AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF HOSEA

Hosea is the first book in the Book of the Twelve Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The prophet proclaimed in Israel during the second half of the eight century B.C., beginning with the reign of Jeroboam II. He was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah in Judah and began his career shortly after Amos' brief one in Israel. Hosea foresaw Israel's exile to Assyria and actually witnessed some of it happen. He was the last prophet that God raised up in the nation of Israel to plead with the people to repent. Hosea's task was doubly sad, because, at God's direction, he took a wife (Gomer) who was just as unfaithful to him as Israel was to her God. The first three chapters relate the sordid details of their stormy marriage. Of the three children born while they were together, only one was Hosea's. Gomer left Hosea for other lovers but got herself into such trouble that she wanted to return home. In loving forgiveness, Hosea purchased her.

All of this was an object lesson to Israel, who had been just as faithless to God. The remainder of the book records Hosea's portrayal of their sins and the disastrous consequences. Through it all, God's love and compassion stand out to a remarkable extent. The picture of God in Hosea is that of a loving husband who yearns desperately to have a faithful wife. Israel, however, would have none of it, and the consequences of her sins had to play themselves out, although hope for the future is never lost.

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