Minior Prophets Pt 1 Hosea

 

Minor Prophets Pt 1 – Hosea 

 

Text:  Hoseas 1:1 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[a] 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.

Where are the Minor Prophets in the Bible? 

 

Navigating the Bible: Why the Bible is not in Chronological Order like a long Story? 

The Bible is arranged like a Library because the Bible, or Book, is a collection of books divided into grouped genres or literary categories. 

Old Testament

• Books of the Law(Pentateuch/Torah)

  • Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

• Historical Books (Ketuvim)

  • Joshua, Judges, Ruth – Possessing the Land

  • 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, – Rule the Land to Diaspora

  • Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther – Return from Exile (Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian)

• Poetic and Wisdom Books (Nevium)

  Job (After flood), Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

• Prophetic Books (Nevium)

  • 5 Major Prophets

    • (Pre-exile) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, 

    • (Exilic) Ezekiel, Daniel – Apocalyptic

       

  • 12 Minor Prophets

    • (Pre-Exilic) Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 

    • (Post Exilic) Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

  • Division of Northern and Southern Kingdoms during this period. 

    • Israel – Hosea, Amos ( Until Assyrian Invasion and Diaspora) 

    • Judah – Joel, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah

      • (post-exilic) Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi 

    • Jonah: Preached to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria

    • Nahum: Prophesied judgment against Assyria, specifically Nineveh

    • Obadiah: Delivered a message of judgment to Edom

Why are the Minor Prophets called “Minor Prophets”? 

• Augustine first coined the designation “minor prophets” in the fifth century A.D. to distinguish them from the “major prophets.” 

What was the purpose of God sending the Minor Prophets? 

• The mission was threefold: 

  • to encourage disobedient people to repent from sin; 

  • to encourage wayward people to return to God, and 

  • to encourage the people to remember that God will ultimately triumph and God’s people will ultimately be vindicated.

• Using two basic methods: 

  • Preached or proclaimed the Word of God. 

  • The prophets prophesied. 

    • Sometimes these two methods are popularly called foretelling and forth-telling. 

Background of Hosea 

The Book of Hosea was written during the decline of Israel’s Northern Kingdom in the 8th century BC. Hosea’s life and prophetic message use his marriage to an unfaithful wife, Gomer, as a symbol of Israel’s spiritual unfaithfulness to God through idolatry and injustice.

It was the Assyrians who eventually invaded and conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Assyrian conquest began under Tiglath-Pileser III. 

Samaria, the capital, fell after a three-year siege around 722–721 BC. The Assyrians then deported many Israelites, leading to the so-called “Ten Lost Tribes” and ending the kingdom’s existence.

The Why: The Via Maris, also known as the “Way of the Sea,” was the main road in ancient Israel that served as the main trade route in the Old Testament, connecting three continents: Africa, the East, and Europe 

The Message of Hosea:

• Hosea means “salvation.”

  • Early in Hosea’s ministry, under King Jeroboam II, Israel was prosperous outwardly but spiritually decaying inwardly.

  • Israel sought foreign alliances instead of trusting God.

     

Spiritual Condition of Israel:

• Ephraim (a leading tribe) outwardly appeared devout but secretly intermarried with pagans and worshipped false gods.

• Israel was like a half-baked cake: outwardly religious (cooked on one side), but inwardly uncommitted (doughy and raw on the other).

   

• This symbolizes “half-baked Christians”—faithful in appearance (e.g., on Sundays) but worldly the rest of the week.

   

Hosea’s Unique Calling

• Hosea’s life became a living sermon and parable. 

  • God told him to marry Gomer, (To End)

  • A woman who would be unfaithful, as an object lesson for Israel’s unfaithfulness.

• Hosea and Gomer had three children, each given symbolic names that tell a succession of a story:

  • Jezreel (“God Sows”) – Son 

  • Lo-Ruhammah (“No Mercy”) – Daughter 

  • Lo-Ammi (“Not My People”) – Son 

God said He would have no mercy for Israel was persistent in unfaithfulness, idolatry, and rejection of His covenant.

• They responded with syncrytism and religiosity, but not a relationship with God.

• Israel’s sin had reached a point where severe judgment was called for to save their souls. 

• There is a bigger, eternal, and spiritual picture than the physical, short life of comfort we think that we are entitled to from God. 

• Hebrews 12:6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”

 

But what happens when we continue in sin after receiving that perfect record? 

Imagine standing by a window on a cold winter day. The air is frigid, but the sun is shining through the window. It begins to warm you, and you bask in its glow. Then you pull the drape closed. Instantly, the warmth stops. Is it because the sun has stopped shining? No, it is because something has come between you and the sun. The moment you open the drapes, the sun can warm you again. But it is up to you. The barrier is inside the house, not outside.

