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Hosea 1:1-11 –Yet… Hosea 1:1-11 –Yet… LESSON FOCUS: of their relationship with God. On the other side of judgment there is the possibility of God’s judgment on Israel does not mean renewed life with God. that God has completely abandoned her. God won’t abandon us either. Hosea will set the stage for many of the prophets that follow him. Hosea’s main LESSON OUTCOMES: concern is Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant God had made with them. As we Through this lesson students should: discovered in our lessons on Amos, God’s 1. Develop a brief background to the judgment on Israel is not random, but set in Book of Hosea the context of the blessings and curses that 2. Understand that God’s judgment is a are laid out in Deuteronomy. Israel’s result of covenant unfaithfulness on unfaithfulness has looked like a struggle our part with idolatry and corruptions within its 3. Understand that in our sin we may political institutions, which have led to the feel abandoned by God but God is vast mistreatment of people. While Israel’s always working to bring us back to covenantal unfaithfulness will bring about him. judgment, God’s continued covenant faithfulness will result in healing and hope CATCHING UP ON THE STORY: for his people. These themes will be born Hosea was one of the first recorded out as we move through this wonderful prophets, preceded only by Amos. Like book. Amos, Hosea spoke to the northern nation THE TEXT: of Israel. Unlike Amos, Hosea’s tenure spanned a long time and saw many We begin this prophetic book the same way changes in kings. Hosea’s ministry began that most prophetic books begin, with a during the peaceful years of King Jeroboam superscription. The book of Hosea took its II (786-746 BCE) and concluded sometime final shape at the hands of an editor who before Israel’s ultimate fall to Assyria in 722 had collected and compiled Hosea’s BCE. While Hosea’s ministry began in writings and orations. The superscription is relative peace and calm, the country the community of faith’s way of quickly descended into chaos and war as designating this book as a definitive word Israel’s kings sought salvation apart from from God. It is likely that Hosea was edited God. and finally compiled after the destruction of Israel by his followers in Judah in the Hosea also differs from Amos in that his south. For that reason we receive the names message, while confronting the realities of of the Kings of Judah first, even though Israel’s unfaithfulness to the covenant she Hosea’s book mentions northern cities and had entered into with God, is mixed with is written in a distinctly northern style. messages of hope and life. Even though God’s judgment seems all-consuming, for We will notice, as we begin to examine the Israel it would not mean the ultimate end first verse, that we are told that what will 1 follow is “The word of the Lord which into is not some kind of punishment on came to Hosea…” The word of the Lord is Hosea, but a way of depicting God’s something that “came” to Hosea, meaning relationship with Israel. that it was something more than what Hosea heard. Hosea experienced it as an Later on in verse two we are told that event, not just a verbal communication Hosea is to take a wife of whoredom (Birch, 18).1 Hosea will write down this because “the land commits great word of the Lord in his own style and form, whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” Israel but it carries with it the force of God has been unfaithful in her covenantal actively engaging the people with whom he relationship with God. To call Gomer a is in covenant relationship. “woman of whoredom” is not to call her a prostitute but to label her as a person of The Unfaithful Wife: Hosea 1:2-9 unfaithfulness, just as Israel had been The opening scene takes place over the unfaithful to the covenant. Hosea’s course of a couple of years. God speaks to marriage will mirror God’s covenant Hosea, who is the son of Beeri and now of relationship with Israel. God chooses and marriageable age. Hosea is instructed to enters into a relationship with Israel and take for himself a wife, as the NRSV Israel lives unfaithfully to God. God, as we translates, of “whoredom.” A lot of will see with Hosea, does not completely attention has been given to the nature of reject his unfaithful partner, but continually the woman that Hosea is commanded to welcomes her back. marry, even though the amount of information that the text actually gives us is Israel’s relationship with God, as well as rather sparse. Too often it has distracted Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, should have from the main message of the section and been characterized by loving faithfulness book. The word that the NRSV translates as from both sides. Hosea’s marriage “whoredom” is a noun that simply means illustrates for us the nature of Israel’s (and to engage in sex outside of the context of our own!) unfaithfulness to the God who marriage. The related noun that specifically has called us and chosen us to live in designates prostitution is never used to covenant relationship with him. describe Hosea’s wife. Hosea is obedient and engages in this It is unlikely, then, based on the textual and symbolic marriage. He marries Gomer, the grammatical evidence found in Hosea that daughter of Diblaim and they begin to have Gomer is a prostitute. We can get a clearer children. The first child is born and Hosea picture of God’s command to Hosea by is instructed to name him Jezreel. The name understanding the marriage in the context itself is a pleasant one; it means “God of a prophetic symbolic act. Symbolic acts plants” and refers to a beautiful and fertile were undertaken by prophets throughout valley in Israel. It had, however, taken on a the Old Testament, for example, Isaiah 8:1- more ominous meaning because of the 4; 20:1-6; Jeremiah 13:1-11; 27:1-5. For these events that had previously taken place symbolic acts, the prophet was there. 2 Kings 9-10 tell us the story of how commanded to do something that would Jehu overthrew the house of Omri and help illustrate for his hearers the message became king of Israel by killing the King that God was trying to convey through the there. It was also at Jezreel that Jehu had prophet. The marriage that Hosea enters Jezebel, the widow of Ahab, thrown to 2 dogs. Jehu’s dynasty, which lasted until the compassion and pity from Israel can only time of Hosea, becomes a symbol for lead to one place: abandonment as God’s religious idolatry and a quest for national people. To be sure, this abandonment will power. “Hosea’s first child, named Jezreel, not be final and complete, but the time has is to be a constant reminder that the come that God must give them up to their reigning dynasty–from its first hours of its own desires and wishes. They have chosen founding onward–is not in accordance with the path that has led them to this place, and God’s will” (Wolff, 18). To name a child now they must go there alone. The Jezreel would be a scandalous thing. It covenant has been undone. The three might be the same as naming a child today names culminate to have chilling effect. “World Trade Center or 9/11.” Israel will have no kingdom, they will have no one to have pity or compassion on them, A short time later Gomer conceives again and they will have no relationship with and gives birth to a daughter. Once again, God. The future is not bright. God tells Hosea what to name the child. The child’s name will be “Lo-ruhamah” Yet: Hosea 1:10-2:1 which means “no pity” or “no By the time we come to verse 10, the compassion.” Pity and compassion are movement of the passage has been toward important words in the Old Testament. darkness and destruction. The “yet” at the Compassion specifically is related to the beginning of the verse causes the whole Hebrew word for “womb.” This may trajectory of the chapter to change. Yet. It suggest that God’s compassion for Israel is keeps in mind and takes seriously all that related to the all encompassing and has been said or that has taken place but nurturing feelings that a mother has for a dares to move us to begin to see an child she has carried in her womb (Birch, alternate future and reality. “Yet the 21). God will no longer express pity or number of the people of Israel shall be like compassion toward Israel as he has done in the sand of the sea…” This takes us back to the past. God will no longer protect them God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis. from the consequences of their infidelity. Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, despite her God will, however, continue to express his wickedness, despite the fact that she will be compassion toward Judah in the south. He destroyed, that God will remove his will reach out and save them, but not compassion from her, that God will count through the means that Israel will seek to her as one who is not among his people, save herself.
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