59…HOSEA…(IN)FIDELITY

Based on the Book of Hosea (Hos)…Read more there.

In Hosea, a Prophet from the old northern kingdom, the clock is turned back a couple of hundred years to the middle of the 8th C. BC. (Ezekiel of Ep. 57, was from the 6th C. BC; & Daniel of Ep. 58, though set in that same 6th C. actually stems from the 2nd.) Like other books of the Hebrew Bible the Minor Prophets are not in chronological order! 

Hos. emerges about 750BC at a time when Hebrew religion is at a low ebb because of apostate (unfaithful) rulers & disinterested people. Hos. confronts this in a most personal way [1]. His wife, Gomer, proves to be unfaithful, & he likens this to Israel’s unfaithfulness to YHWH God. Though Hos. is regarded as a ‘Minor’ or ‘Lesser’ Prophet, there’s nothing minor or lesser about his message. (This collection of books is so-called simply because they’re all much shorter than the ‘Greater’ Prophets!) As others in this collection, Hosea’s message remains as confronting to us in our world & in our personal lives as it must have been to the people of his own day. We’ve seen examples of different approaches taken by Prophets; now Hos. breaks new ground again, & very personal ground at that!

It needs to be said that the whole ‘plot’ may simply be constructed as an allegory of Israel’s un-faithfulness to YHWH. But the personal intensity in Hos’ feelings is likely evidence he’s ‘telling it as it is’, at two levels…personal, & national. In either case the content sits happily as a foretaste of the message of loving forgiveness & restoration Jesus later brings.

The book begins explosively (& puzzlingly?) with YHWH instructing Hos to marry Gomer. She is either a prostitute or later going to act like one in her unfaithfulness. The name of their children are highly symbolic too. The scene is thus quickly set for the likening of Hos’ marriage to Gomer to YHWH’s ‘marriage’ to Israel. Their symbolically named children represent the consequences of the fall-out when Gomer / Israel is unfaithful to her ‘husband’, Hosea / YHWH! (For whatever reason a second version of this marriage is given in Ch.3.)

Ch.2 consists of a prophecy of Israel’s future expansion & prosperity; the consequences of Gomer's / Israel’s unfaithfulness; & ends with reconciliation seemingly between Hos & Gomer & therefore Israel & YHWH God! In Ch.4 & 5 Israel gets a tongue-lashing from YHWH administered by Hos. Ch.6 begins with a resolution by the people to return to God. The rest of the book consists mainly of good intentions that often seem to be purely window-dressing. Ch.7-10 consist mostly of examples of further unfaithfulness by Israel intermingled with YHWH lamenting Israel’s continuing unreliability.

Ch.11 to 14:1 more or less follow the same course as Ch. 7-10, but at Ch.14:2 the tide eventually turns more promisingly & YHWH covenants a better relationship with & better outcomes for Israel. (14:10 was probably added later by someone wanting to emphasise the same point YHWH & Hos are making.) There’s more to come…60: On Locusts’ Wings…Joel

[1] ‘Hosea’s uniqueness as a prophet lies in the fact that he learnt his message out of his own personal sufferings.’  [John B.Taylor, The Minor Prophets, p.3, Scripture Union, London, 1970.]

Q: Does the imagery of a marriage relationship between God & us still speak to us today?