and wicked. In less than 30 years, Israel and its capital, Samaria, would fall.
The book of Hosea details the unhappy domestic union of a man and his unfaithful wife, Gomer. Their story serves as a vivid parallel of the loyalty of God and the spiritual adultery of Israel. With empathetic sorrow, Hosea, whose name means “salvation,” exposes the sins of Israel and contrasts them to God’s holiness. The nation must be judged for its sin, but it will be restored in the future because of the love and faithfulness of God.
Hosea has been referred to as the prophet of restoration, and the book that bears his name depicts God’s willingness to restore the unfaithful.
History:
Hosea was born in the northern kingdom of Israel to- ward the end of the reign of King Jeroboam II (793–753 BC). He grew up and ministered under the rule of several other kings of Israel (Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, Pekahiah, and Hoshea). Jeroboam II’s rule was one of political and economic prosperity, but the underlying spiritual decay in the nation eventually became manifested during the reigns of his successors.
Hosea ministered and prophesied to the people around the same time as the prophets Amos and Jonah. This was some 250 years after the time of David and Solomon and about 650 years after the twelve tribes of Israel first entered the Promised Land.
The Skeleton
Chapters 1–3 Israel’s Adultery and God’s Faithfulness God commands Hosea to marry Gomer and have children with her. She becomes unfaithful and commits adultery. Her unfaithfulness is representative of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. But just as Hosea shows patient love for Gomer, God still loves His people even in the midst of their immorality and rebellion. Hosea redeems his wife from the slave market and restores her to her position as his wife. In like fashion, idolatrous and unfaithful Israel will one day be completely restored in its relationship with God.
The first 3 chapters are kind of poetic in how they are broken up. The story of Hosea and Gomer is in ch. 1:2-9 & chapter 3 and sandwhiched in the middle is the imagery of their story with God’s story and His people Israel.
1 The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.
God had told Hosea a prophet to marry a prostitute. There have been prophets that have had to do some strange things. I think of Jeremiah and Ezekiel but perhaps this is one of the most difficult things Hosea had to do. He was a bachelor and God told him to get ready to get married. He was probably excited and then God told him that he was to marry a prostitute. He was told to marry Gomer.
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
Hosea had 3 kids. 2 Boys and a girl in the middle.
The names of the kids announce great judgment to come for Israel.
Though the names of Gomer and her three children are featured in the drama, centre stage belongs to Yahweh and his quartet of imperatives, which call for Hosea to take a harlot for a wife (action I: 1:2–3a) and to father and name a son that speaks of judgment (action II: 1:3b–5), a daughter to be shown no pity (action III: 1:6–7) and finally a son that signals divorce (action IV: 1:8–9
When Gomer turned her back on her marriage and slept with other men, Hosea experienced what God felt every time Israel turned their back on Him to worship other gods.
Hos 3 1-5
1 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, 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:
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: so will I also be for thee.
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
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.
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
1 Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi; And to your sisters, Ru-hamah.
2 Plead with your mother, plead: For she is not my wife, neither am I her husband: Let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her sight, And her adulteries from between her breasts;
3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, And make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, And slay her with thirst.
4 And I will not have mercy upon her children; For they be the children of whoredoms.
5 For their mother hath played the harlot: She that conceived them hath done shamefully: For she said, I will go after my lovers, That give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
6 Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, And make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
7 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; And she shall seek them, but shall not find them: Then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; For then was it better with me than now.
8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold, Which they prepared for Baal.
9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, And my wine in the season thereof, And will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.
10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, And none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
12 And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, Whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, And she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, And she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.
This is the Lords love for unfaithful Israel
14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her, And bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for a door of hope: And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, And as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; And shalt call me no more Baali.
17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, And they shall no more be remembered by their name.
18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, And with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: And I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, And will make them to lie down safely.
19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, And in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: And thou shalt know the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, And they shall hear the earth;
22 And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; And they shall hear Jezreel.
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; And I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; And they shall say, Thou art my God.
