Last month, I studied through the book of Hosea. This is a small book (only 14 chapters) traditionally listed as the first among the “minor” prophets of the Bible. The prophet’s name, Hosea, is the same as Joshua or Jesus. He lived and prophecied around the same period as the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was based out of Judah, the southern kingdom, while most of Hosea’s ministry focused on Israel, the northern kingdom.
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Shortly after the death of King Solomon, the Bible describes how Israel split into two kingdoms, north and south. The stories of 1 and 2 Kings describe how both kingdoms drifted from God, pursuing idolatry and eventually going into captivity by foreign invaders. The northern kingdom behaved like they were in a race to do the wrong thing. The short book of Hosea’s prophetic message details the judgment coming to the northern Kingdom of Israel, sometimes referred to as Ephraim, within Hosea’s prophetic message. Hosea opens this message after God presented multiple opportunities for Israel to turn from their wicked ways. Instead, the kings and priests of Israel persisted in pursuing false gods and acting wickedly against God.
I hope these insights and principles will encourage you as you pursue faithfulness before God. Feel free to utilize these to supplement your study of the book of Hosea.
What follows are 28 things I learned while studying through the prophetic book of Hosea.
- Hosea Married a Whore
The first time GOD spoke to Hosea he said:
“Find a whore and marry her.
Make this whore the mother of your children.
And here’s why: This whole country
has become a whorehouse, unfaithful to me, GOD.”
Hosea 1:2 (The Message)
I know the use of the word “whore” is not polite language, but that is the word featured in scripture, and it was intended to be impolite and to stick out. The prophets in scripture frequently present their message as much through acts as they do through words and writing. These acts inform the people of what God is saying to them. In this act, God shows the people how they have treated Him. They have acted like prostitutes, harlots, whores, in their unfaithfulness toward God.
- Hosea MARRIED A WHORE!
We really need to let that sink in to grasp its significance fully. God told the prophet to marry a harlot. In ancient cultures, like today, marriage and family are among the most significant elements of life in which we participate. The direction given to Hosea was to engage himself in a corrupt marriage. He would not get the benefits of a safe and secure family life. He would not experience the beauty of covenant. Why? He did not do anything wrong. This man feared God, even while the nation around him chased after false gods. It must have felt like a great punishment to the prophet when God gave him this instruction.
The prophetic calling means to live a life that is not your own. Our life belongs to God. The weight of the calling required a life bent and shaped by the calling. Hosea was a carrier of the calling of God. He did not live a life like other men of his family and generation. He lived a life designed to demonstrate the Word of God. He was not a victim. He was not angry with God. He did not feel cheated by God. This was His mission.
The Word of God that Hosea carried was visual, audible, readable, understandable, and relatable. He showed his fellow Israelites the insanity of their behavior from God’s perspective through this act.
- The Theme of Sowing
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. Then the LORD said to him:
“Call his name Jezreel,
For in a little while
I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,
And bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
It shall come to pass in that day
That I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Hosea 1:3-5
The name of Hosea’s firstborn from his prostitute wife was “Jezreel.” The name means God will sow. The image of sowing and reaping is something that we will return to several times throughout Hosea’s message. This state of judgment that is about to descend upon Israel did not happen overnight. It is the long-term process in which wickedness is sowed rather than righteousness.
- This Is the End
Then God said:
“Call his name Lo-Ammi,
For you are not My people,
And I will not be your God.
Hosea 1:8
These are the instructions God gave to Hosea regarding his third child. The name Lo-Ammi means “you are not my people.” What a horrible name! At this point in the journey, God brings final judgment upon the northern kingdom. The rejection, unfaithfulness, and perversion have persisted too long.
- Mercy Will Come
Say to your brethren, ‘My people,’
And to your sisters, ‘Mercy is shown.’
Hosea 2:1
Even though God is bringing judgment (point 4), there will be a time when He will show mercy. This generation that Hosea is speaking to won’t see it. But in the distant future, God will restore His people through His mercy. That restoration and mercy are realized in Christ.
The book of Hosea does not feature this theme of mercy heavily. God’s promise and faithfulness exist, but this book’s story is about the coming judgment.
- You Shamed God
“Bring charges against your mother, bring charges;
For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband!
