Gomer leaves hosea for other men plural and even bears the illegitimate children of her lovers 3. Hosea, a prophet from the northern kingdom, preached in his homeland, which he addresses as israel, jacob or, frequently, ephraim. Highlights from the book of hosea watchtower online library. The marital life of hosea and his wife, gomer, provide the rich metaphor which clarifies the themes of the book. Everything points to this books having been produced in the kingdom of israel and redacted, after the fall of that state, in judah. He heals us with his love, as hosea says i led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. Israel is the lords bride, but israel has instead joined itself to baal, the false god worshiped in syriapalestine.
And, god uses the story of hosea and gomer s marriage to show that gods people have done the same to him. Jan 02, 2020 hosea is the only prophet of israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life. Therefore the necessity existed the the are teachings lessons. Scholars assume he lived in samaria, capital of the northern kingdom. The incredible scandal of gods perfect love found in hosea. Hosea, the son of beeri, prophesied for quite some time, from 785 to 725 b. Throughout the book, the prophet speaks to the people of israel about the critical situation that developed during the. Essay on summary of the book of hosea 541 words 3 pages in this book, there is an ongoing story of adultery, fornication, and betrayal between god and israel portrayed through the relationship between the prophet hosea, and his wife gomer. Hoseas primary audience was ephraim another name for the northern kingdom, israel, which is mentioned 35 times in the book. Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophets name would be joseph in english. We are currently reading from the book of the prophet hosea at daily mass. 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. Its fourteen chapters contain both a warning concerning future events and an interpretation of these events meanings.
Why did god tell hosea to marry a prostitute hosea 1. We do well to recall the story, especially given the continue reading the story of hosea and what it teaches about god and holy matrimony. Redeeming love is one of those mustread romances worth reading at least once there are two versions of redeeming love. Preface vi mind that it is quite possible to do over again, some of the work of scripture commentators and interpreters, and be at the same time, in perfect harmony with the bible. Hosea chapter 1 kjv king james version 1 the word of the lord that came unto hosea, the son of beeri, in the days of uzziah, jotham, ahaz, and hezekiah, kings of judah, and in the days of jeroboam the son of joash, king of israel. The book of hosea is a deeply personal and passionate love story, yet its a difficult story. The book of hosea is a narrative history and prophetic oracle. His prophetic style is so elevated that it is often difficult to distinguish between his prose and poetry. The book of hosea stands first in the order of the socalled minor prophets in common english bibles, as well as in the ancient hebrew and septuagint texts. 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. Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. Hosea with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The book of hosea stands first in the division of the bible called the book of the twelve in the apocrypha cf. The book reveals the personality of the prophet, an emotional man who in a moment could swing from violent anger to the deepest tenderness.
The book of hosea was written in the northern kingdom of israel in the eighth century bc, during the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc. Book of hosea overview insight for living ministries. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. The eventual reconciliation of hosea and gomer is treated as a hopeful metaphor for the eventual reconciliation between yahweh and israel. Ireland ur of the chaldeas wilkes free ebook download as pdf file. Hosea s book is the first of the minor prophetsthe last 12 books of the old testament. The story of the prophet hoseas troubled marriage is a powerful testimony to two things. Boda, mcmaster divinity college mcmaster universitythe book of hosea is pound for pound as difficult a prophetic book as one can find in the bible, so we appreciate the work of j. Like amos, hosea was a prophet who was active in the northern kingdom of israel hosea also refers to israel as ephraim and samaria. Hoseas name means salvation and he pictures christ as the healer of he backslider. Gomer gomer was the wife of the prophet hosea 8th century bc, mentioned in the hebrew bibles book of hosea. Hosea is the first book in the sections of minor prophets. Essay on summary of the book of hosea 541 words bartleby. Only one who knows the love and forgiveness of god can ever love this perfectly.
Mar 18, 2020 book of hosea bible survey what are the major prophets and minor prophets. And like the book of amos, the book of hosea somehow made its way south to jerusalem where it was copied, edited, and preserved to serve as gods word for future generations. Hosea began his mission in a period of prosperity, the last years of jeroboam ii 783743 b. While chapters describe gomer s unfaithfulness to hosea, chapters 414 describes israels unfaithfulness to god. Box 551, greenville, alabama 36037 usa hosea, a prophet with an unfaithful wife hosea one in our bible the books of hosea through malachi are called minor prophets. For instance, the sites of the principal countries, cities, and places mentioned in that book, are by their own confession, up to the present, unascertained. For hosea this is the young lion in the house of judah.
