MINOR PROPHETS: HOSEA 1-3
Just remember, as we begin Hosea: there is nothing “minor,” in the sense of “unimportant,” about the Minor Prophets. These twelve prophetic books are called “minor” simply because they are shorter than the writings of the four Major Prophets. I say, “four,” because, as your remember, two of the five books were written by the same author: Jeremiah.
For Hosea, we back up to the time just before Israel, the Northern Kingdom, fell: before 721 BC.
Hosea’s prophetic career hinges on God’s strange command, “Go, take yourself an adulterous wife...” (1:20). Other versions use even stronger words than “adulterous” for this prospective wife: “whoring, promiscuous, and prostituted,” to name a few. Was this the woman Hosea wanted to marry? I think she was. For, if this woman is to picture God’s people, she must have been as loved by Hosea as Israel and Judah were loved by the Lord.
Early on in the marriage, God gave Hosea and Gomer (That’s her name!) children, and told Hosea what to name them. Each name is symbolic of the division that has grown between God and his people. The very children that should hold this family together predict its troubles. In chapter 2, Hosea poetically applies all this to the nation of Israel.
In chapter 3, we learn that Gomer has indeed run from Hosea and become an adulteress. The Lord tells Hosea to “love her again,” not because he has stopped loving her, but because she literally needs redemption. His wayward wife has become a slave. The only way out is for her to buy her back. “Love her as I love Israel,” the Lord says. And so he does. Acting out the saving love of God, Hosea redeems his wife, beaten, used up and unfaithful though she was.
Here we have another picture of Jesus in the Old Testament, purchasing us wayward souls through the price of His own blood. Praise His holy Name!
Your fellow pilgrim through the Prophets,
Pastor Gary
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