Hosea
Introduction
At a Glance
Author: Hosea the prophet
Audience: Originally, the Northern Kingdom of Israel; later the Southern Kingdom; today, people of God everywhere
Date: The era preceding the fall of Samaria (capital of the Northern Kingdom) in 722 BC
Type of Literature: Prophecy
Major Themes: The covenant: violation and renewal; love; corruption; disintegration through spiritual adultery; hope; Jesus as the faithful husband
Outline:
I. Superscription: author and setting — 1:1
II. Hosea’s marriage and its symbolism: unfaithful wife, faithful husband — 1:2–3:5
a. Hosea’s marriage; birth of children (unknown fathers); readoption into the family of God — 1:2–2:1
b. Allegory of Gomer, the unfaithful wife — 2:2–23
i. Inevitable divine judgment on Israel — 2:2–13
ii. Promised divine renewal and restoration of Israel — 2:14–23
c. Hosea’s reconciliation with his wife — 3:1–5
III. Faithless nation and faithful God — 4:1–14:9
a. Summary of charges (the rib): YAHWEH’s legal indictment of Israel’s covenant violations — 4:1–3
b. Charges laid and sentencing brought down — 4:4–10:15
i. Punishment of priests and people for their idolatry — 4:4–19
ii. Punishment of priests, Israelites, and royal leaders for their violence, injustice, and corruption — 5:1–15
iii. A counterfeit repentance — 6:1–3
iv. Indictments of Israel for their covenant-breaking — 6:4–7:16
v. Punishment of Israel for their covenant-breaking — 8:1–10:15
c. YAHWEH’s faithful love — 11:1–14:9
i. YAHWEH’s fatherly love — 11:1–11
ii. Punishment for the people’s covenantal unfaithfulness — 11:12–13:16
iii. Israel’s promised restoration and renewal following their genuine repentance — 14:1–9
About the Book of Hosea
For more information on the twelve books of the Minor Prophets in general, please see the excursus on the Twelve preceding this book.
Hosea is a very personal account of the life and ministry of the titular prophet. God told Hosea to marry a woman who would be unfaithful to him. They had three children (and Hosea may not have been their father) who were named by God and represented prophetic messages not only for Hosea but also for Israel and for us today.
Hosea’s ministry was contemporary with the reigns of the following kings (note that some of these reigns overlapped, incorporating coregencies): in Israel, Jeroboam II, 793–753 BC; in Judah, Uzziah (Azariah), 792–740 BC; Jotham, 742–735 BC; Ahaz, 735–715 BC; Hezekiah, 715–687 BC.
One of the older books in the Bible, Hosea perhaps reached its final form even before many of the scrolls of the Hebrew Bible were compiled and put in order, certainly before many of the other prophets even lived. Many of the verses may reflect older Hebrew usage and are hard to translate. There’s a similar situation in the New Testament: the letter of Paul to the Galatians was likely in its final form before the Gospels were compiled and put in order even though the Gospels narrate earlier activity.
Hosea frequently called out Israel using the metonymy Ephraim. Ephraim was one of the tribes of Joseph and the most powerful of the Northern Tribes. This is parallel to calling the Southern Kingdom “Judah.” Over the centuries, Ephraim (with its capital, Samaria) and Judah (with its capital, Jerusalem) had emerged as the primary tribes from among the twelve, and the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, as a whole, were often called by the names of these two tribes.
Purpose
Over history, the book of Hosea has functioned with at least three purposes.
Initial purpose: The Northern Kingdom of Israel, although very prosperous, had big spiritual and ethical cracks in its foundation, brought about fundamentally by her violation of the terms of the divine covenant (Hos. 4:1–19; 6:7; 8:1). The book is dominated by the threats of inevitable divine judgments against the people of YAHWEH for their covenant rebellion against him. However, notwithstanding the predominance of these threats, YAHWEH, out of love for them, issued through the prophet promises along with warnings: If they repented of their faithlessness and returned to their God, he would renew and restore them in their intimate covenant relationship with him. On the other hand, if they continued in their rebellious ways, destruction at the hands of the Assyrians would be inevitable.
Second purpose: By the time this book was put in its final form and added to the scroll of the Twelve, there were few survivors, if any, from the Northern Kingdom to read it; we have never heard of the “ten lost tribes” again. The action in Hosea is set in the season of decline before the fall of the Northern Kingdom (722 BC) but was added to the scroll of the Twelve to benefit the survivors of the fall of the Southern Kingdom (much later, in 586 BC) by helping them avoid the same mistakes the Northern Kingdom had made. One can picture a parent saying, “Don’t make the same mistakes your big brother made!” (see 4:15).
In much the same way, this book served as essential, practical wisdom during the years of restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem allowed under the Persians.
