Bible

In the Bible room today, we begin reading the twelve-book section of the Bible labeled by many as the ‘Minor Prophets’, so called because of their relatively short length compared to the writings of other prophets. The first of these books is Hosea, and we start here now with Session 1, the summaries of chapters 1 through 3.

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Hosea

Session 1 of 4

Introduction to Hosea:

Writer: Unknown.

Scope: Hosea prophesied to the people of Israel and Judah for nearly forty years. The book itself lists the names of the kings who were in power during this time. He was the only prophet to live in Samaria until it was captured by Assyria, ending the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

(Note: The list of the kings of Israel and Judah, with the dates, is included with the blog post of the summary of 2 Kings, Part 1.)

Chapter 1. Prostitute

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah in Judah; Jeroboam in Israel:

• The Lord speaks to Hosea during the reigns of five kings;
• Early on, the Lord tells Hosea to marry a prostitute;
• So, he marries one named Gomer, and she bears children;
• They name their first child Jezreel, a son;
• The kingdom of Israel will be defeated in the Valley of Jezreel;
• And this will be the end of the Northern Kingdom, Israel;
• Their next child is a daughter to be named Lo-Ruhamah;
• This will signify the end of the Lord’s mercy for Israel;
• But the Lord will save the kingdom of Judah;
• Their next child is a son, to be named Lo-Ammi, meaning:
• Israel is no longer the people of God;
• Yet, Israel shall become a nation that cannot be numbered;
• And someday Israel will be restored as the people of God;
• Judah and Israel will be reunited in the Valley of Jezreel;
• And they will be a great people with one leader.

Chapter 2. Mercy

Hosea is to declare to his people that mercy will be shown to them:

• Israel must be rid of the adulterous practices;
• Or the Lord says He will turn her into a dry wilderness;
• Israel continues to pursue unholy trading partners;
• But her illicit relationships will all fail;
• Like the prostitute, Israel says she will return to God;
• She does not know that God was her provision all along;
• But God will punish her for her behavior;
• She has run after her lovers, the Baal gods, in idolatry;
• God says He will allow her to fall, but not too far;
• A day is coming when Israel will return to worship God;
• She will forget the name of the Baal gods;
• In mercy, the Lord says He will take her back;
• At one time He had said Israel was not His people;
• But in mercy, He will reclaim them as His people;
• And they will say He is our God.

Chapter 3. Restored

The Lord tells Hosea to take his prostitute wife back into his home:

• To get her back, he buys her out of prostitution;
• She is the picture of Israel who has chased after other gods;
• Hosea tells her she must stay with him for many days;
• To be restored, she must not go back into prostitution;
• And he will be a faithful husband for her;
• For many days Israel will be without a leader or worship;
• Later on, they will return to the Lord as their leader.

End of Session 1 of 4 of the book of Hosea.