Mar 12, 20 the concept of love is an important theme in the book of hosea. The book of amos is the third of the twelve minor prophets in the tanakhold testament and the second in the greek septuagint tradition. God ordered hosea to marry an adulterous wife, gomer, and their three children were each given a symbolic name representing part of the ominous message. Needless to say, more space is given to the longer books hosea covers approximately 220 pages of text versus just 21 for obadiah, but none receives short shrift.
The dire consequences of sinning against yahweh became a major theme of the. Hosea means salvation and this is what the lord offered to israel if they would turn from their idolatry or adultery. Set around the fall of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of hosea denounces the worship of gods other than yahweh. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets set around the fall of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of hosea denounces the worship of gods other than jehovah, metaphorically comparing israels abandonment of jehovah to a. The book of hosea was likely written between 755 and 725 b. At the point of writing this book, it is already too late, and the nation can do nothing to stay the wrath of god against them. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government.
After two centuries of abandoning their heritage, god sent hosea to present his indictment and declare that he would use their enemies as his judgment. The global message of hosea hosea in redemptive history. A number of accusations are made of israel by god in hosea including idolatory throughout the book, the people are shown to have ignored the command of exclusive worship of god, for example in. Hosea is the first of the 12 minor prophets called minor not because they are of less importance, but because the books are shorter. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, was active c. Theme verse of hosea then the lord said to me, go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the lord loves the sons of israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes. In johns gospel, that statement leads to the incarnation. The book of hosea, the first of the canonical twelve minor prophets, was written by hosea whose name means salvation, the text is quite corrupt and contains difficult problems of interpretation. The main theme within hosea is of gods judgement of a people who have abandoned him, yet his plan to forgive and restore them despite this. A number of other themes recur throughout the book. As noted under themes, hosea has much to say concerning genuine repentance and gods forgiveness as well e. Hoseas book is the first of the minor prophetsthe last 12 books of the old testament. For those wanting to dig deeper into bible book paragraph summary themes go here.
Hosea was instructed by god to marry a certain woman, and experience with her a domestic life which was a dramatization of the sin and unfaithfulness of israel. These messages came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. Yahwehs compassion for israel, however, is generally the dominant theme. The book of hosea written hundreds of years before daniel and is addressed to the northern kingdom of israel. There are several themes in the book of hosea and i will discuss what i think to be the main one, there is absolutely nothing we can do which will separate us from gods love and compassion.
The unfaithful wife and the faithful husband hosea. The lord has yoked himself to israel in the most intimate way, likened to the most profound of human relationships. The meaning of his name, salvation, is the same as that of joshua cf. He heals us with his love, as hosea says i led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. Hoseas primary audience was ephraim another name for the northern kingdom, israel, which is mentioned 35 times in the book. Despite the fact that he has tackled five books that have divergent although not entirely unrelated themes and different settings, stuart has provided us with commentaries on each of these books that are insightful and scholarly. Part i the book hosea was written between 790 and 710 bc by the prophet hosea. Hosea summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of hosea for bible study or sunday school lessons. The book of hosea is a collection of prophetic messages delivered by the prophet hosea and narrative descriptions of hosea s marriage and the birth of his children 1. Hosea 1 niv the word of the lord that came to hosea. One particularly poignant way in which these salvation themes are seen in hosea involves the covenant between god and israel initiated at sinai being treated as a marriage. That is restored under the rule of christ for he is the son of david, the messiah.
Perhaps all of these criteria should be used in determining the major motifs of hosea. The primary theme of the book of hosea is that god. There is no other biblical information about hosea or his family apart from this book. When the lord first spoke through hosea, the lord said to hosea, go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the lord. God sent him to condemn the peoples sin and call them back to the true god. For example, god is portrayed as a jealous husband 2. They are called minor prophets not because their material is less important or insignificant, but because of the size of the book they wrote was shorter in length. Amos lived in the kingdom of judah but preached in the northern kingdom of. Instead of keeping her covenant vow of exclusive love towards her first husband, yahweh, the one true god hos 2. In ancient hebrew manuscripts the collection of the minor prophets was written on one scroll, called the book of the twelve.
