{"id":5738,"date":"2012-08-08T01:00:27","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T08:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/?p=5738"},"modified":"2012-08-08T01:41:10","modified_gmt":"2012-08-08T08:41:10","slug":"bob-hosea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lighthousebc.com\/beacon\/2012\/08\/08\/bob-hosea\/","title":{"rendered":"BOB – Hosea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

by Stephen Rodgers<\/em><\/p>\n

HOSEA IN\u00a010\u00a0WORDS\u00a0OR\u00a0LESS<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Prophet’s marriage to prostitute reflects God’s relationship to Israel.”<\/p>\n

TITLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like almost all the other prophetic books, the book of Hosea takes its name from the prophet respon\u00adsi\u00adble for its con\u00adtent.<\/p>\n

Per the MSB:<\/p>\n

The title is derived from the main character and author of the book. The meaning of his name, \u201csalvation,\u201d is the same as that of Joshua (cf. Num. 13:8,16) and Jesus (Matt. 1:21). Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets. \u201cMinor\u201d refers to the brevity of the prophecies, as compared to the length of the works of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.<\/em><\/p>\n

AUTHOR\u00a0&\u00a0AUDIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

While not all commentators automatically agree that Hosea personally wrote the book that bears his name (see for example, the NIVSB), Constable sees no reason to doubt it:<\/p>\n

The prophet\u2019s name is the title of the book. The book claims to be the word of the Lord that Hosea received (Hos. 1:1). Thus he appears to have been the writer.<\/em><\/p>\n

The MSB gives us more background on Hosea, although honestly, there’s not much available:<\/p>\n

The book of Hosea is the sole source of information about the author. Little is known about him, and even less about his father, Beeri (Hos.\u00a01:1). Hosea was probably a native of the northern kingdom of Israel, since he shows familiarity with the history, circumstances, and topography of the north (cf. Hos.\u00a04:15; 5:1,13; 6:8,9; 10:5; 12:11,12; 14:6). This would make him and Jonah the only writing prophets from the northern kingdom. Although he addressed both Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom), he identified the king of Israel as \u201cour king\u201d (Hos.\u00a07:5).<\/em><\/p>\n

The original audience of Hosea’s oral message would have been the northern kingdom of Israel. After they were overrun, his words would have been\u00a0preserved\u00a0as a prophetic warning of judgment, a call to\u00a0repentance, and a promise of restoration.<\/p>\n

DATE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The MSB gives the standard conservative position on the dating of Hosea:<\/p>\n

Hosea had a lengthy period of ministry, prophesying ca. 755\u2013710 B.C., during the reigns of Uzziah (790\u2013739 B.C.), Jotham (750\u2013731 B.C.), Ahaz (735\u2013715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715\u2013686 B.C.) in Judah, and Jeroboam II (793\u2013753 B.C.) in Israel (Hos.\u00a01:1). His long career spanned the last 6 kings of Israel from Zechariah (753\u2013752 B.C.) to Hoshea (732\u2013722 B.C.). The overthrow of Zechariah (the last of the dynasty of Jehu) in 752 B.C. is depicted as yet future (Hos.\u00a01:4). Thus he followed Amos\u2019 preaching in the north, and was a contemporary of Isaiah and Micah as well, both of whom prophesied in Judah. Second Kings 14\u201320 and 2 Chronicles 26\u201332 record the historical period of Hosea\u2019s ministry.<\/em><\/p>\n

Constable gives some additional information as well as illuminating a number of variant dates. Rather than expressly contradicting the traditional view, I find it interesting how consistant the overall opinion of most scholars is on this issue:<\/p>\n

Hosea\u2019s ministry spanned the reigns of four Judean kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah; cf. Isa. 1:1) and one Israelite king (Jeroboam II; Hos.\u00a01:1). King Uzziah (Azariah) of Judah began reigning in 792 B.C., and King Hezekiah of Judah stopped reigning in 686 B.C., spanning a period of 107 years. Probably Hosea\u2019s ministry began near the end of Jeroboam II\u2019s (793-753 B.C.) and Uzziah\u2019s (792-740 B.C.) reigns and ended in the early years of Hezekiah\u2019s sole reign (715-686 B.C.). Hezekiah evidently reigned for 14 years as co-regent with his father Ahaz (729-715 B.C.; cf. 2 Kings 18:1). This would mean that the prophet\u2019s ministry lasted perhaps 45 years (ca. 760-715 B.C.). It also means that Hosea\u2019s ministry extended beyond the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C. since Hezekiah began ruling in 715 B.C. Hosea did not date any of his prophecies. Other possible dates are between\u00a0760 and 753 to 715 B.C. (38 to 45 years), [Leon Wood, \u201cHosea,\u201d in Daniel-Minor Prophets, vol. 7 of The Expositor\u2019s Bible Commentary, p. 163, and idem, The Prophets of Israel, p. 276.]\u00a0760 to 720 B.C. (38 years), [Douglas Stuart, Hosea-Jonah, p. xliii.]\u00a0760 to sometime during Hezekiah\u2019s reign (715-686 B.C., about 45 years), [Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, p. 175.]\u00a0and about 60 or 65 years. [C. F. Keil, \u201cHosea,\u201d in The Twelve Minor Prophets, 1:15.]<\/em><\/p>\n

BACKGROUND\u00a0&\u00a0SETTING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hosea ministered during a very turbulent time in Israel’s history. Under Jeroboam II, Israel enjoyed economic and material prosperity until his death in 753 BC. That seemed to signal a rapid and chaotic downturn however, going through six kings is 20 years. At the end of that time, Israel (by then a vassal state of Assyria), attempted a rebellion which was subsequently crushed, with the ten tribes of the northern kingdom being carried off into exile, never to return.<\/p>\n

HISTORICAL\u00a0&\u00a0THEOLOGICAL\u00a0THEMES<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are three major themes running through the book of Hosea:<\/p>\n