Chapters 4–7 Israel’s Guilt Because of his painful experience with Gomer, Hosea can empathize with God’s sorrow over the unfaithfulness of His people. Though Israel has hardened her heart to God’s gracious last appeal to repent, even now there is still time for God to heal and redeem the people. However, they arrogantly continue in their rebellion.
Chapter 4 - The Lords case against Israel
1 Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: For the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, And blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, And every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, With the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; Yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: For thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
All of chapter 4 is the indictment.
Chapter 5 - The failure of Israels leaders
1 Hear ye this, O priests; And hearken, ye house of Israel; And give ye ear, O house of the king; For judgment is toward you, Because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, And a net spread upon Tabor.
2 And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, Though I have been a rebuker of them all.
3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: For now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: For the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, And they have not known the Lord.
5 And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: Therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, And the trumpet in Ramah: Cry aloud at Beth-aven, After thee, O Benjamin.
9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: Among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
10 The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: Therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
The leaders are to blame
Chapter 6 - A call to repentance and testimony of God’s Love
1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: For he hath torn, and he will heal us; He hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days will he revive us: In the third day he will raise us up, And we shall live in his sight.
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; And he shall come unto us as the rain, As the latter and former rain unto the earth.
4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, And as the early dew it goeth away.
5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: And thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: There have they dealt treacherously against me.
8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, And is polluted with blood.
9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, So the company of priests murder in the way by consent: For they commit lewdness.
10 I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: There is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
11 Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, When I returned the captivity of my people.
**God wants that relationship with them to be out of a heart of love. Devotion out of love not duty.
Chapter 7 - Israels love for wickedness
1 When I would have healed Israel, Then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: For they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, And the troop of robbers spoileth without.
2 And they consider not in their hearts That I remember all their wickedness: Now their own doings have beset them about; They are before my face.
3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, And the princes with their lies.
4 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, Who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.
5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; He stretched out his hand with scorners.
8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
they’re like a half-baked cake.
11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.
Israel is searching for help from everyone but God.
Chapters 8–10 Israel’s Indictment These chapters give the verdict of the case that Hosea has just presented for the sinfulness of Israel. The people’s disobedience is about to lead them into exile and dispersion. Israel has spurned repentance, and the judgment of God can no longer be withheld. Hosea rebukes Israel for her moral depravity, apostasy, and idolatry.
Chapter 8 - Israels harvest of judgment
1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, Because they have transgressed my covenant, And trespassed against my law.
2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: The enemy shall pursue him.
4 They have set up kings, but not by me: They have made princes, and I knew it not: Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, That they may be cut off.
5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; Mine anger is kindled against them: How long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
12 I have written to him the great things of my law, But they were counted as a strange thing.
14 For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; And Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: But I will send a fire upon his cities, And it shall devour the palaces thereof.
Hosea 9 - Hosea announces Israels punishment
1 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: For thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, Thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.
2 The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, And the new wine shall fail in her.
3 They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; But Ephraim shall return to Egypt, And they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.
4 They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, Neither shall they be pleasing unto him: Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; All that eat thereof shall be polluted: For their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.
5 What will ye do in the solemn day, And in the day of the feast of the Lord?
17 My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: And they shall be wanderers among the nations.
Hosea 10 - The Lord’s Judgment against Israel
1 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: According to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; According to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: He shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.
3 For now they shall say, We have no king, Because we feared not the Lord; What then should a king do to us?
4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: Thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: For the people thereof shall mourn over it, And the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, For the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.
12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground: For it is time to seek the Lord, Till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Chapters 11–14 Israel’s Salvation Hosea calls Israel to repentance and offers her a spiritual blessing for her return to faith. Though the people are now the recipients of a stern rebuke, the day is coming when they will receive a powerful blessing.
Chapter 11 - The Lords love for Israel
1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, And called my son out of Egypt.