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. From the book of hosea kindle edition by campbell, geri. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Hoseas love for gomer is only a picture of gods love for israel, because all the while that israel was unfaithful to god, he was providing for them, and they took his blessings and used them for their idol worship. According to the superscription, hosea began his prophetic activity during the reign of jeroboam ii c. Therefore the necessity existed for reconsidering the. There is no other biblical information about hosea or his family apart from this book. As an account full of harsh judgment unfolds, we find in its midst a rare and pure gem. Book of hosea, also spelled osee, the first of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, considered as one book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. The second part of the book contains longish lamentations of hosea.
Not only does the book of hosea provide an example of gods love to a people who have left god behind, but it also shows us what forgiveness and restoration look like in a close relationship. But of course the real story of this book isnt the story of hosea and gomer, its the story of god and israel. Hosea was a young preacher in the nation of israel, the northern kingdom, and he was a. When god had a message for the people, he gave his message through the prophets. Chapter 14 closes with an appeal to true repentance. Each blessing or curse is based upon a corresponding type in the mosaic law. Jerome specified that one of the divisions of the jews sacred books was the book of the twelve prophets, which evidently included the book of hosea to fill out the number 12. What follows is a period of unrest and political instability. Israel in a later time, paid tribute to shalmaneser to postpone the inevitable. In johns gospel, that statement leads to the incarnation. The story of gomer has been performed across the nation, reaching thousands of people with the message of gods faithfulness and love. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. The book contains a series of blessings and curses announced for israel by god through hosea. 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. The book of hosea illustrates that no one is beyond the offer of our forgiveness because no one sits outside gods offer of forgiveness. How are people destroyed from a lack of knowledge hosea 4. The book of hosea was likely written between 755 and 725 b. Adapted from the book of hosea in the bible, we journey with gomer, a harlot lost in her sin until hosea, a prophet of god, offers to marry her and redeem her life from darkness. The book of hosea is the written record of the prophecies that ho sea son of beeri1, gave to the nation of israel in the eighth century b. As a result, the english translations of the book sometimes offer very different readings of the same passage. At the same time he shows the future ways of god with his people. And his name is related to the name joshua, which means salvation. The answer was right there in gods instructions to hosea, even as the lord loves. The book of hosea is one of the most beautiful and confusing books you will ever read the story of hosea and his wife will shock you and warm your heart the story of israel and god in the book of hosea will frustrate you and then fill you with hope you will discover that the book of hosea is the story of god and israel, hosea and. The name hosea means he has helped or he has saved.
Knowledge is the most powerful tool and half of the battle. Andersen and freedman conclude that chapters are basically written in prose narrative, while chapters 414 are typical of poetry. According to the book s narrative, the relationship between hosea and his unfaithful wife gomer is comparable to the relationship between yahweh and his unfaithful people israel. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the story of gomer. It is hoseas personal account of his prophetic messages to the children of god and to the world. Redeeming love by francine rivers goodreads share book. Top 5 commentaries on the book of hosea ligonier ministries. Like the book of amos, the book of hosea is addressed to the people of the northern kingdom israel. Gomer was still beloved of hosea even though she was an adulteress, and god wanted him to seek her out and prove his love to her. Under the rulership of jeroboam ii, there is material prosperity in israel, but that wanes soon after his death. The 1997 version is basically the same as the original, but was edited to remove any descriptions of the love scenes and any coarse language to make it suitable for the christian. The hebrew of the book of hosea is challenging to translate, possibly because the text is corrupt or because it is written in a nonstandard dialect of hebrew. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets. True worship has all but disappeared from the northern tentribe kingdom of israel.
We find a hidden reference to the incarnation in the name of this prophet. Hosea delivers a plea to israel and a complaint against her 6. Dearman captures well the metaphorical theology of hosea. Hosea, an oldtestament prophet, preached his own life message using his marriage as the sermon illustration. Hosea, book of, the first of the 12 books that make up the minor prophets. These messages came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like.
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