Questions for Thought:
1. How did Jeroboam’s creation of different worship places contribute to the great sin of the Northern Kingdom?
2. How is worshipping idols like committing adultery?
3. After the way God had punished other people such as Sodom and Gomorrah, could He let Israel by with her sins? Why or why not?
Continuing to prophesy against the northern tribes of Israel and to a lesser extent, against Judah, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and Jeroboam king of Israel, we have the prophet, Hosea. Other than his father’s name found in Hosea 1:1, Beeri, we know very little about Hosea. Historians date the reign of the above-mentioned kings from around 793 to 697 BC. So, Hosea was most likely a prophet at the time of other prophets including Isaiah, Micah, and Amos. We have looked at Amos and will be looking at Isaiah and Micah in future blogs.
Remember when the twelve tribes divided, almost 200 years before Hosea’s prophecy, ten tribes remained together under King Jeroboam forming the Northern Kingdom and two tribes went with Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, forming what we refer to as Judah or the Southern Kingdom. God had appointed Jerusalem as the place of worship for all of Israel. To keep the people of the Northern Kingdom from going back to Jerusalem (located in the southern kingdom) to worship on the appointed days, Jeroboam set up two places of worship with golden calves. One place was in Bethel and the other in Dan. According to 1 Kings 12:30 this caused the people to sin. In addition, Jeroboam appointed men of the lowest people who were not of the right tribe, Levi, as priests.
The actions of Jeroboam which caused the people to cease worshipping God and to begin worshipping idols was held against Jeroboam. Not only did God condemn Jeroboam, but also the people. God accused them of apostasy or spiritual adultery. Adultery is when a married one has intimate relations with one to whom he or she is not married. To illustrate to the people what they had done in God’s eyes, God commanded Hosea to take unto himself a wife of whoredoms or harlotry because the land hath committed great whoredom in departing from the Lord (1:2).
There is disagreement among commentators as to whether this woman, Gomer, was already a harlot or would become one. Those in favor of her not being a harlot in the beginning believe as Israel was at first faithful to God, Gomer was at first faithful to Hosea. The first three chapters of Hosea provide the details of this marriage and show how it was the picture of Israel being unfaithful to God.
Gomer and Hosea had three children. As was common in Old Testament times, the names given to the children reflected something that was to come. God said to name the first child, a son, Jezreel, Hosea 1:4 “…for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.” The name Jezreel means “scattered by God” or “God sows” in the sese that God sows by scattering seeds. Thus in naming the son, Jezreel, herein was the prophecy the house of Israel would be scattered.
The next child, a girl, was to be named Loruhamah meaning “no mercy.” In Hosea 1:6 God explained the name. He said He would no more have mercy on the house of Israel, but in verse 7, He said He would continue to have mercy on the house of Judah, saving them not by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen but by the Lord their God. Interestingly, this prophecy was fulfilled when Sennacherib’s army came against King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18-19. Hezekiah sent to the prophet Isaiah to find help. God sent help in the form of an angel who slew 185,000 Assyrians.
The last child was another son. God said to call his name Loammi, meaning “not my people.” In verse 9, God explained Israel was no longer His people. But in verse 10, He gave a glimmer of hope in saying it would come to pass in the place where it was said, “Ye are not my people,” it would be said “Ye are the sons of the living God.” In verse 10 God also said “…the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered.” This is the same promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 22:17. This prophecy was fulfilled in the establishment of the church as quoted by Paul in Romans 9 where he shows how both Jew and Gentile make up the new Israel of God, the church.
In Hosea 2:1 we can see a continuation of this church prophecy. God said “Say unto your brethren, Ammi; and to your sisters, Ruhamah.” Notice the differences in these names and the previous ones given to the children. Now God is saying in this new Israel, they will call each other brothers and sisters and they will say “my people” (Ammi) and “mercy” (Ruhamah). Isn’t that a beautiful prophecy of the church. We call each other brother and sister and we call ourselves the children of God and we thank Him for His mercy.
