Hosea’s Family, Again (Chapter 3)

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3 Then

God Pleads with Israel (Hosea 2:2-13)

2 “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. 3 Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert,

God’s Children (Hosea 1:10-2:1)

10 “Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel will come together; they will appoint one leader and will

Hosea’s Children (Hosea 1:4-9)

4 Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.” 6 Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea,

The Beginning of the Book of Hosea (1:1-3)

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

Historical Background to the Book of Hosea

The prophet Hosea lived in the north kingdom of Israel at the time of Jeroboam II (793-753 BC) and after. He probably began prophesying around 760 BC. His oracles predicted the destruction and exile of his nation. At the time, Israel was prosperous and, since things seemed to be going well, people were little inclined

Introduction to the Book of Hosea

Most scholars think that the book of Hosea was written between 760 and 720 BC in the north kingdom of Israel. We have little historical information about Hosea and his family. In his book, Hosea tells us little about himself or his family except in relation to his prophecies. He mentions a wife in chapters