Hosea Introduction
Timeline of the Prophets
Below is a timeline of the prophets from Jonah through Malachi including key historic events:
Jonah (820-804 B.C.) - spoke to the Assyrians
Amos (810-785 B.C.) - spoke to the northern kingdom
Joel (800 B.C.) - spoke to the southern kingdom
Hosea (785-725 B.C.) - spoke to the northern kingdom
Micah (749-722 B.C.) - spoke to the northern kingdom
Isaiah (740-681 B.C.) - spoke to the southern kingdom
722 B.C.: Northern Kingdom of Israel destroyed by the Assyrians
Nahum (661-612 B.C.) - spoke to the Assyrians
Zephaniah (630 B.C.) - spoke to the southern kingdom
Habakkuk (610-599 B.C.) - spoke to the southern kingdom
Jeremiah (625-582 B.C.) - spoke to the southern kingdom
605, 597, 586 B.C.: Jerusalem is attacked in three waves and ultimately destroyed by the Babylonians
Daniel (605-534 B.C.) - spoke to captives in Babylon
Ezekiel (592-570 B.C.) - spoke to captives in Israel
Obadiah (585 B.C.) - spoke to the Edomites
539 B.C.: Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, and Jews allowed to return to Jerusalem
Haggai (520 B.C.) - spoke to the returned exiles of Babylon
Zechariah (518 B.C.) - spoke to the returned exiles of Babylon
Malachi (430-400 B.C.) - spoke to the returned exiles of Babylon
Author
The name Hosea means “salvation” or “help.” Hosea (like Jonah) ministered to the northern kingdom, as can be derived from the references to the northern kingdom in his book (4:5; 5:1; 6:6, 9). These two prophets of the northern kingdom wrote the only prophetic books that have survived from the northern prophetic ministry.
Background
Hosea opens his book by mentioning four southern kings of Judah who reigned while he prophesied in the northern kingdom of Israel. The kings Hosea mentions are Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Hosea mentions only one northern king, Jeroboam II (1:1).
Using these kings as points in time, Jewish tradition places Hosea as the first prophet of his generation and the earliest of the 12 minor prophets. Hosea’s ministry was long, so he would have been witness to Israel’s great prosperity and then watched as Israel decayed into political and spiritual corruption.
Hosea documents Israel’s corruption in their:
Rejection of spiritual knowledge (4:6, 11)
Stubborn refusal to be fed God’s word (4:16)
Love of idols (4:17)
Love of pleasure (4:18; 5:4)
Love of self (5:5)
Lack of consistency (6:4)
Lack of commitment (7:4)
Mixture with the world (7:8)
Highly developed desire for greed (7:14)
Corruption of morals (9:9)
Rejection of Yahweh (11:7)
Proliferation of idolatry (13:2)
The above passages allow us to make the following observations about Israel. They were:
Spiritually-complacent
Faith-challenged
Morally-compromised
Lust-craving
Heart-insensitive
Purpose
Hosea’s occupation is virtually unknown, but his family life is legendary. His family life was symbolic in his prophetic marriage. His wife was Gomer, a whore, representative of Israel’s unfaithfulness to Yahweh.
Hosea’s Children:
Jezreel (1:4-5) - “God Scatters” or “God Sows,” or “Punishment comes by God scattering”
Lo-Ruhamah (1:6) - “No Mercy,” or “Israel has rejected mercy and chosen personal consequences instead”
Lo-Ammi (1:9) - “Not My People,” or “Israel rejected Yahweh as their Father”
With Hosea’s marriage and family as a backdrop, Yahweh sought to speak through Hosea:
His covenant commitment for Israel
The backslidden nature of Israel
The need of Israel to return to Him
The faithful love Yahweh had for Israel even through their complete unfaithfulness
Theme
The theme of the book can be summed up in this simple statement: Yahweh saves even when Israel is unfaithful.
Hosea deploys a group of metaphors to depict Israel’s complete spiritual decline from keeping Yahweh ultimate in their lives:
An unfaithful wife (chapters 1-3)
A stubborn heifer (4:16; 10:11)
An evaporating dew, dwindling mist, and smoke (6:4; 13:3)
A broken oven (7:3-7)
A burned cake (7:8)
A silly dove (7:11; 11:11)
A foolish farmer (8:7)
A useless vessel (8:8)
A stray donkey (8:9)
A worthless fruit tree (9:10, 16)
A bad vine (10:1)
A hapless twig (10:7)
A disobedient child (11:1-4)
Through it all, Yahweh remained faithful to ultimately save.
Prophecies
Hosea makes over 25 prophetic predictions in this book centered on two themes: the northern kingdom will fall, and the Messiah will come and save.
The Messiah who comes to save will be:
Like Moses, reuniting the two nations and leading them out of exile (1:11)
Like King David, leading them to honor and revere Yahweh (3:5)
Like a second Israel, dwelling and flourishing in Yahweh’s presence (14:4-7)