Let her put away her harlotries from her sight,
And her adulteries from between her breasts;
Lest I strip her naked
And expose her, as in the day she was born,
And make her like a wilderness,
And set her like a dry land,
And slay her with thirst.
Hosea 2:2-3
In 2 Kings, we read about the times Hosea presented this message. The people of Israel exist only because God delivered them from Egypt, gave them the promised land, and made them into a great nation. But like an unfaithful wife, rather than honoring God and maintaining faithful to Him, they chased after other gods. They shamed the name of God before heaven and earth.
- The Seduction
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,
Who give me my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.’
Hosea 2:5
The physical needs of life were the things that led Israel toward idolatry. They came to believe that false gods could bring them safety, security, and comfort, and that is how the false gods led them astray.
We should be careful not to judge these ancient Israelites too harshly and miss the plank in our own eye. How many of us only pursue God because we believe He will satisfy our physical needs? What if He did not do that – or at least did not do it the way we wanted or expected Him to? The physical needs of life must not be the guidance system for our spiritual life. The covenant lifestyle must be deeper than that!
- The Frustrated Life
“Therefore, behold,
I will hedge up your way with thorns,
And wall her in,
So that she cannot find her paths.
She will chase her lovers,
But not overtake them;
Yes, she will seek them, but not find them.
Hosea 2:6-7
Life has a correct design. An accurate posture and relationship toward God are central to that correct design. When we violate that design, discontent and frustration roll like a heavy tide into every crevice of our life.
- Truth, Mercy, and the Knowledge of God
Hear the word of the LORD,
You children of Israel,
For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:
“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.
“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land.
By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
Hosea 4:1-2
When we seek God correctly, truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God fill our lives and the world around us. Our ultimate mission, as people of faith, is to fill the earth with truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God.
When we fail to seek God correctly, there is an absence of truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God in our lives and the world around us. The understanding that idolatry is wrong is only understanding half the point. Idolatry creates a dysfunctional human and society. It produces chaos, confusion, and disorder.
- The Land Will Spit You Out
Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
Hosea 4:3
God intended the land, or sphere of life, we occupy to prosper. When we pursue false gods and live dysfunctionally in a manner cut off from God, our relationship to the land, is neutralized. Life rejects us. Leviticus 18:28 says the result of this curse of idolatry is that the land “will spit you out.” There is an equilibrium meant to exist between us and the life we live. That equilibrium is established upon our ability to know God and make Him known to the world around us.
- A Lack of Knowledge Results in Death
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from being priest for Me;
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.
Hosea 4:6
This is not knowledge in general. It is not intellect. It is specifically the knowledge of God. They rejected the knowledge of God, and this is the root of dysfunction and the coming destruction.
- Like People, Like Priest
The more they increased,
The more they sinned against Me;
I will change their glory into shame.
They eat up the sin of My people;
They set their heart on their iniquity.
And it shall be: like people, like priest.
So I will punish them for their ways,
And reward them for their deeds.
Hosea 4:7-9
They were called to be priests before God, mediators between God and the world. How can they do this if they reject the knowledge of God? They can’t! The people are a reflection of the priests. If the priests are dysfunctional, ignorant of God, and rejecting God, then how much more are the people?
In our own age, this truth applies to the church. Instead of finding God, the world looks and finds corruption and hypocrisy. Truth, mercy, and the knowledge of God are meant to flow from God, through the church and into the world. This has become corrupted though. Corruption begets corruption. Death begets death.
- Futility
For they shall eat, but not have enough;
They shall commit harlotry, but not increase;
Because they have ceased obeying the LORD.
Hosea 4:10
Productivity, fulfillment, and contentment are destroyed. Wherever the knowledge of God is absent, a dysfunction sets in. Life does not work correctly. We cannot be fulfilled. Futility is the name of the game. Even while we pursue the things that seem necessary for a quality life, the ends we seek are never really found.
- The House of Vanity
“Though you, Israel, play the harlot,
Let not Judah offend.
Do not come up to Gilgal,
Nor go up to Beth Aven,
Nor swear an oath, saying, ‘As the LORD lives’—
Hosea 4:15
Hosea focuses on Judah and Israel at this point in the prophecy. Gigal was once the location of a school for the prophets. Now, even the people in that area of the country have turned to worshipping idols. They may worship the one true God as well, but in doing so, they belittle Him and bring Him down to the level of objects created by man.