Third purpose: As readers today, we all, individually and collectively, as communities and nations, face the same kinds of challenges that the Northern Kingdom of Israel faced. As we grow in prosperity, the temptations of corruption and arrogant selfishness can begin to look more attractive, and we start to believe we have the power to pull it off. Also, when we look to human leaders (“kings” in the book of Hosea; 5:13; 7:7; 8:4; 10:3–4, 7; 13:10–11) rather than the Lord for solutions, we start to go astray. When an individual or a society loses focus of the Creator who brought us into the world and who has a plan for our lives, things start to unravel. Hosea warns, and it is still true, that these tendencies can lead to a point of no return. However, the book ends with a call to return from these false paths to the promises of God and his love for us. This message is still vitally relevant for us today: we need to continue to do this on a regular basis, being eternally grateful for the enactment of the new covenant age via the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Never again need we fear the curses of the old covenant—as Hosea’s audience did—because Jesus has borne them on our behalf.
Author and Audience
Hosea of Beeri wrote the book bearing his name. Hosea’s name means “He [YAHWEH] has saved”; it is a variant of the name Joshua, which is the English name for Jesus (Num. 13:16).
Hosea was most likely from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. He was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Amos also lived during this generation.
Like Jeremiah, Hosea was a man of deep feelings, including anguish over the sins of his people. He had a fearless spirit and demonstrated selflessness in his dealings with others. The message burned inside his heart, and he knew he must be faithful to bring that message to his nation. He was intensely human, filled with emotion.
Jewish tradition has his burial site in Tsfat, Israel (Galilee). Unlike some of the other prophets, he is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture.
The original audience of Hosea’s message was the people of the Northern Kingdom in the times before the fall of Samaria. Hosea called them Israel, Jacob, Ephraim, and Samaria in this book. Destruction by the Assyrians loomed over them, and Hosea warned the people, hoping that they might avoid this catastrophe.
The secondary audience was the people of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) much later on, who were in captivity in Babylon and Persia (like Daniel and Esther) or rebuilding Jerusalem (like Ezra and Nehemiah). Eventually, as one of the parts of the scroll of the Twelve, Hosea’s words were repurposed during the Persian Era as a calling out to the faithful remnant of the Southern Kingdom (Judah) that they might live into God’s preferred future for them and avoid the mistakes of the Northern Kingdom, which had, by that time, disappeared as a nation.
The third audience is the contemporary reader. We face the same truths, challenges, promises from God, and options that the Northern Kingdom did.
Major Themes
The Covenant: Violation and Renewal. This theme pervades the entire book. The opening three chapters describe the living metaphor of Hosea’s marriage, by YAHWEH’s command, to Gomer, an “adulterous woman” (1:2), who would be guilty of infidelity on a number of occasions. She bore him three children—whom the prophet may or may not have fathered—and they were all given names that symbolized the judgment of God against his people: Jezreel, No-Tender-Mercy, and Not-My-People (1:2–2:1). It is abundantly clear that Gomer symbolized the faithless people of Israel (and Judah), with YAHWEH as the “betrayed husband.” Israel’s underlying infidelity was a spiritual one, namely, her abandonment of YAHWEH as her unique covenant God—worshiping pagan idols in his stead.
Like Gomer, Israel would bear the painful consequences of rebellion and faithlessness: Gomer would suffer for her marital infidelity, violating her marriage covenant (2:2–13), and Israel likewise, for violating the divinely revealed covenant—in particular, the first commandment to worship YAHWEH exclusively (beginning with ch. 4). However, God commanded Hosea to take his adulterous wife back—to rebetroth her, if you like (3:1–5), just as YAHWEH promised to rebetroth his people, renewing his covenant relationship with them (2:14–23; 11:8–11; 14:1–9). The application of this living metaphor to YAHWEH’s relationship with Israel occupies the remainder of the book (chs. 4–14). And this promise of covenant renewal finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. All the topics listed and discussed below are submotifs of this principal theme.
Love. The theme of love is a significant one in the book of Hosea. However, the issue is complex, for the term love is used in polar opposite contexts—from YAHWEH’s amazing covenant love (Hb. chesed; see below) to the idolatrous, immoral, and illegitimate love of self, as demonstrated by the wayward Israelites. There are three different words (including two couplets—a verb and a noun) for “love” employed by the prophet, and together they amount to nearly thirty occurrences. Each term reflects varying semantic elements.
The most theologically profound of these terms is the Hebrew word chesed. The word occurs four times in this book. It denotes the pure, selfless love of YAHWEH, expressed in the administration of the covenant, and is often translated “loving-kindness” throughout the Old Testament. As an attribute of YAHWEH, chesed is used once, in 2:19, where God promised to betroth himself anew to Israel in his everlasting “love.” The other three uses of the term are found in varying contexts: In 6:4, God indicted Israel for her shallow “faithfulness” for him that dissipates like the morning mist. In 4:1, God similarly indicted his people for their total absence of “love” toward him. And finally, in 12:6, God demanded that his people return to him (i.e., in repentance), maintaining “love” and justice in all their dealings with one another.
