Hosea 2 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application

Hosea 2 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:

• THE ADULTERY OF GOMER AND ISRAEL (2:1-13):

  • Hosea tells his children to plead with their mother to stop committing adultery. Evidently, Gomer had taken up her sinful ways once again after her marriage to Hosea.

  • Gomer was a picture of the nation of Israel, and though wed to God through His covenant promises, they persisted in unfaithfulness to Him.

  • Hosea described Gomer and Israel’s actions as shameful, as actions that would bring curses on their families.

  • Israel thought its wealth and success were a result of their devotion to their idols (their lovers, 2:5). They rebelliously said, “I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.”

  • What Israel failed to realize was that those blessings were actually from God (her first husband, 2:8).

  • As punishment, God was going to take away His blessings and leave Israel exposed and helpless.

  • Israel would be given over to the power of the foreign nations, the joy and mirth they experienced at their idol feasts would be stripped away, and God promised to give their prosperity would be devoured by beasts.

  • Their worship of the idols known as “Baals” was especially detestable to God. He said, “I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot Me” (2:13).

• MERCY AFTER SIN (2:14-23):

  • The first part of the chapter is about God’s punishment, but the second part is about God’s mercy.

  • Though they didn’t deserve it, God reserved a future for His people’s descendants.

  • God would again speak “tenderly” to Israel, and Israel would acknowledge Him as “My Husband” (2:16).

  • God would make a covenant of peace with them, calling off the wild beasts and foreign armies from oppressing them.

  • God said, “I will betroth you to Me forever. I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord” (2:19-20).

  • God would once again permit nature, the heavens, and the earth to give their blessings to His people.

  • Jezreel would receive the blessing, No Mercy would receive mercy, and Not My People would be called the people of God.

APPLICATION:

• Many people don’t think generationally. They don’t give much thought to the way their life will impact their great-great-grandchildren, or whether their family line will continue as a positive/negative influence on the earth.

• But it’s clear from the Old Testament that that was an important consideration of many ancient people.

• It was also important to God, as we see in this chapter, and in His various generational promises and curses.

• Many men that we read about in the Old Testament would have been devastated to learn that shame or suffering or reproach was to be associated with their family name in the future.

• I think it would benefit our societies greatly if Christians thought generationally and consistently and actively audited their actions to maximize their reach into the future to impact it positively.

• Long-term foundation building is key to building the culture and the Church.

• Short-term self-centered single-generational thinking is a fast track to cultural and Christian decay.