Old Testament Characters
Hosea
The Setting
Hosea lived and ministered in Israel in the days of the divided Kingdom
He preached during the reign of Jeroboam II
The nation of Israel was experiencing great material prosperity
In spite of its great material wealth it was a nation in decline
Into this God sent a man with great insight into the deep spiritual need of his people and was given a divine message for the people
The Story
Hosea mission was both special and painful
He was called to experience anguish caused by an unfaithful wife
The unfaithfulness of Hosea’s wife was an image of what was going on in the nation of Israel.
The nation’s unfaithfulness was shown by the worshipping of idols and the rejection of God’s holiness and his commands.
God denounced the sin that was occurring within the nation of Israel
God announced the doom that was coming
God pronounced His love for the people
God declared his discipline
God gave His blessing
Application
In the midst of Hosea’s pain over the loss of his wife when she went back to become a prostitute in the temple he began to gain insight into what had been happening to God and Israel for a long time.
In the midst of tough times many times we develop a new awareness of not only of the situation, but of God
God had taken the initiative with his people, he had delivered them out of Egypt. He had brought them in to the promised land. He had shown great love for Israel. The people of Israel had become unfaithful and rejected God’s great love for them
Out of Hosea’s personal experience he begins to understand
How the unfaithfulness of Israel affected the heart of God
Hosea discovered that God is love
God is not detached from His people
Hosea came to a new understanding of the nature of sin
Sin is spiritual adultery
Sin crushes the heart of a loving God
Sin brings suffering to all people
God does not seek to punish sin, but seeks to defeat it
Hosea came to a new understanding of God’s requirements
God requires faithfulness
God will do anything to bring reconciliation between Him
and His people
Hosea came to understand the necessity of repentance
We need to see our great sin and how it has affected us
Justice and punishment are part of the repentance process
Out of repentance come the rich blessings of God