The lord has yoked himself to israel in the most intimate way, likened to the most. Repentance, therefore, becomes a prominent theme in hosea e. The nelsons illustrated bible dictionary gives the following outline of the book. While the northern kingdom prospers monetarily its morals and spiritual condition is sacrificed. The second main portion of the book is often viewed as an unstructured or loosely structured succession of repetitive discourses, with law and gospel alternating. The book of hosea is the first of the 12 books of minor prophets. Because hosea describes god s relationship with his people in terms of marriage, we learn of the significance god attaches both to the institution of marriage as well as to the churchs relationship to god. Overview of the book of hosea third millennium ministries. First, the theme of israels impending judgment at the hands of the assyrians anticipated the judgment that would and. The word of the lord that came to hosea son of beeri during the reigns of uzziah, jotham, ahaz and hezekiah, kings of judah, and during the reign of jeroboam son of jehoash king of israel. The global message of hosea for today the book of hosea is rich in relevance for the church today.
Jan 01, 2011 the book of hosea when solomon died, jeroboam rebelled and plunged the northern kingdom into a prosperous but idolatrous separation. One of israels problems was that her love had been misdirected. Nov 01, 20 hoseas book is the first of the minor prophetsthe last 12 books of the old testament. The prophets name means salvation, likely a reference to hoseas position in israel as a beacon of hope to those who would repent and turn to god because of his message. Hosea with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Hosea began his mission in a period of prosperity, the last years of jeroboam ii 783743 b.
God commands hosea to marry a prostitute named gomer to make an example where hosea represents a faithful god while gomer represents unfaithful israel and adultery equals idolatry. The name hosea means he has helped or he has saved. Essay on summary of the book of hosea 541 words bartleby. Admittedly the selection of the major motifs of any book is highly subjective. What follows is an attempt to capture these themes its simplest form. The book of hosea is a narrative history and prophetic oracle. The lord made hoseas family into a living example of gods relationship to israel. The book of hosea niv audio holy bible high quality and best speed book 28 duration. Each session starts with a warm up question or activity and then aims to get everyone all participants to engage with the biblical text each session focuses on 1 or 2 chapters of amos so encourage everyone involved to make sure they bring their bibles or provide them. Chapter 14 closes with an appeal to true repentance.
This book is all about relationship gods relationship with his people which is falling apart owing to their adulterous behaviour. The book of hosea depicts gods relationship with his people through a metaphor that occurs throughout the bible, though nowhere as strongly and pervasively as in hosea. First, that god suffers exceedingly because of human rebellion against him. In the book of hosea, god sends hosea to israel during king jeroboam iis reign to admonish. The first part of the book narrates the family life of hosea as a symbol similar to the symbolism in the lives of isaiah, jeremiah and ezekiel to convey the message the prophet had from the lord for his people. Most of hoseas messages are announcements of gods anger with israel the northern of the two israelite kingdoms and gods impending. Gods love for israel, a nation of people more interested in themselves than in gods direction for their lives, shines through clearly against the darkness of their idolatry and injustice hosea 14. When this is true it all too easily leads to compromise, selfish ambition, and lack of integrity in ones personal activities and dealings. Hosea son of beeri prophesied about the middle of the eighth century b. Title the title is derived from the main character and author of the book. Gods unending love for an unfaithful people overviewbible. Jesus came as israels representative, and in his death he became the one who bore the curse of the covenant gal.
By them hosea expresses his deep woe over israels condition. Hosea was instructed by god to marry a certain woman and experience with her a domestic life which was a dramatization of the sin and unfaithfulness of israel. Each book has a major theme that emphasizes an aspect of gods character or a way he is working to carry out his perfect plan. Say what one will about hosea, he sure knows how to get folks attention. Still, we commonly hear scholars refer to the book as very difficult to outline in detail and notoriously difficult to analyze.
Hosea is a book telling of the judgment that is to come against them as a nation, and what is required of them to come back to god. The second part of the book contains longish lamentations of hosea. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Two major divisions in the book are recognized by nearly all.
