The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel: 2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3 So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
The first verse acts as the title of the book, identifying the prophet and the time he lived. Most importantly, it tells us he was a true prophet because the word of the Lord came to him. Note that, although Hosea prophesied in the north kingdom of Israel, the rulers of the southern kingdom of Judah are listed first. The Judean kings reigned from 791BC and 686 BC but this does not mean Hosea prophesied during all this time. He could have started at the end of Uzziah’s reign and ended at the start of Hezekiah’s. Only one king of Israel is mentioned during the time, Jeroboam II who reigned from 793 to 753 BC. Since scholars think most of Hosea’s oracles date from after 753 BC and that he probably prophesied for 20 to 25 years, there clearly was more than one king at the time. In fact, there were around six which means that the author is making no attempt to include a comprehensive listing. Indeed, Judeans and orthodox Israelites only considered the Judean line legitimate and the refusal to list most of the kings of Israel may be linked to this belief. The book was probably also written down after the fall of Israel and so its authors may have felt there was no reason to list kings of a country that no longer existed.
The period of Hosea’s prophesying was a significant one in Israel’s history. In most of the 8th century, the Assyrian empire was in decline. This allowed both Israel and Judah to regain a lot of their independence. However, about the time Hosea started to prophesy, Tiglath-Pileser II came to the throne of Assyria and tried to reassert its power. This would eventually end in the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. Hosea will warn Israel repeatedly of this danger but to no avail. The tragedy of the north and the possibility of a similar tragedy in the south, loom behind everything Hosea says. But, of course, a prophet’s word is not limited to his or her own time for, like all the bible, it has important things to tell us today about our own world.
The first verse is focused on historical background and the only personal thing we learn about Hosea is that his father’s name was Beeri. But in the second and third verses we learn the extraordinary story of Hosea’s marriage. God tells Hosea to marry a prostituting woman and to start a family with her. There is no evidence in the text that Hosea’s wife, Gomer, was an actual prostitute or even that she committed adultery. She, and later his children, are described that way because all of Israel are prostituting themselves away from God. They are really no different from anyone else.
Whatever the truth of it, this story should still shock us because God commands Hosea to do things that will bring him heartache and suffering. God calls Hosea to be a prophet and to see the earth the way God does. The image of God and Israel as lovers is a frequent one in the Old Testament but Israel, God’s bride, has been unfaithful to him, refusing to follow the covenant agreement her ancestors freely entered into. God wants Hosea to understand how he feels and to see as he does. We may think of the prophets as God’s mouthpiece but God’s first command to Hosea is not to speak but to act. As Paula Gooder explains: “God’s call to Hosea begins with a command not to speak but to understand the problem on an emotional level… Speaking can only come after a deep understanding of the world and its relationship to God.” Acted out prophesies are not uncommon in the Old Testament. Prophets perform a symbolic act and then explain what it means.
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