Hosea

Let this sink in, deep, into your spirit, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to suffer and die for your salvation. John 3:16  

How much more should we feel compelled to show our love and appreciation to our triune Godhead than to love others the same way that He loves us.

Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets (named for the relative brevity of their prophecies). The heading introduces the prophet Hosea and orients his ministry to the eighth-century bc reigns of four kings of Judah and the king of Israel, Jeroboam II. Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel in the years leading up to its fall to Assyria in 722 bc. Faithlife Bible.

Named after Hosea, a prophet of Israel during the last half of the eighth century. Book of sermons which balance God’s wrath and love, based on Hosea’s own marital experience.Hosea is the only writing prophet who was raised in and ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel.Hosea’s northern setting joined his unique call experience to make his ministry and message stand out from all other prophets. 

The message in Hosea is centered on:

• Israel’s historical relationship with God;

• Israel’s love affair with the fertility rituals of Baal worship;

• Israel’s economic, military, and political practices and conditions;

• God’s expectations of Israel; and

• God’s ultimate love for His people.

 Butler, T. C. (2016). Hosea, Book of.

Like others before and after him, Hosea discovered that being a prophet had its occupational hazards. The Lord sometimes required His prophets to perform difficult and even humiliating object lessons to complement their messages. At the beginning of Hosea’s prophetic ministry, the Lord told him to get married and announced that Hosea’s chosen bride would be unfaithful to her marriage vows. Her adultery would vividly illustrate Israel’s unfaithfulness to her covenant Lord.

Hosea chose Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, as his wife and they had three children, each of whom received a symbolic name from the Lord. The firstborn son’s name Jezreel was a reminder of the atrocities that had occurred at Jezreel. God would soon judge Israel for these sins, appropriately through a military defeat at this same city. Their daughter Lo-Ruhamah’s name, meaning “Not Loved,” announced that the Lord would temporarily withdraw His love from Israel. The third child’s name Lo-Ammi, meaning “Not My People,” anticipated the severe disruption of the Lord’s covenantal relationship with His people.

Because of Gomer’s adulteries, the marriage disintegrated, and she eventually became the slave or concubine of another man. However, the Lord instructed Hosea to buy back his wife. Hosea’s act of mercy toward his wife was a striking picture of the Lord’s great love for Israel. NKJ Bible.