In Hosea 2, we see just as Israel left God to serve idols, Gomer left Hosea and went after other lovers. Some commentators believe the wording of verse 2 indicates Hosea divorced Gomer just as God divorced Israel when they refused to come back to Him and serve him. Basically, she became a slave to the lovers. Then in chapter 3, God commanded Hosea to go love a woman, an adulteress. He was to love her according to the love the Lord had toward the children of Israel (verse 2). Hosea went and purchased Gomer back to him but she was not to play the harlot and he would have no relations with her. This was just like Israel who would have a period of time in which she would have no king, no religious service, and would not worship idols (verses2-4). Afterwards (verse 5) Israel would seek God in the latter days (beginning in Acts 2 when the church was established.) God would purchase her back but not as the old Israel. This would be a new Israel purchased by the blood of Christ.
Interestingly, Bible scholars have computed the total price Hosea paid to redeem Gomer to be 30 pieces of silver. This is the same price Judas received to betray the one whose blood purchased the church.
These first three chapters of Hosea show what a terrible state Israel was in. She had quit worshipping God and was serving idols. She had no care for God who continued to love her. At this point, God who is a God of mercy but a God of justice had no choice but to cause the house of Israel to cease (Hosea 1:4) just as He had caused Sodom and Gomorrah to cease due to their evils. As a God of justice, He will not allow sin to continue forever.
In chapters 4-12, God continues through Hosea to call to mind Israel’s many sins and violations of the covenant they had with God. God shows them their guilt and promises them punishment. In 4:1 God said there was no truth, mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. In verse 6 He said His people were destroyed for lack of knowledge. Is that any different than today? How many people truly have a Biblical knowledge of God? Why is that? Have we as families failed to teach our children? Have many churches gone to fun and games instead of true instruction in Christ?
In chapters 5 and 6 God extended the punishment to Judah. We know Judah survived around 100 years after Israel was overtaken, but Judah was also guilty of sins against God. In 5:13 Judah was included as not turning back to God when he saw his wound. Note in 6:2 we have a reference to Christ who was raised up on the third day. Christ would be their only hope just as He is our only hope.
Chapter 7 continues to show the condition Israel was in with her refusal to return to the Lord and her willful idolatry. The people who should have been leaders (7:3) were happy when the people were sinning. God called them what we today would call half-baked or in His words, “a cake not turned” in 7:8. Israel had been told by God not to mingle with the other nations around them but in 7:8-9 God said they had done just that.
In chapter 8 we have the condition of Israel described again. We see a people who have failed to keep their covenant with God. They had cast off the good (verse 3). They had set up unapproved kings and made themselves idols (verse 4). God said they had sown the wind and now they would reap the whirlwind (verse 7). God said He would not accept their sacrifices and He would remember their iniquities. They would again figuratively go into Egypt meaning they would again be in bondage.
God’s judgment (chapters 9-10) would be forthcoming. Their joy would cease (9:1), their food would fail (9:2), they would return to a bondage (9:3), they would not have acceptable offerings (9:4), their land would be with thorns and nettles (9:6), God would remember their sins and iniquities (9:9). God promised them a judgment to come in which they would be childless and be driven out of His house. There would be tumult among the people and their fortresses would be plundered (10:14).
In chapter 11, we have God reminiscing about how He used to love Israel. He mentioned how He called them out of Egypt, how He taught them, how He fed them, and how they responded to Him. They sacrificed to Baalim, burned incense to graven images, and seemed to not even know it was God who was taking care of them. He said (verse 7) they were bent on backsliding. It seems God would like to have destroyed them, but in verse 9, He said He would not destroy them. In verse 12 He said at that time Judah was still faithful. Think how little respect Israel showed God who had done everything for them. Are we any different today when we refuse to obey Him?
In chapters 12 and 13 God continued to note the sins of Israel. He reminded them how He had spoken in the past by the prophets and they had not listened. Instead, they had the attitude they were rich and they could make it on their own. God promised them they would have sorrows (13:13). He said they would become desolate and hurt (13:16).
But finally in chapter 14 God again begs them to return to Him and the prophecy indicates they would do so. The people would turn to the Lord and offer Him the sacrifice of their lips (verse 2). He would heal their backsliding (verse 4) and love them freely. They would no longer go after idols (verse 8). In verse 9, we see “…the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein (stumble).
What a beautiful book of prophecy Hosea has penned from the words of God. Israel was God’s chosen people. She chose to serve idols. God gave her up (divorced her). Those of her who chose to return to God can do so, not as the old Israel, but as the new Israel, the church purchased by the one who was sold for 30 pieces of silver and crucified for our sins, but who was raised on the third day.
Next time we will begin looking at the book of Isaiah. That study will take several blogs.
Christian Women's Responsibility in Sharing God's Word 