Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. (Hosea 14:9)
Author
Hosea was a prophet of Israel who tells us in the very first verse both his father and those kings who were contemporary with his message:
The word of the LORD that came to 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)
Although we know little of Hosea's life prior to his writing, one could conclude that his family was agricultural because of the settings he used in his illustrations.
Date
In the opening verse Hosea tells us of the time of his message, listing the kings who reigned over both Judah and Israel during his ministry:
The word of the LORD that came to 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)
Based on this, the messages of the book of Hosea must have been delivered from approximately 755 - 712 BC, and were likely compiled into a single volume near the end of his ministry. It has been suggested that the book was compiled prior to the Assyrian Captivity of 722 BC since there is no mention of that judgment having come to pass. Gleason Archer suggests a date of 722 BC.
Language Style
Hosea is a prose narrative book which begins as a biographical record of Hosea and his unfaithful wife. This information serves as an introduction to, and a symbol of the prophecies in the later chapters of the book.
Place in the Canon
Hosea, like all the "minor prophets" of the Christian canon, has been retained as Scripture through the Church age. In the Hebrew Scriptures, Hosea is located in the "Book of the Twelve" as a single scroll which includes all twelve of these, the final books of the Old Testament. Within the Hebrew canon, the Book of the Twelve is located in the second division known as "The Prophets" and follows immediately behind Ezekiel. The Christian canon maintained the minor prophets in the same order as found in the Hebrew Bible; namely Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
Theme
The theme of the book of Hosea is the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel. In order to make the clearest presentation to the people, God had Hosea marry a prostitute and used this relationship as a figure of the relationship between Israel and God.
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” (Hosea 1:2)
This is shown as related to Israel in Chapter 4:
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. (Hosea 4:1-2)
Yet God promises restoration; again demonstrated in the lives of Hosea and Gomer:
And the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” (Hosea 3:1)
This is applied to Israel later:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. . . . I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. (Hosea 14:1-2; 4-6)
Critical Issues
The primary complaint against Hosea is God's command to the prophet to marry an adulterous woman. Because of the prevailing opinion that God would not have a holy man marry a woman like Gomer, many have attempted to allegorize the first part of the book. Others, however, tend to the declaration that Gomer was not immoral prior to her marriage, but became so afterward. Leon Wood, as pointed out by Gleason Archer notes that the phrase "wife of harlotry" would mean "a woman of adulterous character" rather than a prostitute which would be rendered by the word, zona. Wood notes that in order to well represent the character of Israel, Gomer would not have been an adulterous woman at the time of her wedding, just as at the time of the exodus, Israel was in a meaningful covenant relationship with God. It is also noted that Gomer's first child, Jezreel, is explicitly stated as being fathered by Hosea, whereas Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi have no such statement. Thus the second and third children may be the result of Gomer's adultery.
Thus, the argument is that since the book is given in a direct autobiographical narrative, without even a hint at being a parable or allegory; the direct statements in regard to the children of Gomer; the fact of God's command to Hosea; and the mirror image of Hosea's marriage seen in the character of Israel, one must consider the book as divinely inspired.
Background Reading
2 Kings 15:1 – 2 Kings 20:21
2 Chronicles 26:1 – 32:33
Isaiah 36:1 – 39:8
Outline of Hosea
A. Unfaithful Wife, Faithful Husband – Hosea 1:1 – 3:5
1. Take an Adulterous Wife – Hosea 1:1 – 2:1
2. The Punishment and Restoration of Gomer (Israel) – Hosea 2:2 – 2:23
3. Hosea's Reconciliation with Gomer – Hosea 3:1 – 3:5
B. Unfaithful Nation, Faithful God – Hosea 4:1 – 14:9
1. The Unfaithfulness of Israel – Hosea 4:1 – 4:19
2. The Judgment of Israel – Hosea 5:1 – 5:15
3. Israel Does Not Turn – Hosea 6:1 – 7:16
4. Israel Will Receive Her Reward – Hosea 8:1 – 8:14
5. Israel's Punishment – Hosea 9:1 – 10:15
6. God Remains Faithful – Hosea 11:1 – 11:11
7. Israel's Sin – Hosea 11:12 – 12:14
8. God's Anger Against Israel – Hosea 13:1 – 13:16
9. Repentance Will Bring Blessing – Hosea 14:1 – 14:9
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