Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar and Nevim Arith Hayamim:
Hosea 1:2 “The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord.”
Hosea lived about 100 years before Zephaniah and Nahum. He was a prophet to Israel, the Northern Kingdom which eventually went into captivity with the Assyrians. After King Solomon died there was a civil war in Israel and the nation divided into two separate nations, the Northern Kingdom which consisted of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Southern kingdom which consisted of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and was called Judah. The Southern tribes remained somewhat faithful to God having Kings who worship God and other Kings who did not. This kingdom survived for about 350 years. The Northern Kingdom never had a Godly king, they were all rebellious to God. This kingdom lasted about 250 years. God sent prophets and warnings for 250 years to the nation of Israel, for 250 years he tried to bring them back to Him. Stop and consider the patience of God. Our nation is not even 250 years old. King Solomon, the last Godly king was as much a memory to Israel as George Washington is to us. Although the leadership was never Godly, there was always a remnant that sought after God. This remnant migrated to Judah after the fall of Israel. Yet during this time God prospered Israel and continued to make them a world power economically. No wonder the people questioned the prophets by saying; “Come on, we have always been wealthy, we have always worshipped Baal, and nothing has happened. Do you honestly believe that it will all come down in one day? Be reasonable you prophets of doom.” Yet, it did come down. Hosea was called by God to personify the relationship of Israel to God. From the beginning to the romance to the divorce, to the reconciliation. The prophecy of Hosea takes place just before the divorce and explains why the nation did not come down earlier.
Hosea was call to marry a woman who would be unfaithful. Our translations use the English word “whore,” “prostitute,” or “harlot.” All which are misleading. We interpret these words as a woman who sells herself for profit. This is not really a true picture of the word “zanah.” It basically means an unfaithful woman. A woman who commits adultery. There was a love relationship between Hosea and Gomer. Yet, she quickly left Hosea to be with another man. She would return, attempt to reconcile and then be drawn away again. They had three children. A boy named Jezreel which means “God scatters,” a girl named Lo Ruhamah which means “unloved,” and another boy which was not the result of a union between Gomer and Hosea, but that Hosea did accept as his own named Lo-Ammi or “not of my people.”
Many scholars, as well as Jewish scholars, believe chapter 2 describes a divorce between Hosea and Gomer and Chapters 4-14 as the grounds for the divorce. It was the occasion of the divorce that Hosea gave the prophecy. In that divorce hearing, Hosea did a strange thing, he prophesied that there would be a future reconciliation. Why get the divorce then? Hosea still deeply loved his wife, despite all her infidelities, but he could not live with her as the situation existed. Yet, he proceeded with the divorce with a broken heart, not out of anger or revenge. He refers to Israel as Ephraim, 36 times. This is a name he uses for Israel when he speaks of a lover who has broken His heart.
This picture is very important for us to understand. God does not want to divorce Himself from his people, He is heartbroken and can not continue with the heartbreak, but He is ready, willing and able to forgive every bit of unfaithfulness anytime we come to Him, asking forgiveness and asking for another chance. He is that broken hearted lover who, even during the divorce proceedings, will declare to the court – “This marriage must end due to the unfaithfulness, but one day, one day, we are going to get back together again, she will love me one day, she will call me ‘my husband’ and not ‘my master.’” (2:16).
The message of Hosea is that God does not get angry with us over our sin and unfaithfulness, he gets a broken heart. We need to learn to avoid sin and unfaithfulness not because we are afraid of being punished but because we are afraid of breaking his heart. WE ARE TO FEAR GOD BECAUSE HE HAS A GENTLE HEART THAT IS EASILY BROKEN AND WE CAN BREAK HIS HEART. WHEN WE FEAR GOD WE LIVE IN FEAR OF BREAKING HIS HEART. This is why David was a man after God’s own heart, he sought to protect God’s heart. He called God: “My beloved” and not “My master.”
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