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Bible Commentaries
Hosea 1

DanielDan 12 HoseaHos HoseaHos 2

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Verses 1-11

Intro:
1. Minor Prophets: Less pages, not less important; small in size, big in truth; These are minor prophets preaching a major message!
  1. Yet, Hosea is actually larger than Daniel.
2. Hosea:
  1. Book Overview: Ch.’s 1-3 Adulterous wife yet a faithful husband; Ch.’s 4-14 Adulterous nation yet a faithful God.
  2. Main Theme: God’s faithful love toward His unfaithful people.
  3. Story in a nut shell: Hosea married a woman who bore him 3 kids, & then deserted him & became a prostitute. - He finally buys her back from the slave market. - This was a sermon to the nation ofIsrael, for committing “spiritual adultery”.
  4. The state of Israel: Prospering outwardly, but decaying inwardly.
  5. Hosea: His name = Salvation.
    1. He’s the only prophet to come from the Northern kingdom.
    2. Not mentioned anywhere else in scripture.
    3. His ministry lasted around 40 years.
  6. Master of imagery: “Like a….” (24 x’s) {see 2:3}
    1. Like a: calf, moth, lion, morning cloud, flaming fire, silly dove, treacherous bow.
3. The Times? – These are the last few swirls before the kingdom goes down the drain.
  1. This book represents God’s last gracious effort to “plug the drain”! (Wilkinson & Boa; Talk Thru the O.T.; pg.236)
4. Contemporaries? - Jonah(who went to the Assyrians); Amos(No. Kingdom also); Isaiah & Micah(So. Kingdom).
5. Outline: Hosea!(1:1-9); Future Hope!(1:10-2:1); Harlotry!(2:2-13); The Door of Hope!(2:14-23)
HOSEA! (1-9)
1. Q: Have you ever wanted to know what someone was thinking?
  1. In the 1^st 3 chapters of this book we have “exactly” what God is thinking regarding “sin” & “love”!
2. (1) Q: Have you ever felt the heart-break of a child walking away from the Lord? Q: Have you ever had someone be “unfaithful” to you? Then you’ve sensed a smidgen…of the hurting heart of God!
  1. Hosea had to live out 1^st hand…loving one who was unfaithful.
    1. Marital unfaithfulness is unfortunately “nothing new”!
  2. Some of you have also have suffered through the same in your marriage or in a past relationship. There must be no deeper wound!
    1. You truly have known the “fellowship of His sufferings!”
    2. You have forgiven as God forgives! “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph.4:32)
  3. Hosea was going to feel on the temporal scale, what God was feeling on the eternal scale.
3. (2) Q: Has anyone had a stranger start to their ministry?
  1. “So you want to be in ministry ey?”
  2. Isaiah had to walk the streets dressed like a prisoner of war for 3 yrs. – Jeremiah walked around for 3 months w/a yoke around his neck. – Ezekiel even turned the painful loss of his wife into a sermon.
  3. “Expect to pay a price if you want to have a ministry to others!”
    1. 2 Cor.1:4,6 “(the God of all comfort)who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble,”…“Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation.”
4. A problem: Q: Did God violate the moral standard of His own laws by asking Hosea to marry a prostitute?
  1. A wife of harlotry - Some have maintained that she was a common prostitute.{but would God call her to violate His standard?} - Others have maintained that she was a cultic prostitute in the service of Baal. – Some have suggested she symbolized Israel’s worship of many gods. - Still others have believed she was an ordinary woman who became unfaithful after her marriage to Hosea.
  2. (i.e.) “Go, take to yourself a wife who will prove to be unfaithful.”
  3. I think the last view is the best one/accept seems to weaken what God is calling him to do!
5. (4,5) Jezreel – God sows(2:22). Here God scatters!
6. Jehu – This refers to Jehu’s slaughter of his enemies in Jezreel.
  1. Wait! This was Prophesied by Elijah, commanded by Elisha, commended by the Lord Himself(2 Kings 9,10).
  2. Jehu went too far in his zeal.
  3. The prophesy was to take out Ahab’s household which he did
    1. Read 2 Kings 10:7,11,17. (& Jezebel 9:30-37)
  4. But he also took out Jehoram(king o Is./rt. between the shoulders & thru the heart); Ahaziah(king o Judah/shot also in his chariot); + his household(42 of them); + the servants of Baal in Samaria(massacre/80 guys outside the temple).
  5. Poetic Justice – Israel’s bow would be broken at the very site of Jehu’s sin.
7. (6) Lo-Ruhamah! (No-Mercy)
  1. “Mercy” is a girl’s name, but “No-mercy”? (Imagine naming your girl that!)
  2. This is the situation of Israel today! God is providentially guiding the Jewish nation, yet they are not enjoying God’s mercies as before.
8. (6) Lo-Ammi! (Not-my-people)
  1. Q: What mixed feelings might Hosea have about his 3 children? (Are they mine?)
  2. This speaks of God’s temporary rejection of the nation because of their sins.
  3. Q: Ever meet someone whose name did or didn’t match their character or characteristics?
    1. Q: Ever meet a “Mercy” who didn’t show Mercy? (Grace; Joy; Patience, Hope)
    2. That’s ok, God’s into name changes! – No matter what your birth-name is, He can give you a new one!
    3. Name some?
    4. Other times people wanted to change there own name: Naomi
A FUTURE HOPE! (1:10-2:1)
1. Here we have a great affirmation of Hope!

return to 'Top of Page'