 

Unconfessed sin works like that drape. He wants us to bask in the warmth of His smile. But when we choose sin, we build a barrier between ourselves and our holy Father. 

 

The Lesson

• Hosea’s public pain mirrored Israel’s spiritual adultery.

• God used Hosea’s marriage to show Israel their unfaithfulness: married to God but pursuing other “loves” (idols).

   

God’s heartbreak over Israel’s infidelity is clear, yet His love remains.

 

Application to believers

• Like Gomer, believers can be “half-baked”—trying to have both God and the world.

  • We often want the benefits of God while still pursuing other desires.

  • The call is to holiness, not just outward happiness.

     

The call to holiness

• Holiness has been neglected in favor of happiness in many churches.

• Happiness is external; holiness is internal.

  • Living in a fallen world, our sinful choices and the sinful choices of others invite EXTERNAL trials, tests, and tribulations 

    • God uses them for INTERNAL and then External good – Romans 8:28 

God does no evil to us, He is always good!

• Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him”

• James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

• Malachai 3:6 I am the Lord, I change not! 

  • You must make up your mind that He is good, or you will be calling Him a liar. 

• Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

  • We live in a fallen world, we make poor decisions that invite bad things to happen, and the decisions of others invite bad things to happen. 

 

If God is always good and all good things come from God, then why did God tell Hosea to marry a Prostitute? 

• Power point: God’s command to Hosea to marry Gomer was a unique, prophetic act, not a general rule for believers. 

The Bible does tell us not to be unequally yoked as a general rule of wisdom. 

• However, throughout redemptive history, Jesus has been unequally yoked to us. 

 

His promise in coming to Him is just that! 

• Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

• God was calling Hosea to preach and demonstrate redemptive love, not just to Israel but to Gomer. 

  • Example: Joseph was 13 years in prison and sold as a slve by his brothers. 

    • Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

  • God, in His infinite love, “Causes all things to work together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” 

 

You may wonder why you have been assigned people in your life.

1. Is God bad to you because your children do not respect you? 

2. Or your husband refuses to love you and has turned from the Lord? 

3. What about the terrible way that you are treated at work? 

4. Could God have stopped this and foreseen this, and isn’t God sovereign? 

 

God does not control people in His sovereignty, nor is He a micromanager. The Earth was originally under the dominion of man, but was lost to the enemy through sin. God has given that authority back to His followers, but the redemption and restoration of this fallen Earth takes time. 

 

As the story of God’s redemption continues to unfold, we see His loving goodness shine through, not in an instant but in God’s timing – He is not a microwave, but a crockpot God! 

• God’s ultimate goodness is His plan to redeem the lost and call His children to Holiness so that we can spend eternity once again with Him. 

• Therefore, immediate gratification and happiness are the wrong metrics to evaluate His goodness! 

God desires our holiness more than our happiness and uses discipline to shape us (Hebrews 12:6, 14).

• Holiness is not a miserable existence but a call into God’s “wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

• God will not tolerate “spiritual adultery.” Just as no loving spouse would accept ongoing unfaithfulness, neither will God with His people.

  • Hosea’s reference to “other lovers” points to Israel’s idolatry and divided loyalty.

Summary of the Book:

• Hosea’s life and message illustrate God’s heartbreak over His people’s divided hearts. 

• The book calls believers to wholehearted devotion and true holiness, not just outward religiosity or fleeting happiness.

Hosea 7:4 They’re a bunch of overheated adulterers, like an oven that holds its heat from the kneading of the dough to the rising of the bread. 5 On the royal holiday, the princes get drunk on wine and the frenzy of the mocking mob. 6 They’re like wood stoves, red-hot with lust. Through the night their passion is banked; in the morning it blazes up, flames hungrily licking. 7 Murderous and volcanic, they incinerate their rulers. Their kings fall one by one, and no one pays any attention to me. 8 “Ephraim mingles with the pagans, dissipating himself. Ephraim is half-baked.

Background: How this came about.

• In short, because of the divided kingdom, limited access to the priesthood and temple, and cultural wanderings into identification, which led to syncretism with the world.

• Golden Calves: King Jeroboam set up two golden calves at Bethel and Dan, telling the people these were their gods who brought them out of Egypt.

  • (Slavery and Chattel – Socialism)

• Baal and Asherah: The Israelites adopted the worship of Baal (a Canaanite storm and fertility god) and Asherah (a fertility goddess), (Prosperity and Sexual immorality) 

• Molech and Chemosh: Some Israelites also worshipped Molech (associated with child sacrifice – Abortion and Murder for self-convenience) 

• High Places: They built altars and shrines on high places throughout their towns for idol worship. (Self-Directed and Preferential Worship)      

Hosea called it what it was – spiritual adultery.  

