“Warning: Explicit Lyrics.” No, seriously. Hosea has harsh words for the people of Israel, harsh metaphors that come straight from God and describe graphically the main problem that has plagued Israel from the time that they left Egypt.
God’s main command to the Israelites, the one that is repeated over and Over and OVER again (you should know this by now if you have been following along) is to Love The Lord Your God With All Your Heart And Serve Him Only (and don’t follow other gods). This is the commandment, the covenant, that they break over and over again, leaving The One True God in the dust while they go prostituting themselves after the false gods of the Amorites, Hittites, Moabites, and Alltheotherites. God is tired of it. So he calls on the prophet Hosea actually show the people how he feels.
(Hosea prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah of Judah, and Jeroboam of Israel.)
God told Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer. What? Why? Because she would be unfaithful to Hosea as the nation of Israel had been unfaithful to God. Their first child was named Jezreel, but their next children were given symbolic names, a daughter named No Compassion and a son named Not My People.
The phrase “This is the Lord’s Declaration” returns again; the children of Israel will be punished for their fathers’ wanton ways. Hosea, quoting God, uses harsh words, comparing Israel to a prostitute throughout the whole book.
God does promise that He will heal the relationships; He will have compassion on No Compassion, and Not My People will be his people again.
In Hosea’s life, by this time, Gomer had left him for another man, as was her inclination. But Hosea went to buy her back, and God will purchase His beloved people back again.
Judgment is coming to Israel because of their spiritual promiscuity--this is the theme of the book of Hosea. Instead of following God and loving Him with all their hearts, the nation of Israel prostituted themselves by following false gods and “loving” and serving them. God, their original love, is really angry about this. Israel has broken the covenant, they have broken their vows, and God is both heartbroken and furious. What else does God have to say? “They will seek me and not find me.”
But there is a promise also. Hosea 6:2: On the third day he will raise us up!
Again, God speaks of wanting loyalty and not sacrifice. The children of Israel have violated the covenant. But God promises that they will one day be returned from captivity.
More accusations of adultery. Also, the Lord mourns. His people have fled; they continually rebel.
God declares the people incapable of innocence. Not just “guilty,” but “incapable of innocence.” So black are their hearts that they are almost beyond the point of redemption. Almost, but not quite, because that is how it is with God. There is no one He cannot save, no nation He cannot redeem. Even in the midst of all these horrific accusations--believe me, I am only skimming the surface of the horror that is Hosea--God promises healing and salvation for those who heed His words and walk in His ways. Notice that it is conditional--you must follow and obey to be healed.
Israel has proved again and again that they do not know the law. Israel has forgotten his maker, and then multiplied cities, so God will send judgment and fire.
Their bad behavior is both literal and figurative--there are people in Israel literally doing the promiscuous things God describes. Also, the nation as a whole has forsaken the Lord God and prostituted themselves by sleeping around with other gods. That’s not me being gross, that’s how God Himself describes their actions.
Is there any relief from the pain, from the judgment, from the condemnation? Of course there is--this is God’s pattern. Hosea chapter 14 contains this message: “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God” (v 1); “I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely” (v 4); “For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them” (v 14). The choice is clear; the choice must be made.
But will they?
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