Hosea mentions Beth Aven several times in his prophetic word. He is referring to Bethel. Bethel means ‘the house of God.’ But Bethel has become Beth Aven in Hosea’s word – meaning ‘the house of vanity.’
- Take Your Fill
“For Israel is stubborn
Like a stubborn calf;
Now the LORD will let them forage
Like a lamb in open country.
“Ephraim is joined to idols,
Let him alone.
Their drink is rebellion,
They commit harlotry continually.
Her rulers dearly love dishonor.
The wind has wrapped her up in its wings,
And they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Hosea 4:16-19
The worst thing that can happen is when God turns us over to our evil desires, but that is precisely what He is doing here. He is letting the people have their fill of idols, rebellion, unfaithfulness, and dishonor. In that indulgence comes the inevitable offspring of their destruction.
- I Know Who You Truly Are
“Hear this, O priests!
Take heed, O house of Israel!
Give ear, O house of the king!
For yours is the judgment,
Because you have been a snare to Mizpah
And a net spread on Tabor.
The revolters are deeply involved in slaughter,
Though I rebuke them all.
I know Ephraim,
And Israel is not hidden from Me;
For now, O Ephraim, you commit harlotry;
Israel is defiled.
“They do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the LORD.
The pride of Israel testifies to his face;
Therefore Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity;
Judah also stumbles with them.
Hosea 5:1-5
As the threat of judgment nears, many people in the land have taken to offering sacrifices and going through the motions of worshipping God again. But God knows who they truly are. He knows that even as they go through the acts of worship, their heart is far from God. He is not interested in their outer deeds when the obedience of their heart remains defiled.
- Hope
I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Hosea 5:15
God never brings judgment without a doorway for redemption. Hope remains! The judgment that is coming is set. It will not be abated. But, there is a time in the future when God will return to the people. This is when they acknowledge their offense and seek His face. The judgment of God and the crisis of separation from Him will ultimately provoke this posture.
Many Christian theologians believe this refers to when the Jewish people return to God through Christ. That is likely true, but this is also a principle for all ethnicities and nationalities. The judgment of God and the crisis can bring us to a place of repentance and turn our hearts toward Him. That is the basis for hope!
- The Beauty of the Valley of Judgment
Come, and let us return to the LORD;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
Hosea 6:1-3
The valley of judgment is a dreadful place where God has cut off the people, separated from them, and crisis rolls in to destroy their lives. But it is also the place where the people turn back to God. That is the crucial step. That is what God is after. He does not want to destroy us. In the valley of judgment, even as we face crisis and chaos, pain and sorrow, as we look to God and have faith that God is good regardless of our personal experience – this is where our hearts change. This is where He heals, restores, and raises us up. This is where we begin our journey back to the knowledge of God.
- What God Desires
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6
This is one of the most famous passages in the book of Hosea. Jesus quoted this when speaking to the religious leaders of Israel in the first century. Man can go through the outer forms of religious tradition and still miss the point. In fact, they usually do! God desires the inner state of man – mercy and not sacrifice. Once again, the themes of mercy, truth, and the knowledge of God are highlighted in this verse from Hosea.
- Crying Out for the Wrong Thing
“Woe to them, for they have fled from Me!
Destruction to them,
Because they have transgressed against Me!
Though I redeemed them,
Yet they have spoken lies against Me.
They did not cry out to Me with their heart
When they wailed upon their beds.
“They assemble together for grain and new wine,
They rebel against Me;
Though I disciplined and strengthened their arms,
Yet they devise evil against Me;
They return, but not to the Most High;
They are like a treacherous bow.
Their princes shall fall by the sword
For the cursings of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
Hosea 7:13-16
As the pain of judgment spreads across the land, the people begin to recognize how bad it is getting, but they cry out for the wrong thing. They cry out for deliverance, for relief, but not for return to the love of God. They miss the point! Anyone can fear and dread the judgment, but the correct posture amid a crisis is to cry out for the love of God.
- Foolish False Prophets
The days of punishment have come;
The days of recompense have come.
Israel knows!
The prophet is a fool,
The spiritual man is insane,
Because of the greatness of your iniquity and great enmity.
