Reflections on Hosea

Very recently two brothers asked me if we could study the so called Minor Prophets together since they normally do not hear any teaching on them. Because one is an exchange student returning to his home country soon, we realized that we could not tackle them all so we agreed to study Hosea, the first of the twelve minors. As I reconsidered this decision I began to question its wisdom. Weren't there more important things to look at in the Bible? But, having agreed to study Hosea, I concluded that I needed to keep my promise for the sake of integrity. My first inclination was to consult a study Bible. While i have read Hosea a number of times over the years, it had never been a subject of special interest. This morning I was led to simply read the whole book (about ten pages in the ESV) at one sitting to get a sense of the major theme (s). Upon completion I could say with Paul, "Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" ( Romans 11:33a) For the primary theme of Hosea was exactly what I had felt led to delve into with my brothers. Consider a married couple in which one commits adultery. The one who has remained faithful loves his or her spouse. Imagine the shock, anguish, anger. Does the spouse wish to give up, punish the other, or hope and work towards restoration? Probably multiple conflicting feelings are churning inside. If we are created in God's image, as Genesis 1:26 and 28 attest, and we have feelings, then God must have feelings too. We see this in the life of Jesus. He weeps ( John 11:35), rejoices ( Matthew 11:25 NIV), shows compassion, gets angry. And we see this display of God's feelings towards His people throughout Hosea. He pleads with them to stop their adultery. He says He will punish them. "Hear the word of the Lord, o children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land." ( Hosea 4:1 ESV) "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity." ( Hosea 14:1) This interplay between God and His people in the time of Hosea mirrors our relationship with God. He ardently wants intimate personal relationship with us. He is angry with our unfaithfulness yet He does not cast us off but entreats us to return to Him and receive His love. "I will heal their apostasy; i will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them." ( Hosea 14:4 ESV)