You can’t be married to God and also flirt with idols.  

• The word “ba’al” means master. 

• Hosea preached that “ba’al” owns the person who worships it.  

Seven hundred years after Hosea, Jesus said it again: 

• Mt. 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and (anything else).” 

 

The ba’als are still all around us today.  

• Instead of the crude idols of wood and brass that tempted the Israelites, what are the gods of the earth that we trust – the things we are tempted to put in the place of God?  

• Alongside God, we bow down to the ba’als of Money, Sex, and Power.  

• Or the ba’al of alcoholism may own you.  

• Perhaps some addiction is your real master.  

  • Most addiction is idolatry at the root and requires deliverance from oppression and bondage. 

• As a nation, also, the ba’als tempt us: today we call them “isms”: materialism, nationalism, militarism.  

 

Syncretism is the trap: Give me a Buffet and Preferential Mix! 

• And, like Israel, we say, “What’s the conflict?  

• We trust in God – we also trust in our military might, we trust in our economic power.  

 

So Hosea says again(14:3) concerning the commining invited judgment of Assyria, “Your war chariots cannot save you, nor any of the works of your hands.”  

            

What makes Hosea so important is the glimpse he gives us of the heart of God.   

He is more like a Husband, with feelings and intense passions. 

• He loves his people, and he hates the sins that tempt and destroy us.  

• But in the end, the one overriding fact about God is his love.  

• Love is God’s eternal, most basic disposition! 

Gomer leaves Hosea to return to a life of sin.

• Gomer was still beloved of Hosea even though she was an adulteress, and God wanted him to seek her out and prove his love to her. 

Hosea goes looking for her even though she has been unfaithful to him.

• And he found her, ragged, torn, sick, dirty, disheveled, destitute, chained to an auction block in a filthy slave market, a repulsive shadow of the woman she once was. 

• We wonder how anyone could love her now. 

• But Hosea bought her from her slavery for fifteen shekels of silver and thirteen bushels of barley (Hos. 3:2). 

  • Then he said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you” (Hos. 3:3). 

    • He actually paid for her, brought her home, and eventually restored her to her position as his wife. 

    • We assume that God used Hosea’s supreme act of forgiving love to melt her heart and change her life.

Hosea 2:16 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ 17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.    … 22 and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine, and oil, and they will respond to Jezreel. 23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one I will say to those called ‘Not my people – ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

“One day”, says the Lord, you will call me ‘My husband’ again. 

• For I will remove the names of the ba’als from your mouth.  

• Then I will marry you for good, forever!  

• And our marriage will be full of steadfast love and mercy, and we will treat each other right.  And you will know me as I am!”

Then the ba’als of our world will be shown up for what they are: good for nothing but a one-night stand. 

• As ugly as Israel’s adulterous faithlessness has been, it cannot extinguish God’s resilient, redemptive love.

Then, after the exile, Yahweh will raise his people from the dead on the third day (Hos. 6:23).

 

 So the story of Gomer is a little story that points to a much greater story, the story of redemption that can be ours through Jesus.  We’re going to unpack this a little more, and as we do, I want to give you two reasons why Jesus is the better Hosea.

 

1.  Hosea is honorable – Jesus is perfect.  Let me explain.  As Hosea pursues Gomer as an honorable bridegroom, Jesus pursues you as a perfect bridegroom.  

•  The theme of marriage covenant relationship with God throughout the Bible.  In John 3:30, we’re probably familiar with John the Baptist saying, “He must become greater, I must become less,” or “he must increase, and I must decrease.” 

•  But if you read the verses before that, he’s using the context of Jesus being the perfect bridegroom, and the bride belongs to the bridegroom. 

•  It’s a picture of marriage. 

•  A healthy marriage relationship mirrors a healthy relationship with God. 

 

2.  Hosea paid money; Christ paid more.  Hosea had to pay money for Gomer’s redemption; Jesus had to go all the way to the cross for ours.   

• He had good reasons to walk away, to divorce her, to leave her.  

• To move on with his life without her.  She had been unfaithful.  

• She was the one who walked out on him at least a year ago.  

• She lived with many other men during that year.  

• But God said Go get her.  And he did.  

•  It cost him about 6 ounces of silver and about 10 bushels of barley. 

 

 Do you think they had some things to work out when they got home?  

• But do you think that Gomer knew the value of redemption at that point?  

• I think so.   

That’s a remarkable story, isn’t it?  But we have an even better story. 

•  Because we have an even better redeemer.  Let’s look at Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”  

 

We were spiritual prostitutes. We were living in sin, not at all living the way our Father in Heaven would have us live.