Prophet Hosea was the son of Beeriah of the tribe of Issachar. He lived and prophesied for over 800 years before the birth of Christ. His God-inspired words are found in his book, which contains 14 chapters. He predicted the abolition and cessation of the Old Testament sacrifice and the annulment of the Sabbath (instead of which Jesus Christ instituted Sunday), and the coming of the Lord, and the wealth of gifts, which He will bring with Him to earth. Thus in the Book of prophet Hosea, he writes of the Old Testament Jewish synagogue that God will abolish all her joy, her feasts, her youth, and her sabbaths, and all her feasts.
The prophet Hosea had a difficult task. Marriage with a prostitute, infidelity, and sin of the people, the challenging political situation. However, his message survived despite all these challenges. It is a message of the perfect love of God and forgiveness, which transcends time limits and finds its echo among us today. One of the most important messages that people can hear, God is full of love and ready to give them a new chance. Hosea experienced that, he witnessed it, and he persevered into his task, and his nickname given to him fits him perfectly. A call to repentance that runs throughout the book and God constantly sends it to the Israelites.
The chapters of the book
The book of prophet Hosea is divided into 14 chapters:
Hosea 1:1 – 3, Rejection and future acceptance of Israel – “unfaithful wife.”
Chapter 1: The sin of Israel and the promise of renewal;
Chapter 2: Punishment for infidelity and a new relationship;
Chapter 3: Israel’s past, present, and future;
Hosea 2: 4-14: Messages of Condemnation and Pardon
Chapter 4: The wrath of Yahweh is on Israel;
Chapter 5: Rebuke and condemnation;
Chapter 6: Yahweh’s lamentation over Ephraim;
Chapter 7: The sin of Israel;
Chapter 8-9: Punishment for the apostasy of Israel;
Chapter 10: Guilt and Punishment;
Chapter 11: God’s mercy;
Chapter 12: The state of Israel;
Chapter 13: The wickedness of Israel;
Chapter 14: Conversion and salvation;
The theological purpose of the book: Israel indulged in idolatry. The people of Israel replaced the faithful and only God, the all-mighty I am, with the idols of the surrounding nations Baal and Ashtaroth. They turned away from God again, even though they were many times witnesses of His love and mercy. God reacts strikingly. That reaction is also the most persuasive element in the book of Hosea. Namely, God commands Hosea to marry Gomer, who is a prostitute and who deceives him. She leaves him and goes back in her footsteps. It is fornication and surrenders to that life without him had a guilty conscience for the one who loved her and who had redeemed her, Hosea.
God then again commands Hosea to seek her and redeem her and show her love and respect. It is a marvelous picture of God’s love. Here it is where the love of God shows herself in her supremacy. Hosea had to engage in a struggle against religious syncretism and moral stumbling. The theological message of this book is also the fight with religious people and their idea of Salvation. Mostly for legalists and those who think Salvation needs to be earned. Hosea fought not only against the people but also against the kings who were evil and completely went the wrong way. Salvation for such a situation was only in the knowledge of the great love of God and grace.
Prophet Hosea and Gomer
God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. She is a prostitute. Soon after, she cheats and leaves him. God tells Hosea again to find her, to bring her home, and to love her. They had three children who are probably not his but from another man. The Lord of Israel gives them symbolic names Jezreel, meaning the Valley of Battles and Defeats; Loruhama- Not pitied; Loamia- Not my people. We see in these names God’s rejection of Israel, which, however, will not last forever. Gomer is a prostitute, and Hosea is a permanent state of virginity (spiritual). God intends with Israel, that after so much sin and evil, return to be pure by his grace and forgiveness.
God tells Prophet Hosea again to redeem her: And to again love the woman the lover loves; love her as the Lord loves the children of Israel. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: (Hosea 3:2, KJV). Homer’s marriage is closely connected with the idea of the covenant that the Lord made between Himself and the Israelites when He brought them out of Egypt. And they are the same; they turned their backs on him. The symbolism of the events with Gomer is clear: Israel is the bride of God, but she behaves like an unfaithful woman. And Hosea represents God Himself.
But despite that infidelity and betrayal, God loves Israel and gives it a new chance and a new beginning. The image of Jesus Christ is visible here. He came to redeem us, to justify us, and he eventually brings us to Himself in glory. We are His fiancée today, His church, his faithful followers that await Him, and that will be with Him in eternity. God’s love for the Israelites is in this situation with Gomer. And unique light, and from this emerges a beautiful and powerful image: The Lord is the bridegroom, and Israel is the bride. The humility that Hosea shows with Gomer is the same humility that Jesus Christ showed towards people.
Highly Recommended:
Book Hosea: Unfailing Love Changes Everything (Member Book) (Bible Study)
DVD collection: Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea
The story of prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer is modernly described in this movie. One could put yourself into this film and see which character you would be in it. I liked everything about the movie. Five stars.
A love like Hosea’s
The message of this prophet Hosea is of great importance for Christians because of the age of severe crisis. We often forget God or replace him with something else, consciously or unconsciously. The main thread that runs through this book is the boundless love of God, a love that endures and is greater than everything in this universe. That is why prophet Hosea is a prophet of God’s love. God intends to cleanse them of all filth and to bring them back from the state of prostitution, like Gomer.
Only His love and mercy can do. Here God is portrayed in the true light of who He is and what He is. The depth of his being came to the core here. In addition to everything they did, in addition to every betrayal with which they made him insulted and rejected, He sends such strong and encouraging words through Hosea. He has a plan for them; He has a route for them that leads beyond the sin and mud into which they have fallen. He leads them into, as he writes in the last chapter, His protection. Read more about the love of God here.