Hosea

The first minor prophet, Hosea, writes about God’s relentless, covenant-keeping love for His unfaithful people.

Hosea writes his book in three sections.

Part one is about Hosea’s troubled marriage, which is a picture of God’s troubled relationship with His unfaithful people.

Part two is a series of prophecies about Israel’s guilt and the punishment God will inflict.

Part three is a prophecy about the eventual restoration, because God is determined to bring His people back.

Part One – Hosea’s Troubled Marriage

God had a troubled marriage. He had figuratively married Israel. But Israel was unfaithful, repeatedly abandoning her husband and returning to old evil ways. And God was heartbroken.

Young Hosea, who was perhaps studying to be a prophet, was in love with a woman named Gomer. He talked to God about it. And the first time God spoke to Hosea, it was about that question.

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife inclined to infidelity, and children of infidelity; for the land commits flagrant infidelity, abandoning the Lord.” – Hosea 1:2

“Go ahead and marry her,” God told Hosea. “But she is going to be unfaithful, and it is going to break your heart.”

The next topic in the Bible is Hosea’s children. But let us skip ahead to one particular break in the marriage. We will return to the children.

Gomer had left Hosea. He was alone, beside himself, brokenhearted, as God had told him would happen. Finally, God spoke again to Hosea.

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet is committing adultery, as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes [eaten in rituals to idols].” – Hosea 3:1

Faithful Hosea did what God said. If there were children by then, he left them with family. He began asking around until finally he found her.

And she wanted to go with him; her life was better back then. But she couldn’t. In her hard times she had incurred some debt, and couldn’t leave until it was paid.

So I purchased her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and a [certain amount] of barley. – Hosea 3:2

Hosea paid her debt, a picture of the way God paid the sin debt we couldn’t pay.

And they came home together.

The next verse may imply their relationship was faithful after that. But to my reading, as with some Bible translations, it instead implies a platonic relationship, until they can rebuild trust.

And I said to her, “You must remain as mine for many days; you shall not play the whore, you shall not have intercourse with a man, nor I with you.” – Hosea 3:3 (New Revised Standard)

That only partly-restored relationship was a symbol of a future time when Israel would have a less than marital connection with God.

For the sons of Israel will live for many days without a king or leader, without sacrifice or memorial stone, and without ephod [worn by prophets] or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days. – Hosea 3:4

Hosea’s Children

Returning now to Hosea’s children …

Each child was used by God to represent something about Israel’s broken marriage with God.

So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in just a little while I will punish the house of [the late King] Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.” – Hosea 1:3-5

Jezreel was a place in Israel. The name choice was like an American naming a child Austin or Virginia, American places. God had called Jehu to become King and to end the evil reign of King Ahab. Jehu did so, killing Ahab near his Jezreel palace. But he went beyond his commission, shedding much blood.

Unjust bloodshed was a habit in Israel, and God was heartbroken and angry over it.

The next child was also symbolic.

Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer take pity on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them. But I will take pity on the house of Judah and save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.” – Hosea 1:6-7

Lo-ruhamah means “not loved”. Yes, that was this poor girl’s name.

Her name was a symbol that God was removing His love for His people. Judgment was coming, and there would be no escape for the northern kingdom of Israel; though God did rescue the southern kingdom of Judah, since their unfaithfulness was interrupted many times by revivals.

When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi, because you are not My people, and I am not your God.” – Hosea 1:8-9

Lo-ammi means “not my child”. Yes again; imagine!

But recall that the child’s mother, Gomer, was habitually unfaithful. Hosea must have known he was not the father.

And his name was a symbol that God would no longer be a loving Father for Israel. They were not His child.

Yet in spite of this brokenness, God would remain faithful to Israel. He promised He would one day restore them.

Yet the number of the sons of Israel
Will be like the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or counted;
And in the place
Where it is said to them,
“You are not My people,”
It will be said to them,
“You are the sons of the living God.”

– Hosea 1:10

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

God loved Israel in spite of her unfaithfulness. And unfaithful she was.

Say to your brothers, “Ammi,” [“my child”] and to your sisters, “Ruhamah.” [“loved”]
“Dispute with your mother, dispute,
Because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband;
But she must remove her infidelity from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts”

– Hosea 2:1-2

Israel pursued whatever they wanted, without regard to who it hurt.

“For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’”

– Hosea 2:5b

God would punish the unfaithfulness, in hope Israel would return to Him.

“And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
And she will seek them, but will not find them.
Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband,
Because it was better for me then than now!’”

– Hosea 2:7

… just as Gomer had gone back to Hosea.

Israel didn’t stop to think that, as their covenant with God promised, He was the source of their prosperity.

“Yet she does not know that it was I myself who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
And lavished on her silver and gold,
Which they used for Baal [an idol]”

– Hosea 2:8

So God was going to punish their wickedness.

“Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time
And My new wine in its season.
I will also take away My wool and My flax
That I gave to cover her nakedness.
So now I will uncover her lewdness
Before the eyes of her lovers,
And no one will rescue her from My hand …
I will punish her for the days of the Baals
When she used to offer sacrifices to them
And adorn herself with her nose ring and jewelry,
And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the Lord.

