Hosea 1 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Hosea 1 Bible Study
BRIEF SUMMARY OF HOSEA:
God’s prophet, Hosea, was sent to prophesy against the northern kingdom of Israel (often called Ephraim). The book portrays Israel’s love for idols and sin as adultery against her true husband, God. Hosea is told to reenact Israel’s unfaithfulness in his own life by marrying an unfaithful woman. Though largely about God’s judgement for sin, the book presents brief messages of hope pertaining to the future of God’s people.
TIMELINE:
The first verse of the book informs the reader that Hosea lived during the reigns of Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah, and the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel.
Uzziah’s (Azariah’s) reign began around 815 B.C.
Hezekiah’s reign ended sometimes around 695 B.C.
Jeroboam II reigned ended in the mid-700s B.C.
This puts Hosea’s prophetic work squarely in the 700s B.C. The text indicates he did most of his teaching prior to 721 B.C. That was the year God punished Israel by bringing the Assyrians against them and exiling them from the Promised Land.
OUTLINE:
HOSEA AND GOMER (1:1-9):
The Book of Hosea opens with these words, “The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri” (1:1).
God instructed Hosea to take a “wife of whoredom” and to have children with her. This was to be a picture of Israel’s unfaithfulness (whoredom) in their relationship to God.
Hosea married a woman named Gomer. Gomer was a defiled woman unworthy of the prophet. This was no doubt intentional, because God loved Israel even though the people of Israel were not worthy of Him.
Gomer and Hosea had a son, and God told Hosea to name him “Jezreel.”
Jezreel means “God will scatter,” and God promised to break the strength of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel and scatter Israel into exile amongst the foreign nations. God intended to “put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel” (1:4).
Hosea and his wife had another child, a daughter, and God told him to name her “No Mercy,” because God would have no mercy on the nation of Israel.
God stated that He would have mercy on Judah (the southern kingdom), but mercy would be withheld from Israel (the northern kingdom) because of the abundance of their sins.
Hosea and Gomer had another child, this time a boy, and God named him “Not My People,” because God was going to punish Israel and disown them.
A FUTURE HOPE (1:10-11):
Though Israel was to be punished, God was still going to keep His promises to Abraham (Gen 22:17) and make them into a great nation, with a population like the sand of the sea.
God was going to fulfill this promise even though the people of Israel and Judah didn’t deserve His blessing, it was purely grace.
The people of Judah and Israel would one day be united under one leader, and they would be known as the “Children of the Living God” (1:10-11).
APPLICATION:
God told Hosea to marry Gomer because her sexual past was distasteful.
There was shame associated with a person who slept with multiple individuals in such a casual or transactional way.
In many cultures, especially western cultures, there is currently a strong attempt to destigmatize those who have had multiple sexual partners, and it’s becoming more common for someone to have 10-20 partners before they ever consider marriage. Some in the culture want us to think that is normal and just as valid as the alternative.
We shouldn’t be destigmatizing that! There should be a righteous shame attached to living that kind of lifestyle. We should not be hesitant to contradict those who want to tone down the language of shame around sexual sin.
Now, of course, God’s grace can forgive a person and renew them (we see that in the Bible, even with prostitutes). But apart from that grace, Christians should not in any way be normalizing, compromising, or softening our language about shameful sexual behavior.
