14/10/2022 Wednesday
Hosea
Married to an Unfaithful Wife.
Chapter 1
OUTLINE OF HOSEA The Ryrie Study Bible
1. The Prodigal Wife, 1:1-3:5
A. Her Unfaithfulness, 1:1-11
B. Her Punishment, 2:1-13
C. Her Restoration and Israel’s 2:14-23
D. Her Redemption, 3:1-5
2. The Prodigal People, 4:1-14:9
A. The Message of Judgment, 4:1-10:15
1. The indictment, 4:1-19
2. The verdict, 5:1-15
3. The plea of Israel, 6:1-3
4. The reply of the Lord, 6:4-11
5. The crimes of Israel, 7:1-16
6. The prophecy of judgment, 8:1-10:15
B. The Message of Restoration, 11:1-14:9
1. God’s love for the prodigal people, 11:1-11
2. God’s chastisement of the prodigal people, 11:12-13:16
3. God’s restoration of the prodigal people, 14:1-9
Hosea’s Bio
• Hosea 1:1
• God spoke His word to Hosea
• As we study this book, we must remember that it is God’s word.
• God used Hosea to urge His people to repent.
• The theme of this books is the loving mercy of God toward sinful backsliding of Israel.
• Hosea was the son of Beeri
• God tells us nothing about his father.
• However, the context of the book implies that he was a native of Northern Israel who ministered to Northern Israel.
Hosea’s Bio
• Hosea ministered during the reigns of four kings of Judah
• Uzziah (Azariah), reigned 52 years, mostly good, ended a proud leper.
• Jotham, reigned 16 years as a good king
• Ahaz, evil king reigned 16 years
• Hezekiah, good king reigned 29 years, ended rather proud and foolish
• He ministry included some of the reign of Jeroboam II the son of Joash, king of Israel.
• Reigned 41 evil years.
(2 Kings 14:24) “And he [Jeroboam II] did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not
from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin.”
Hosea ministered to Israel
Israel or Ephraim
Judah
The Date of Hosea’s Ministry
We know which kings were reigning during his ministry, but we do not know the exact dates.
He probably began near the end of Jeroboam II’s reign until the Assyrian Captivity.
This would be about b.c. 784 to 722.
Hosea’s Marriage
• Hosea 1:2 Evidently, Hosea’s ministry began with his marriage.
• God told him to go marry a woman of whoredom or prostitution.
• Whether she was already a prostitute or would be come one, is not certain. (See Ryrie) How would you like that order
from God?
• Peter Pett thinks that, “if Hosea married he had no choice but to take a ‘wife of whoredom’, because the whole nation
was seen as tainted by the behaviour of the king and the majority of the people.”
• His marriage to this unfaithful woman was a picture of God’s “marriage” to unfaithful Israel.
• Israel was both morally and spiritually unfaithful to God.
• Baal worship prevailed as well as that of the golden calves.
• God is longsuffering, but Israel’s sins were pushing him to the limits.
Hosea & Gomer’s Children
• Hosea 1:3-4
• God named their first son Jezreel (v.4).
• His name means “God will sow”.
• God would punish the house of Jehu, Jeroboam’s great grandfather. Jehu had obeyed God in destroying Ahab’s
household, but he was wrongly motivated by pride and he continued in idolatry.
• The nation would fall 40 years later when the Assyrians took them captive in 722 BC. (Ryrie)
Hosea & Gomer’s Children
• Hosea 1:6
• God named the second child, a girl, Loruhamah.
• Her name means “no mercy” or “unpitied”. (Ryrie)
• Her birth pictured the end of God’s mercy for Israel.
• Israel will be taken into captivity.
• Hosea 1:7
• Here we find a word to Judah (the southern kingdom) (v.7).
• God promised to have mercy on them.
• He would save them by His mighty power, not by their own.
Hosea & Gomer’s Children
• Hosea 1:8-9
• The birth of this third child, a son, Loammi, brought bitter news to Israel.
• His name means “not my people”.
• God disowned Israel. He rejected them.
• God would not be their God.
God’s Great Love Will Prevail
• Hosea 1:10-11
• The chapter concludes with God’s assurance that Israel will one day return to Him.
• They will one day again be called “the sons of the living God.”
• They will one day regather as a nation and there will be great rejoicing in the valley of Jezreel.
• Ryrie states, “Jezreel, a place of judgment in verse 4, is viewed in verse 11 as a place where God will bless
Israel during the kingdom age.”
Note similes and metaphors in this chapter
• Break the bow (v.5) – a metaphor for breaking the military power
• Great shall be the day of Jezreel (v.11) – future blessing in the Kingdom age (Ryrie)
• As the sand of the sea (v.10) – In the future, Israel will be great in number.
Applications for Us Today
• God used Hosea’s family to highlight His feelings of hatred for Israel’s lack of separation from the world
and evil.
• If we are not careful, we may fall into a similar sinful pattern today. Sin creeps in little by little. Bible study
drops off. Prayer becomes slack. Worldly entertainment captivates us. Next thing we know, we are living
like backslidden Israel.
• God warns us of this. Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.