Hosea 9:7
One of the obvious signs of the arrival of God’s judgment upon the people is the collapse of spiritual discernment among the people of God. They do not adequately recognize what God is doing. (Isn’t this a telltale sign among many in the church today!) As a result, false prophets arise. They describe hopes for deliverance, making Israel great again, and all sorts of lies not in tune with the reality of what God is doing. Once again, the people die for lack of knowledge of the truth of God.
- Justice and Social Declines
Israel empties his vine;
He brings forth fruit for himself.
According to the multitude of his fruit
He has increased the altars;
According to the bounty of his land
They have embellished his sacred pillars.
Their heart is divided;
Now they are held guilty.
He will break down their altars;
He will ruin their sacred pillars.
For now they say,
“We have no king,
Because we did not fear the LORD.
And as for a king, what would he do for us?”
They have spoken words,
Swearing falsely in making a covenant.
Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.
Hosea 10:1-4
None of it works! Whenever we see the departure of God from His people, we see instability and collapse within the justice and social systems. True faith and worship are directly reflected in the strength and integrity of our justice and social systems. When true faith corrupts, so do these systems.
- Sow Righteousness, Reap Mercy
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
Hosea 10:12
This is among my favorite verses in the book of Hosea. He is using the image of farming to describe the process of seeking mercy from God. There is a sowing, literal efforts to pursue righteousness. This is the right way of life. Such sowing reaps the mercy of God. It is the only way to find the fruit of God’s mercy in our life.
Fallow ground is land that has not been worked. Their hearts have not been cultivated, turned, or trained in developing righteousness. Breaking up the fallow ground requires more work than the normal process of sowing and reaping because the heart has hardened in self-will and unfaithfulness.
The sowing of righteousness keeps our hearts soft, pliable, and ready to produce before God.
Sow righteousness! Reap mercy!
- How God Leads
I drew them with gentle cords,
With bands of love,
And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck.
I stooped and fed them.
Hosea 11:4
In this section of Hosea, we see how God’s longsuffering love has endured Israel’s long-term unfaithfulness. God does not force Himself upon His people. He is gentle. He does not drag or pull the people toward Him but draws them with gentle cords. He stoops low toward them. The fallen human heart pervertedly craves mastery and enslavement. That is not how God deals with us.
- The Remnant
“They shall walk after the LORD.
He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west;
They shall come trembling like a bird from Egypt,
Like a dove from the land of Assyria.
And I will let them dwell in their houses,”
Says the LORD.
Hosea 11:10-11
God’s judgment is not total. A remnant will remain. This is a theme we find throughout scripture. Even as the terrible judgment falls upon the land and people, God preserves a remnant who remains faithful to Him. This remnant walks correctly after the Lord. They do not escape the judgment, but He preserves them. They see Him roar like a lion in the ferocity of judgment, and they know the way back to God’s goodness.
- Fulitily of Politics
“Ephraim feeds on the wind,
And pursues the east wind;
He daily increases lies and desolation.
Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians,
And oil is carried to Egypt.
Hosea 12:1
As the people work to avoid judgment, they become focused on futility. They think they can outsmart the situation by creating balances of power, treaties, and alliances. Thus, they set their hopes upon politics. However, politics will not resolve this crisis because it is not political. The crisis is the judgment of God!
- Finding God
“Yet I am the LORD your God
Ever since the land of Egypt,
And you shall know no God but Me;
For there is no savior besides Me.
I knew you in the wilderness,
In the land of great drought.
When they had pasture, they were filled;
They were filled and their heart was exalted;
Therefore they forgot Me.
Hosea 13:4-6
They once knew God. He made Himself known to them. God never stopped revealing Himself to the people, but they stopped seeing. It is a strange dynamic of human nature that in the drought, the valley, the wilderness, and the crisis, we see God so much easier because our hearts are humble and low. But then, as God blesses us, our situation improves, and we prosper – then we forget God.
This is the great danger! The same blessings God gives us can lead us to forget God and become the seed of our destruction. We must manage our lives within the boundaries of the fear of God. This is how we learn not to lose sight of God, whether we abound or are abased (Philippians 4:12).
- Who Is Wise?
Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For the ways of the LORD are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.
Hosea 14:9
Let God be true, and every man be a liar (Romans 3:4). Many will see the reality of judgment and miss the truth of God’s goodness. They will misunderstand His justice and His love. We do not start with human understanding or explanations. We begin with faith in the wisdom and goodness of God. This is righteousness.