2 As they called them, so they went from them: They sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.
3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; But they knew not that I healed them.
4 I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: And I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, And I laid meat unto them.
5 He shall not return into the land of Egypt, But the Assyrian shall be his king, Because they refused to return.
9 I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: For I am God, and not man; The Holy One in the midst of thee: And I will not enter into the city.
Chapter 12 - verse 12 of chapter 11 - ch 13 - God’s charges against Israel and Judah
1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: He daily increaseth lies and desolation; And they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, And oil is carried into Egypt.
2 The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, And will punish Jacob according to his ways; According to his doings will he recompense him.
3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And by his strength he had power with God:
4 Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: He wept, and made supplication unto him: He found him in Beth-el, and there he spake with us;
5 Even the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is his memorial.
Chapter 13 - The Lord’s anger to Israel
1 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; But when he offended in Baal, he died.
2 And now they sin more and more, And have made them molten images of their silver, And idols according to their own understanding, All of it the work of the craftsmen: They say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, And as the early dew that passeth away, As the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, And as the smoke out of the chimney.
4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, And thou shalt know no god but me: For there is no saviour beside me.
5 I did know thee in the wilderness, In the land of great drought.
9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
Chapter 14 - Healing for the Repentant
1 O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; For thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: Say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: So will we render the calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: Neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: For mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: He shall grow as the lily, And cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, And his beauty shall be as the olive tree, And his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: The scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, And the just shall walk in them: But the transgressors shall fall therein.
OUTLINE OF HOSEA
I. The Prodigal Wife, Hosea 1:1-3:5
A. Her Unfaithfulness, Hosea 1:1-11
B. Her Punishment, Hosea 2:1-13
C. Her Restoration and Israel's, Hosea 2:14-23
D. Her Redemption, Hosea 3:1-5
II. The Prodigal People, Hosea 4:1-14:9
A. The Message of Judgment, Hosea 4:1-10:15
1. The indictment, Hosea 4:1-19
2. The verdict, Hosea 5:1-15
3. The plea of Israel, Hosea 6:1-3
4. The reply of the Lord, Hosea 6:4-11
5. The crimes of Israel, Hosea 7:1-16
6. The prophecy of judgment, Hosea 8:1-10:15
B. The Message of Restoration, Hosea 11:1-14:9
1. God's love for the prodigal people, Hosea 11:1-11
2. God's chastisement of the prodigal people, Hosea 11:12-13:16
3. God's restoration of the prodigal people, Hosea 14:1-9
Ryrie Study Bible
Putting Meat on the Bones
More than any other Old Testament prophet, Hosea’s personal experience illustrates his prophetic message. He has a real compassion for God’s people. Also, Hosea’s personal suffering because of his wife’s unfaithfulness gives him some understanding of God’s grief over Israel’s sin. Therefore Hosea’s words of coming judgment are delivered with firmness yet tempered with a heart of affection. Hosea’s tenderness illustrates God’s faithfulness, justice, love, and forgiveness in contrast with Israel’s corruption and apostasy. With great concern Hosea pleads on behalf of God for the people to return to God, but they will not.
Fleshing It Out in Your Life
Like Hosea, you too may experience times of emotional and physical suffering. However, rather than becoming bitter, you can allow God to use your suffering to comfort others in their pain. That’s what was at the heart of Paul’s message when he wrote, “If we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer” (2 Corinthians 1:6).
Life Lessons from Hosea
God loves His people despite their sins and faults.
You can count on God’s faithfulness even when you are unfaithful.
Repentance is the first step on the path back to relationship with God.
God will give you the strength to resist the world’s seduction.
Where to Find It
Gomer’s marriage and children Chapter 1
Israel’s leaders rebuked Chapter 5
A testimony of God’s love Chapter 6
Israel’s rebellion against God’s love Chapter 11
Israel’s future restoration and blessing Chapter 14
sources: Bare Bones Bible, Bible from 30k feet