Hosea Presentation

Key verse

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD” (2:19,20)

Prophetic Books

• The prophetic books are divided into the minor prophets and the major prophets

• The minor prophetic books are also called The Twelve Books

• The book of Hosea is the first minor prophetic book

The man• Hosea = “Salvation”

• Very last great prophet of Northern Kingdom

• His wife(Gomer, Hos1:3) and children

The Date• His Prophecy was during the reigns of

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezkiah (Judah) Jeroboam II (Israel)

• The time of his ministry at 750-725 B.C.– (Fall of Israel : 722 B.C.)

• Younger than Amos (Israel) and older than Isaiah, Micah (Judah)

Background of the Times• Northern kingdom of Israel faces imminent

judgment- Sin was even more rampant than in Amos- Religious, moral, and political corruption was

rampant

• Israel had become a harlot

Key to Understanding the Book

Hosea’s adulteress wife, Gomer (Ch 1-3), serves as an analogy of the LORD’sexperience with Israel (Ch 4-14)

OUTLINE

I. Hosea’s life and the analogy with Israel (Ch 1-3)

II. God’s Indictment of Israel (Ch 4-7)

III. God’s Punishment of Israel (Ch 8-10)

IV. God’s Promise of Restoration (Ch 11-14)

I. Hosea’s life and the analogy with Israel (Ch 1-3)

• Hosea’s hard life (ch1-3)

• Israel’s rejection symbolized in the name of the children (1:1-1:9)

• Israel’s restoration foretold (1:10-2:1)

• Israel’s unfaithfulness depicted as harlotry (2:2-13)

• Israel restored and cured of Idolatry (2:14-23)

• Israel’s restoration symbolized as a harlot taken back as a wife again (3:1-5)

Hosea’s hard life (ch1-3)• Hosea’s Hard Life - God led him to harlot woman

“Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife..So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim..” (1:2,3)

- She left Hosea“I’ll go after my lovers,…” (2:5)

- God led him to take her back“Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites..” (3:1)

Israel’s rejection symbolized in the name of the children (1:1-1:9)

• Jezreel, a son, means “God scatters”“Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of

Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel” (1:4)

• Lo-Ruhamah, a daughter, means “No mercy”“Call her Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer show love to

the house of Israel, that I should at all forgive them” (1:6)

• Lo-Ammi, another son, means “Not my people”“Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not

your God.” (1:9)

“The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited, and they will appoint one leader and will come up out of the land..” (1:10)

Israel’s restoration foretold (1:10-2:1)

Israel’s unfaithfulness depicted as a harlotry (2:2-13)

“Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.’ (2:5)

“she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers, but me she forgot,” (2:13)

“She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold – which they used for Baal.”(2:8)

“I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their name be invoked.” ( 2:17)

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.” (2:19)

“I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.” (2:20)

Israel’s restored and cured of idolatry (2:14-23)

Israel’s restoration symbolized as a harlot taken back to be a wife (3:1-5)

“The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” (3;1)

II. God’s Indictment of Israel (4:1-7:16)

• The Charge Against Israel

a. Against the nation“..against you who live in the land: There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.” (4:1)

“my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (4:6)

b. Against the priests in particular“The more the priests increased, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their Glory for something disgraceful. They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.” (4:7,8)

c. The imminent sentence“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.” (5:14)

II. God’s Indictment of Israel (4:1-7:16) (cont.)

• Their Appeal Rejected

a. The call to repentance“Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” (6:3)

II. God’s Indictment of Israel (4:1-7:16) (cont.)

b. Rejected because of Israel’s true condition“..Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” (6:4)

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” (6;6)

II. God’s Indictment of Israel (4:1-7:16) (cont.)

III. God’s Punishment for Israel (8:1-10:15)

a. Warning of approaching judgment“Put the trumpet to your lips! An eagle is over the house of the LORD because the people have broken my covenant and rebelled against my law” (8:1)

“The days of punishment are coming, the days of reckoning are at hand. Let Israel know this. Because your sins are so many and your hostility so great, the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac.” (9:7)

b. Assyrian Captivity Foretold“They will not remain in the LORD’s land; Ephraim

will return Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.” (9:3)

c. Israel’s sin and captivity reiterated“But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped

evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors,” (10:13)

III. God’s Punishment for Israel (8:1-10:15) (cont.)

IV. God’s Promise of Restoration (11:1-14:9)

a. God’s love despite Israel’s rebellion“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son,” (11:1)

“It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them” (11:3)

“Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?” (11:5)

a. God’s love despite Israel’s rebellion (cont.)“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? Zeboiim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.” (11:8)

b. Israel’s rebellion and God’s chastisement“Ephraim has surrounded me with lies, the house of Israel with deceit…” (11:12)

IV. God’s Promise of Restoration (11:1-14:9) (cont.)

b. Israel’s rebellion and God’s chastisement (cont.)

“The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.” (12:2)

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt; I will make you live in tents again, as in the days of your appointed feasts.” (13:16)

IV. God’s Promise of Restoration (11:1-14:9) (cont.)

c. Israel’s restoration

“Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, …” (14:2,3)

IV. God’s Promise of Restoration (11:1-14:9) (cont.)

c. Israel’s restoration (cont.)

“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them.” (14:4)

“O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? I am like a green pine tree; your fruitfulness comes from me.” (14:8)

IV. God’s Promise of Restoration (11:1-14:9) (cont.)

Conclusion

“Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” (14:9)

What I learned.

• Like Israel, I have been richly blessed

• Like Israel, I am expected to remain faithful

• I checked myself by asking “Will God’s words be well known to me?”

• I checked myself by asking “Am I growing in the Knowledge of God and walking in the ways of the LORD?”

Q & A