Book Introduction

Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets.  They are considered minor for the brevity of prophecies, not because of importance.  Hosea prophesied to Israel in the eighth century BC (750-715BC) during the reigns of the four kings of Judah and Jeroboam II.  Israel was split into the Northern Kingdom and Judah during this time.  Hoseah’s prophecies were directed to the northern Kingdom of Israel just before the Assyrians conquered them.

Hosea means “salvation.”  It comes from the same Hebrew root as the names of Jesus and Joshua.  Hosea’s life and work will be spent preaching repentance and finding salvation in the Lord.

Hosea himself experienced firsthand the pain and fallout of a damaged relationship.  He felt the sting of betrayal from an unfaithful wife. He delivered his message with understanding and passion because he was living through it.  His life became a living message of God dealing with His adulterous people. Hosea teaches us several things about God's nature. 

1. God suffers when His people are unfaithful.
   1. He is a good Father who has gone to great lengths to draw us to him.
   2. His deep love causes a corresponding pain when the relationship with His children is broken or damaged.
2. God does not condone sin.
   1. While God is loving, He is also just.  He cannot and will not condone sin.
   2. By faith, God’s people can find forgiveness of sins
   3. God is long-suffering, holding back for a time the wrath that is deserved while correcting and guiding His people to Himself.
3. God will never cease to love us.
   1. God’s love never fails.
   2. He chastens and corrects.
   3. His anger is just and righteous.
   4. God’s love still hasn’t failed and never will.
4. He always seeks to win back those who forsake him.
   1. We run away, fall, and falter. We sin and find ourselves so far away from our heavenly Father.  How could he ever have us back?
   2. He not only allows us to come back, but He actively seeks to win back those who have forsaken Him. 

There are so many parallels between the culture of Hosea’s time and our culture. 

1. We have forgotten the things that made us great. 
2. We take our material wealth for granted as if we deserve it or earned it somehow. Yet, we see others in the world without the basic needs in life. We’ll do our part to help as long as it isn’t too inconvenient. 
3. The people who built this land were men who feared God.  They were men who were willing to die for their beliefs.  Our freedom has been preserved by those willing to lay down their life to preserve it.  Nowadays, we demand that the government fix it.  We throw money at problems or rewrite the rules so that it is no longer a problem.
   1. The slide continues - School test scores are low and trending down.  Biblical knowledge is in an even sadder state of decline.  Moral, ethical, and cultural boundaries have been lowered to accommodate sin. 

Hosea is quoted in the NT many times.