Hosea 1-3; 11; 13-14

I found the entry in the Bible Dictionary for Hosea to be very enlightening. I did not know that Hosea was “the only prophet of the northern kingdom who has left written prophecies” for example. I also did not know that the “profound thought and pathos of this prophet of the north deeply influenced succeeding writers (see Isaiah 40–66; Jeremiah 2; 3; Ezekial 16; 33).” Both quotations are on p. 705. Considering the way most people think about Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, this is quite a compliment to Hosea.

Hosea is powerful in part because of powerful imagery: the image of a faithful husband and a faithless wife, with the Lord acting as the husband and Israel acting as the wife. If you liken the imagery to yourself, it can’t help but touch deep feelings. In Hosea 1:2, the Lord tells Hosea, “Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.” In verses 3–9, Hosea marries Gomer and they have a son, a daughter, and another son. Each child is given a name that represents a prophetic message.

Hosea 2 and 3 both continue the imagery of Hosea’s life and prophecies based on that imagery. You might ask, “Why would the Lord command Hosea to take such a wife?” But if you consider that Hosea’s wife represents us, that puts a completely different spin on things. Asking that is the same as asking, “Why would the Lord be willing to work with us, when we are so often clearly inadequate and in need of repentance?”

In Hosea 11, 13, and 14, the prophecies have to do with Israel and Ephraim. They were of interest to me because of course most members of the LDS church are considered to be from the house of Ephraim in their patriarchal blessings, so some of these prophecies can be considered as applying to us today. I particularly liked Hosea 13:9, which reads, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.” It is also interesting that so many of these verses refer to idolatry. We don’t worship the gods of Greek or Roman mythology, but our society and our world does tend to be highly idolatrous when it comes to worshipping celebrities, wealth, and power.

Sunday School Notebook -Aug 2006 - Susan Morgan