This book stands first in order among the "Minor Prophets." "The
probable cause of the location of Hosea may be the thoroughly
national character of his oracles, their length, their earnest
tone, and vivid representations." This was the longest of the
prophetic books written before the Captivity. Hosea prophesied
in a dark and melancholy period of Israel's history, the period
of Israel's decline and fall. Their sins had brought upon them
great national disasters. "Their homicides and fornication,
their perjury and theft, their idolatry and impiety, are
censured and satirized with a faithful severity." He was a
contemporary of Isaiah. The book may be divided into two parts,
the first containing chapters 1-3, and symbolically representing
the idolatry of Israel under imagery borrowed from the
matrimonial relation. The figures of marriage and adultery are
common in the Old Testament writings to represent the spiritual
relations between Jehovah and the people of Israel. Here we see
the apostasy of Israel and their punishment, with their future
repentance, forgiveness, and restoration.
The second part, containing 4-14, is a summary of Hosea's
discourses, filled with denunciations, threatenings,
exhortations, promises, and revelations of mercy.
Quotations from Hosea are found in Matt. 2:15; 9:15; 12:7;
Rom. 9:25, 26. There are, in addition, various allusions to it
in other places (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16, compare Hos. 10:8; Rom.
9:25, 26; 1 Pet. 2:10, compare Hos. 1:10, etc.).
As regards the style of this writer, it has been said that
"each verse forms a whole for itself, like one heavy toll in a
funeral knell." "Inversions (7:8; 9:11, 13; 12: 8), anacolutha
(9:6; 12:8, etc.), ellipses (9:4; 13:9, etc.), paranomasias, and
plays upon words, are very characteristic of Hosea (8:7; 9:15;
10:5; 11:5; 12:11)."
Hosea, Prophecies of
You Might Also Like:
Read More
Have you ever heard the story of Noah's Ark? It's a famous story from the Bible about a man named Noah who built a huge boat to save himself and the a...
Read More
Have you ever heard the story of the Tower of Babel? It's a story from the Bible about a group of people who wanted to build a tower that reached all ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ten Plagues in the Bible? It's a fascinating story about how God showed His power to the Pharaoh of Egypt and freed the ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ten Commandments in the Bible? These are ten rules that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai to guide the Israelites and all...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the 12 Tribes of Israel in the Bible? These tribes were the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, who was later named Isr...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ministry of Jesus in the Bible? Jesus was a great teacher and healer who spent three years traveling throughout Israel, ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Early Church in the Bible? After Jesus' death and resurrection, his followers began to spread his teachings throughout t...