Hosea revealed little about his background, though his book of prophecy offers a few glimpses into his life. Themes in isaiah include the salvation of a remnant, israels election to a mission and an eschatology that centers around a messiah anointed king of the house of david. The motifs chosen will depend largely on the interests and background of the selector. Theological theme and message 1 3 narrates the family life of hosea as a symbol similar to the symbolism in the lives of isaiah, jeremiah and ezekiel to convey the message the prophet had from the lord for his people. Scholars assume he lived in samaria, capital of the northern kingdom. There is nothing we can do which will separate us from gods compassion and love i certify that i am the author of this work and that any assistance i received in its preparation is fully acknowledged. If this becomes characteristic of society at large, dishonesty and corruption become endemic. Summary the book of hosea is a collection of prophetic messages delivered by the prophet hosea and narrative descriptions of hoseas marriage and the birth of his children 1. The second half of the lecture shifts to isaiah and his emphasis on the davidic covenant, rather than the mosaic one, a key distinction between him and hosea.
The theme of love in the book of hosea berith road. Hosea accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god, and warns them of the tragic consequences to follow. Indeed, the marriage theme is a prominent one not only in chapters but in various places in hoseas prophecy. Structured around five cycles of judgment and restoration, the book of hosea makes clear its repetitious theme. Abstract the book of hosea portrays the dangers of the observance of religious ceremony without genuine devotion and commitment to the lord. Powerful love overcomes rebellion in the book of hosea. Each blessing or curse is based upon a corresponding type in the mosaic law. May 02, 2020 hosea is the only prophet of israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life.
At the same time he shows the future ways of god with his people. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets. Throughout the book, the prophet speaks to the people of israel about the critical situation that developed during the. The concept of love is an important theme in the book of hosea.
Hoseas wife and children when the lord began to speak through hosea, the lord said to him, go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of. We find a hidden reference to the incarnation in the name of this prophet. Check out the verses that open his book after the scenesetting intro. This analogy sees all the indictments of israels idolatry as spiritual adultery. The introductory material to each of these prophets is enlightening, and while not extremely detailed, provides the reader with a decent amount of background material. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. Hosea, the son of beeri, prophesied for quite some time, from 785 to 725 b. Set around the fall of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of hosea denounces the worship of gods other than jehovah, metaphorically comparing israels abandonment of jehovah to a woman being unfaithful to her husband.
This summary of the book of hosea provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of hosea. The story is about the relationship between hosea and his wife, gomer, and how their lives parallel. Book of hosea overview insight for living ministries. Hoseas message was primarily for the northern kingdom of israel. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Hosea is the first book in the sections of minor prophets. Introduction and key themes of the amos course how does the course work. The northern kingdom of israel enjoyed moderate success from conquering neighboring kingdoms, but they were spiritually bankrupt on the inside. The marital life of hosea and his wife, gomer, provide the rich metaphor which clarifies the themes of the book.
He heals us with his love, as hosea says i led them with. These 12 books are called minor prophets not because their message is less important but because they are so much shorter than the previous five books. Themes of bible books simplified in one or two sentences. Israel is the lords bride, but israel has instead joined itself to. Chapters deal with hoseas marriage to faithless gomer while chapters 414 present hoseas message to faithless israel. Hoseajonah, volume 31 word biblical commentary douglas stuart. Hoseas name means salvation and he pictures christ as the healer of he backslider.
Israel is the lords bride, but israel has instead joined itself to baal, the false god worshiped in syriapalestine. Its fourteen chapters contain both a warning concerning future events and an interpretation of these events meanings. Introduction three major themes are reflected in the book of hosea. The most prominent concept in the early part of the book of hosea is harlotry. He speaks of hope for the children of israel when they will be restored to a kingdom under the house of david. These redemptive themes in hoseas prophecy are supremely fulfilled in jesus christ. The book contains a series of blessings and curses announced for israel by god through hosea. Intro to hosea biblica the international bible society. Like the book of amos, the book of hosea is addressed to the people of the northern kingdom israel. The major themes of hoseas message are sin, judgment, and salvation. When god had a message for the people, he gave his message through the prophets. Amos, an older contemporary of hosea and isaiah, 2 was active c. The book of hosea hosea theme there is nothing we can do.