20151224 Thursday, December 24 2015
Hosea 01: Gomer's Children

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"For the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD"

The so-called "minor prophets" of the Holy Bible (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi) have been classified as such merely because their written accounts in the Sacred Scriptures are shorter than the "major prophets" (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Jeremiah). No prophet of the LORD is "minor" however because they all spoke the Word of the LORD (see The Identity Of The LORD God and The LORD God Our Saviour) - which is "major" at any length, whether a single word (see also What Does Word of God Mean To You?), or many volumes.

The English-language rendering of the name Hosea is from the Hebrew name pronounced ho-shay-awh, which means salvation. Hosea was a prophet of the LORD of, and to, the Kingdom of Israel after the united Kingdom of Israel of David and Solomon (see How Many Kings Reigned In The United Kingdom? and When Will The United Kingdom Be Restored?) was divided into two separate Kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel (the northern ten tribes; see Israel In History and Prophecy: Israel and Judah and Israel In History and Prophecy: The Lost Ten Tribes) and the Kingdom of Judah (the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi; see Israel In History and Prophecy: Kingdom Of Judah and Jews - Three Tribes and Three Meanings).

Hosea is unique in that he is evidently the only native prophet of the northern kingdom from whom we have a written record i.e. the book of Hosea. While it's not immediately obvious in English translations, experts in the original ancient languages recognize Hosea's "northern accent" by the structure and wording of his writing - the same Galilee "Aramaizing diction" that Jesus of Nazareth and most of the twelve apostles spoke centuries later (see The Syrian Tongue Of Jesus).

According to custom, the era of Hosea's ministry was stated in relation to the reigns of kings of Israel and Judah (the "Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel" was Jeroboam II - see Kings of Israel and Judah):

"1:1 The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel." (Hosea 1:1 KJV)

Hosea lived in a time of prosperous decadence. The Israelites had come under the delusion that their blessings were of their own creation. They became arrogant - a god of themselves. By the very definition of iniquity (see Iniquity In History And Prophecy), it all seemed so right to them, even though they were living in crass idolatry and immorality. As an object lesson for all to see, the LORD commanded Hosea to flagrantly marry an unrepentant whore, with the purpose that the people of Israel could look to their prophet and feel the revulsion that the LORD had for them.

"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 1:2 KJV)

The prophetic analogy extended to how the spirit of corruption produces children of corruption.

"1:3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

1:4 And the LORD said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 1:5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."

1:6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to him, "Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 1:7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen."

1:8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 1:9 And the LORD said, "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."

1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God." 1:11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel." (Hosea 1:3-11 KJV)

Fact Finder: How long were the Israelites a united kingdom?
See A History Of Israel's United And Divided Kingdoms