– Hosea 2:9-10, 13

But the goal of the punishment was always restoration.

“Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade her,
Bring her into the wilderness,
And speak kindly to her.
Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she went up from [slavery in] the land of Egypt.”

– Hosea 2:14-15

God would do whatever it takes to make this broken marriage work.

“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In favor and in compassion,
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.”

– Hosea 2:19-20

The hoped-for end is a fully restored marriage.

“I will sow her for Myself in the land.
I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion,
And I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they will say, ‘You are my God!’¹”

– Hosea 2:23

Part Two – Prophecies of Guilt and Judgment

The largest part of Hosea’s book is a sundry collection of prophecies. They are poetic, though perhaps not quite poems.

Hosea starts with a quick prophecy that contains a summary of this entire section.

Listen to the word of the Lord, you sons of Israel,
Because the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land,
For there is no faithfulness, nor loyalty,
Nor knowledge of God in the land.
There is oath-taking [i.e., broken promises], denial, murder, stealing, and adultery.
They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed [blood feuds].

– Hosea 4:1-2

Because of that, the people lack what they need, and nature itself flees.

Therefore the land mourns,
And everyone who lives in it languishes
Along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky,
And even the fish of the sea disappear.

– Hosea 4:3

But it isn’t possible to correct these people; they aren’t open to it. Part of a priest’s job, in theory, was to tell people of their sins and urge them to change their ways. But some people would argue with the priest and continue their sinful ways.

Yet let no one find fault, and let no one rebuke;
For your people are like those who contend with a priest.

– Hosea 4:4

And because of their refusal to learn or change, they are in danger.

So you will stumble by day,
And the prophet also will stumble with you by night;
And I will destroy your mother.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Since you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being My priest.

– Hosea 4:5-6a

The people don’t just do evil things; they love doing evil.

They feed on the sin of My people,
And long for their wrongdoing.

– Hosea 4:8

Their evil habits cloud their view of right and wrong.

Infidelity, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.

– Hosea 4:11

People wish God would punish someone else’s sins, all the while loving their own similar sins.

I will not punish your daughters when they play the prostitute,
Or your brides when they commit adultery,
Because the men themselves slip away with the prostitutes
And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes;
So the people without understanding are ruined.

– Hosea 4:14

Should God offer his support to people who repeatedly do evil and refuse to change?

Since Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn cow,
Will the Lord now pasture them
Like a lamb in a large field?

– Hosea 4:16

No, He won’t.

The wind wraps them in its wings,
And they will be put to shame because of their sacrifices [to idols].

– Hosea 4:19

Consequences are coming.

Ephraim [one of Israel’s tribes] will become a desolation in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is trustworthy.

– Hosea 5:9

The hard times to come are because of their determination to do evil.

Ephraim is oppressed, broken by judgment,
Because he was determined to follow man’s command.

– Hosea 5:11

Israel had already fallen far from their glory days, and were small and troubled in Hosea’s day. The people admired the Assyrian Empire, the rising power in the east.

Ephraim then went to Assyria
And sent word to King Jareb.
But he is unable to heal you,
Or to cure you of your sore.

– Hosea 5:13b

God will judge Israel, waiting for them to turn from their evil.

For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, yes I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be no one to rescue.
I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their distress they will search for Me.

– Hosea 5:14-15

At one point the people did turn to God.

“Come, let’s return to the Lord.
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.”

– Hosea 6:1

But God could see through their pretense. It was a foxhole conversion, with no commitment to it.

What shall I do with you, Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, Judah?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud,
And like the dew which goes away early.

– Hosea 6:4

Their religious practices, lacking any effort to learn and do what is right, did not impress God.

For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings².

– Hosea 6:6

Deeply loving His people, God wanted to intervene; but their evil deeds wouldn’t allow it.

When I [wanted to] heal Israel,
The wrongdoing of Ephraim is uncovered …
And they do not consider in their hearts
That I remember all their wickedness.

– Hosea 7:1a, 2a

Israel had been battered by nearby and distant nations, but didn’t understand this happened because of their unfaithfulness.

Ephraim is himself thrown about with the nations;
Ephraim has become a round loaf not turned over [bread untended in the oven and ruined].
Strangers devour his strength,
Yet he does not know it;
Gray hairs also are sprinkled on him,
Yet he does not know it.

– Hosea 7:8-9

God will gladly accept their repentance, but they refuse.

Though the pride of Israel [God] testifies against him,
Yet they have not returned to the Lord their God,
Nor have they sought Him, despite all this.

– Hosea 7:10

Abandoning God always leads to ruin. God waits for their repentance, but they slander Him.

Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me!
Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me!
I would redeem them, but they have spoken lies against Me.
And they do not cry to Me from their heart
When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves [they only go to religious services for the good meals],
They turn against Me.
Although I trained and strengthened their arms [defended them when they were faithful],
Yet they devise evil against Me.

– Hosea 7:13-15

At a time of military crisis, a trumpet would sound the alarm.

Put the trumpet to your lips!
Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the Lord,
Because they have violated My covenant
And rebelled against My Law.

