Hosea

This section is divided into three bywords of instruction (exhortation) in 4:15; 5:1; and 5:8 mainly directed against Israel. But Judah was also warned that they were in danger of following them in apostasy and punishment. Because of Israel's adulterous idolatry, arrogance, and stubbornness, they were warned that God would blow them away like a whirlwind, eat away at them like a moth or rot, and tear them to pieces like a lion. Hosea refers to the major worship center at Bethel, "house of God," as Beth Aven, "house of wickedness" (4:15; 5:8; 10:5).

An exhortation to repent in 6:1-3 is accompanied by the assurance that all God's punishments would be reversed, even death. After a short time in exile, Israel would be resurrected. The New Testament views as messianic fulfillment certain events in Israel's history which Jesus paralleled or completed.

The Lord was to Israel like a father whose heart is broken by a rebellious child. Hosea 6:6, quoted by Jesus in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7, does not reject sacrifice but rather acts of worship not accompanied by faithfulness and love and not based on the knowledge of God (see 4:1). This section describes a nation full of all kinds of violence and immorality. The king and national leadership neglected the nation and devoted themselves to debauchery and striving for power. As a result, the nation was decaying around them and being assimilated and swallowed up by the surrounding nations. A remedy for the crisis was sought everywhere but in the Lord.

Israel had arrogantly sought success and security through (1) idolatry and (2) military and political power (probably what is intended by the "double sin" mentioned in the summary passage in 10:10). All their efforts would produce the opposite of what they desired. According to 8:7, they were like farmers trying to plant in the wind; the seed is blown away. Whatever seed that grew would be blown away by a storm, which meant that foreigners would come and take it. Israel's idols, temples, and fortresses would be destroyed, and military alliances would drain them dry, enslave them, and carry them away. For their wickedness and rebellion in trusting in the fertility cult of Baal, the Lord would reject them and make the land and people barren.

Rather than a productive vine (Isa. 5; John 15) Israel had become a destructive (not "spreading"; 10:1) vine serving only itself. They had turned the Lord's blessings into gifts for the calf-idols of Baal, while continuing to pay lip service to the Lord's worship. The resultant devastation would be so terrible that many would cry out for the mountains to bury them and the places of their idolatry (10:8; see Deut. 12:2; Luke 23:30). Allusions to Gibeah in 9:9 and 10:9 (see also 5:8) are to the civil war begun by a Levite's concubine being raped, murdered, and cut into pieces (Judg. 19-21). Like Samaria, Gibeah was a hill with a fortress; it served as Saul's capital during his kingship but was later deserted. So it represents both depravity and militarism and may have figuratively referred to Samaria.

Near the end of the section is an exhortation in 10:12 to "sow ... righteousness," "reap ... unfailing love," and "seek the Lord." This verse alludes to the threefold charge against Israel in 4:1 and summarizes a life that pleases God.

Again the Lord grieves as a loving father abandoned by his son (see 6:4), and again Israel is told they will be delivered over to Assyria, who will oppress them as Egypt did (11:5; see 7:16; 8:13; 9:3,6; 10:6). Yet the Lord refuses to annihilate Israel. He promises a new exodus for a believing remnant. Like Hosea 6:2, 11:1 is understood in the New Testament as a messianic prophecy in that Jesus, God's Son, like Israel, was also brought out of Egypt in the context of hatred (Matt. 2:15; see Exod. 4:22). Whereas Israel was freed from Egypt and became slaves to sin, Jesus practiced perfect righteousness so that He could die as their substitutionary atoning sacrifice.

According to Hosea, dependence on foreign alliances meant trusting in deceit and violence and amounted to playing with fire. Again he exhorts a threefold repentance. He also rebukes Israel by pointing out that although their namesake Jacob (whose name God changed to Israel) had been a faithless, self-cen-tered conniver, he met God (at Bethel) and was converted. He became a recipient of grace. They, on the other hand, met Baal at Bethel (Beth Aven) and became recipients of spiritual death.

The contemporary idea of an indulgent, tolerant God is contradicted by the remarkable picture given in 13:7-8 of God being like a lion, a leopard, or a bear, tearing, ripping open, and devouring. Yet, as in 6:1-2, although Israel was presently dead in sin, 13:14 declares that the Lord is able to bring life out of death. As Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:55 declares from this verse, God's power extends to personal, bodily resurrection, not just national renewal.

The book concludes with the prophet's final invitation to repent (even giving a "sinner's prayer"), the Lord's assurance of restoration and blessing for a believing remnant, and Hosea's exhortation to persevere in the study of his prophecy in humble faith.

Theological and Ethical Significance. Nothing can quench God's love for His people. Like a marriage partner, God is deeply involved in their lives and is pained by their rebellion and unfaithfulness. God demands love and loyalty from His own. Often God's people then and now have failed to demonstrate wholehearted love for Him. But God stands ready to forgive and restore those who turn to Him in repentance. In buying Gomer's freedom, Hosea pointed ahead to God's love perfectly expressed in Christ, who bought the freedom of His bride, the church, with His own life.

Cohen, G. G. and H. R. Vandermey. Hosea/Amos. Chicago: Moody, 1981.

Garrett, D. A. Hosea, Joel. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1997.

Hubbard, D. A. Hosea: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1989.

Kidner, D. The Message of Hosea: Love to the Loveless. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1981.

Smith, B. K. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. Layman's Bible Book Commentary. Vol. 13. Nashville: Broadman, 1982.

Wood, L. "Hosea." Vol. 7. Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.