History of Hosea
As we being our cycle of reading through the Minor Prophets, we’re
going to go back in time from where we last left the Old Testament. Hosea brings us the whole way back to just
before the northern kingdom (Israel) falls into captivity under Assyria. Some people call Hosea the death-bed prophet
because he was the last prophet of the northern kingdom. Interestingly enough, the name actually means
“salvation.”
Hosea is largely a story about God’s love for Israel as told
through the marriage of Hosea. Hosea’s
wife is Gomer, and as we shall see she makes a great analogy for the people of
Israel as a nation. Hosea is a book that
will cause us to think about marriage, God, and what it means to truly love.
Whoredom
The book begins on an interesting note. God tells Hosea to go and take a wife who is
a prostitute. There you go! Right there, you have one of the most
interesting facts about the book presented front and center. Gomer was adulterous. Yet God told Hosea to not only marry her but
to produce children with her.
Imagine Hosea’s reaction to this for just a second. First of all, this is certainly unusual for
God considering His Law. Of course, God
used the prophets to teach the Hebrew people through some very unusual
methods. Second, imagine what Hosea
knows the rest of His life is going to be like.
Here is a woman who is accustomed to a certain lifestyle. As they say, Hosea knows that a leopard doesn’t
change its spots all that easily. God is
not calling Hosea to a life of ease and simplicity, that’s for sure. Third, imagine the public perception of Hosea
and his ministry. How people surely
judged him on account of his marriage!
Unfaithfulness
God and Hosea know that Gomer will not be faithful during the
marriage. However, that does not
preclude children from the marriage. God
walked beside Israel in spite of the nation’s unfaithfulness. God continued to try and raise up faithful
followers – Hosea being only one example – in spite of the unfaithfulness of
the nation of Israel. That’s the great
thing about God. Unfaithfulness on our
part does not force unfaithfulness on the part of God. In fact, it is just the opposite. As Hosea is faithful to Gomer in spite of her
unfaithfulness, God does not abandon Israel.
Children
Hosea brings three children into the world through Gomer. The first child is named Jezreel. In this case, the meaning of the name (He Sows)
is not as important as the geographic location.
Jezreel would be the place where Jehu brings God’s punishment upon the
house of Ahab. That being said, the name
“He Sows” should not be ignored as well.
The people of Israel were sowing destruction into their country through
their actions. They were literally
sowing God’s judgment upon themselves.
The second child is a girl.
Her name is Lo Ruhamah. This name
literally means “No Compassion” or “No Mercy.”
Imagine having that as your name!
The poor girl. This child born to
Hosea will be a sign to the people of Israel that their time of mercy is coming
to an end. God will no longer stay His
hand of judgment. They will pay
nationally for their national sin. They
will go into bondage.
Before getting to the third child, we have a statement from God
through Hosea about Judah – the southern nation. God says that the people of Judah will be
spared, but not spared by human effort.
The people will be saved because God will hear their last minute
repentance. Remember that the Assyrians
march right up to the door of Jerusalem before coming in contact with a
supernatural plague that almost overnight kills an incredible number of
Assyrian warriors – 185,000 soldiers!
Judah is spared through God’s effort.
Gomer conceives again and gives birth to a third child – a second
son. This son is called Lo Ammi.” This name means “Not My People.” Again, imagine having that as your divinely
appointed name! Poor guy. However, this son’s name is significant. Through this son, God is telling the people
of Israel that they will no longer be treated as God’s people. The nations will come upon them and defeat
them because God is removing His hedge of protection around them.
Think deeply about this last little piece of information. God literally says, “You are no longer my
people.” What a devastating comment to
come out of God’s mouth. Imagine hearing
from God that you are no longer a part of His family. You would think that would bring a person
back to repentance! But the human heart
is hard. I guess if one doesn’t care
about God’s opinion in the first place, one doesn’t care whether they are a
part of God’s family or not. But as one
who is a part of God’s family, I cannot imagine hearing those words!
Hope
God does not end this chapter on a bleak note. In spite of the dark prophecies born to
Israel through the children of Hosea, God tells of a time when all will be
restored. There will be a day when the
nation will be under a single king.
There will be a day when the people go up out of the land. There will be a day when the people will be
called Children of the Living God.
This prophecy has two levels of interpretation. First, there is a time when the Hebrew people
do come up out of bondage. This happens
when the Persians conquer the Babylonians.
The Hebrew people do come back to the land as a unified people.
However, I think this prophecy is best seen as fulfilled through
Jesus. In Christ, we see clearly that He
is the God of the living. In Christ, we are
truly children of God – heirs to the promise of eternal life. Through Christ, we do go up out of the land
and proclaim God wherever we go.
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