Secondly, the words racham/ruchamah denote the action of “loving tenderly” and the quality of “tender love.” They are found eight times in the book, and the prophet used them both positively and negatively. The most significant negative usage occurs in the opening two chapters, where God named one of Gomer’s children—a daughter—No-Tender-Mercy (1:6; 2:23). But then the term is used positively, when God promised to rename the child Shown-Tender-Mercy at the time of Israel’s promised renewal and restoration (2:1, 23).
The third set of words, ʾahab/ʾahabah, denotes love that is both human and divine. These words occur seventeen times in the book, describing the action and quality of love of both God and the people of Israel. Some contexts are positive, where the love of God is affirmed (e.g., 11:1, 4), and others are negative, where the love demonstrated by the Israelites is corrupted, idolatrous, or self-centered (e.g., 4:18; 9:1).
Corruption. The Northern Kingdom (Israel) had grown prosperous. Human beings tend to form hierarchies, and those at the top of the ladder are often tempted to feather their nests and protect their positions, hanging on to power. A poor person can be dishonest but does not always have the power to exercise corruption, which is an abuse of power (much like the fact that a stranger cannot betray you; only a friend can do that). English historian and philosopher Lord Acton famously said: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In asking for a hierarchical system—demanding a king in 1 Samuel 8:1–11—Israel had paved the path to potential corruption, which started with Solomon and seemed to get worse over time. The prophets, like Hosea, decried the absence of the traditional Hebrew virtues of justice and uprightness in the face of this corruption (Hos. 5:1, 3, 10–11; 6:10; 7:1; 9:9; 10:4; 12:6, 8). Corruption, like disintegration (see below), is not sustainable, and a society filled with corruption will crumble from the inside.
Disintegration through Spiritual Adultery. Hosea emphasized the sin of idolatry and illustrated Israel’s spiritual adultery in her relationship with God by his own marriage to an unfaithful woman. Hosea’s own reconciliation also illustrates Israel’s ultimate promised restoration (1:1–3:5).
Disintegration is the opposite of integrity. When one is integrated, he or she is not double-minded or conflicted on the inside. The first commandment, to have no other gods before God, is a call to individuals and communities to live an integrated life and to avoid those things (symbolized and illustrated by idols in the Bible) that create disintegration within us. Disintegration is spiritually fatal. We can be forgiven for it, but unless we address it seriously, it can rip our lives to shreds (13:5–8), and collectively, it can bring down an entire civilization. For Israel, an integrated existence consisted of keeping the first commandment, avoiding idols, and living in accordance with the covenant—an existence that Israel failed to maintain (3:1; 4:7, 10–19; 6:10; 8:4–6; 9:1, 10; 10:5–6; 11:2; 13:2).
Other sins that Hosea mentioned include injustice (12:7), violence (4:2; 6:9; 12:1), hypocrisy (6:6), rebellion (7:3–7), forming alliances with foreign nations (7:11; 8:9), arrogance (13:6), and ingratitude (7:15). Again, we can note that all these sins constitute a subset of the primary transgression of violating the covenant.
Hope. While the theme of hope is scattered throughout the book (1:10–2:1, 14–23; 3:5; 5:15; 11:8–11), Hosea ends on a particularly expanded note of hope (14:2–9). God’s promises to his people in the Northern Kingdom were laid out in front of them (14:2–9)—free for the taking. Alas, they rejected these promises at the time, and the dry rot of corruption and disintegration became full-blown. The capital, Samaria, fell in 722 BC, never to be restored. Nonetheless, it must be acknowledged that this hope of restoration and renewal turned out to be a historical certainty. Notwithstanding Israel’s failure to live up to God’s demands, Israel’s deliverance from captivity and subsequent spiritual renewal, did, in fact, take place with the people’s return to their homeland in 538 BC. And this hope continues to call out to anyone who will listen, down through the ages unto this very moment—a hope that is grounded in the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption, fully realized in the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Messiah and Lord, to this earth. Eternal renewal and restoration are found only by trusting in his atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus as the Faithful Husband. This theme has been anticipated in the previous discussions on the violation and renewal of the covenant and the preceding thematic summary of hope. The prophet Hosea, who loved the unfaithful woman, showed a foretaste of the faithful love of Jesus. Through the eyes of faith, we see Hosea’s marriage to Gomer as a parallel to Jesus and the church (Eph. 5:25–32). He still loves her despite her sin (Rom. 5:8) and sacrificially bought her back.
Jesus is visible in the book of Hosea in the following additional ways:

The name Hosea, which means “He has saved” (Matt. 1:21)
The “one head” (or leader) who reunites his people (Hos. 1:11; Eph. 2:11–22; Col. 1:18–20)
The son called from Egypt (Hos. 11:1; Matt. 2:14–15)
The “David-like king” (Hos. 3:5; Matt. 1:1; Rom. 1:3; Rev. 19:16)

සවන් දෙන්න Hosea Hosea