Verses 1-11

Intro:
1. Minor Prophets: Less pages, not less important; small in size, big in truth; These are minor prophets preaching a major message!
  1. Yet, Hosea is actually larger than Daniel.
2. Hosea:
  1. Book Overview: Ch.’s 1-3 Adulterous wife yet a faithful husband; Ch.’s 4-14 Adulterous nation yet a faithful God.
  2. Main Theme: God’s faithful love toward His unfaithful people.
  3. Story in a nut shell: Hosea married a woman who bore him 3 kids, & then deserted him & became a prostitute. - He finally buys her back from the slave market. - This was a sermon to the nation ofIsrael, for committing “spiritual adultery”.
  4. The state of Israel: Prospering outwardly, but decaying inwardly.
  5. Hosea: His name = Salvation.
    1. He’s the only prophet to come from the Northern kingdom.
    2. Not mentioned anywhere else in scripture.
    3. His ministry lasted around 40 years.
  6. Master of imagery: “Like a….” (24 x’s) {see 2:3}
    1. Like a: calf, moth, lion, morning cloud, flaming fire, silly dove, treacherous bow.
3. The Times? – These are the last few swirls before the kingdom goes down the drain.
  1. This book represents God’s last gracious effort to “plug the drain”! (Wilkinson & Boa; Talk Thru the O.T.; pg.236)
4. Contemporaries? - Jonah(who went to the Assyrians); Amos(No. Kingdom also); Isaiah & Micah(So. Kingdom).
5. Outline: Hosea!(1:1-9); Future Hope!(1:10-2:1); Harlotry!(2:2-13); The Door of Hope!(2:14-23)
HOSEA! (1-9)
1. Q: Have you ever wanted to know what someone was thinking?
  1. In the 1^st 3 chapters of this book we have “exactly” what God is thinking regarding “sin” & “love”!
2. (1) Q: Have you ever felt the heart-break of a child walking away from the Lord? Q: Have you ever had someone be “unfaithful” to you? Then you’ve sensed a smidgen…of the hurting heart of God!
  1. Hosea had to live out 1^st hand…loving one who was unfaithful.
    1. Marital unfaithfulness is unfortunately “nothing new”!
  2. Some of you have also have suffered through the same in your marriage or in a past relationship. There must be no deeper wound!
    1. You truly have known the “fellowship of His sufferings!”
    2. You have forgiven as God forgives! “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph.4:32)
  3. Hosea was going to feel on the temporal scale, what God was feeling on the eternal scale.
3. (2) Q: Has anyone had a stranger start to their ministry?
  1. “So you want to be in ministry ey?”
  2. Isaiah had to walk the streets dressed like a prisoner of war for 3 yrs. – Jeremiah walked around for 3 months w/a yoke around his neck. – Ezekiel even turned the painful loss of his wife into a sermon.
  3. “Expect to pay a price if you want to have a ministry to others!”
    1. 2 Cor.1:4,6 “(the God of all comfort)who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble,”…“Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation.”
4. A problem: Q: Did God violate the moral standard of His own laws by asking Hosea to marry a prostitute?
  1. A wife of harlotry - Some have maintained that she was a common prostitute.{but would God call her to violate His standard?} - Others have maintained that she was a cultic prostitute in the service of Baal. – Some have suggested she symbolized Israel’s worship of many gods. - Still others have believed she was an ordinary woman who became unfaithful after her marriage to Hosea.
  2. (i.e.) “Go, take to yourself a wife who will prove to be unfaithful.”
  3. I think the last view is the best one/accept seems to weaken what God is calling him to do!
5. (4,5) Jezreel – God sows(2:22). Here God scatters!
6. Jehu – This refers to Jehu’s slaughter of his enemies in Jezreel.
  1. Wait! This was Prophesied by Elijah, commanded by Elisha, commended by the Lord Himself(2 Kings 9,10).
  2. Jehu went too far in his zeal.
  3. The prophesy was to take out Ahab’s household which he did
    1. Read 2 Kings 10:7,11,17. (& Jezebel 9:30-37)
  4. But he also took out Jehoram(king o Is./rt. between the shoulders & thru the heart); Ahaziah(king o Judah/shot also in his chariot); + his household(42 of them); + the servants of Baal in Samaria(massacre/80 guys outside the temple).
  5. Poetic Justice – Israel’s bow would be broken at the very site of Jehu’s sin.
7. (6) Lo-Ruhamah! (No-Mercy)
  1. “Mercy” is a girl’s name, but “No-mercy”? (Imagine naming your girl that!)
  2. This is the situation of Israel today! God is providentially guiding the Jewish nation, yet they are not enjoying God’s mercies as before.
8. (6) Lo-Ammi! (Not-my-people)
  1. Q: What mixed feelings might Hosea have about his 3 children? (Are they mine?)
  2. This speaks of God’s temporary rejection of the nation because of their sins.
  3. Q: Ever meet someone whose name did or didn’t match their character or characteristics?
    1. Q: Ever meet a “Mercy” who didn’t show Mercy? (Grace; Joy; Patience, Hope)
    2. That’s ok, God’s into name changes! – No matter what your birth-name is, He can give you a new one!
    3. Name some?
    4. Other times people wanted to change there own name: Naomi
A FUTURE HOPE! (1:10-2:1)
1. Here we have a great affirmation of Hope!

return to 'Top of Page'

DanielDan 12 HoseaHos HoseaHos 2

Copyright Statement
These files are the property of Brian Bell.
Text Courtesy of Calvary Chapel of Murrieta. Used by Permission.

Bibliographical Information
Bell, Brian. "Commentary on Hosea 1". "Bell's Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/cbb/hosea-1.html. 2017.

Bible CommentariesHosea 1

Bell's Commentary on the BibleBell's Commentary

Verses 1-11

Verses 1-11

Bible Commentaries
Hosea 1