– Hosea 8:1

Israel believes because they are God’s chosen people, He will protect them. But they have rejected God.

They cry out to Me,
“My God, we of Israel know You!”
Israel has rejected the good;
The enemy will pursue him.

– Hosea 8:2-3

Among the false religions favored in Israel, the golden calf cult was prominent. Calf idols and temples were set up in several cities, including the capital, Samaria.

He has rejected your calf, Samaria, saying,
“My anger burns against them!”

– Hosea 8:5a

The impotent calf idol will be destroyed because of the sin it promotes.

A craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.
For they sow wind
And they harvest a storm.

– Hosea 8:6b-7a

Not long after Hosea’s prophecies, in a time of military crisis, Israel reached out to Assyria, rather than God, for help. But it came at a great cost³.

For they have gone up to Assyria,
Like a wild donkey all alone;
Ephraim has paid fees for lovers.
Even though they pay for allies among the nations,
I will gather them up now;
And they will begin to diminish

– Hosea 8:9-10a

Israel’s wealth and fortifications would not protect them; God’s judgment would surely come.

For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces;
And Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
But I will send a fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.

– Hosea 8:14

Things may seem to be OK in the moment; but as sin builds up, so does judgment.

Do not rejoice, Israel, with jubilation like the nations!
For you have been unfaithful, abandoning your God.
You have loved the earnings of unfaithfulness on every threshing floor.

– Hosea 9:1

The threshing floor was where the harvest was processed. The harvest was always accompanied by celebration, because it foretold survival through the winter. But Israel’s celebrations, rather than being times of thanksgiving, were unholy parties of excess and abuse. And so the bounty would not continue.

Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them,
And the new wine will fail them.
They will not remain in the Lord’s land,
But Ephraim will return to Egypt [i.e., slavery],
And in Assyria [where they were later taken prisoner] they will eat unclean [foreign] food.

– Hosea 9:2-3

The time for consequences had come.

The days of punishment have come,
The days of retribution have come;
Let Israel know this!
The prophet is [treated like] a fool,
The inspired person is [thought] insane,
Because of the grossness of your wrongdoing,
And because your hostility is so great.

– Hosea 9:7

In those days children were highly valued; everyone wanted children. This was one of the blessings God would remove because of their apostasy.

As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird—
No birth, no pregnancy, and no conception!
Though they bring up their children,
Yet I will bereave them of their children until not a person is left.
Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
Ephraim, as I have seen,
Is planted in a pasture like Tyre;
But Ephraim is going to bring out his children for slaughter.
Give to them, Lord—what will You give?
Give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.

– Hosea 9:11-14

Faithfulness to God had resulted in prosperity. But prosperity had led to apostasy.

Israel is a luxuriant vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars [for idol worship] he made;
The richer his land,
The better he made the memorial stones.
Their heart is deceitful;
Now they must suffer for their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars [of idol worship]
And destroy their memorial stones.

– Hosea 10:1-2

Hosea writes many lines about God’s coming judgment, including

Also the high places [hilltop shrines of idol worship] of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”⁴

– Hosea 10:8

God reminds Israel of His long lasting love for them, going all the way back to when He rescued them from slavery in Egypt.

When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son⁵.

– Hosea 11:1

But after exiting Egypt, Israel abandoned God and refused to hear His prophets, turning instead to idols.

The more [the prophets] called them,
The more they went away from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to idols.

– Hosea 11:2

This was no minor backsliding, but a determined pattern.

So My people are determined to turn from Me.
Though [prophets] call [Israel] to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.

– Hosea 11:7

God is very reluctant to punish His people as severely as they deserve.

How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah [a town destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah]?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim [another town destroyed]?
My heart is turned over within Me,
All My compassions are kindled.

– Hosea 11:8

Yet Israel continues their selfish ways.

Ephraim surrounds Me with lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
Judah is still unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

– Hosea 11:12

Farther down, referring both to Israel’s determination to sin and God’s determination to restore them, he says:

Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol [i.e., hell]?
Shall I redeem them from death?
Death, where are your thorns?
Sheol, where is your sting?⁶
Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

– Hosea 13:14

Part Three – Prophecies of Restoration

In spite of Israel’s repeated betrayals, God continually calls His people to repent.

Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your wrongdoing.
Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “Take away all guilt
And receive us graciously,
So that we may present the fruit of our lips.”

– Hosea 14:1-2

If they will return to God …

I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely,
Because My anger has turned away from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the lily,
And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
His shoots will sprout,
His majesty will be like the olive tree,
And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
Those who live in his shadow
Will again raise grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

– Hosea 14:4-7

Let us turn from our evil practices, knowing the only good future is with God.

Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like a luxuriant juniper;
From Me comes your fruit.
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But wrongdoers will stumble in them.

– Hosea 14:8-9

Epilogue

God has always wanted a family. He has gone so many extra miles to make that happen.

Yet we whom He called have too often gone our own way, in violation of the covenant He made with us, and we with Him.

Still, His offer stands: if we will follow Him, He will lead us to wonderful places.