Hosea Summary


1

Hosea is called to marry the whore Gomer and have children of whoredom. She bore Jezreel, No Mercy, and Not My People, through whom the Lord expressed his judgment on Israel and his mercy for Judah.

Hosea, the son of Beeri, was an active prophet in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah in Judah and Jeroboam the son of Joash in Israel. The Lord told him to take a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord. Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and bore to Hosea a son, whom the Lord named Jezreel after His coming judgment on Israel for the blood of Jezreel. She also bore No Mercy, a daughter named for the Lord's withdrawn mercy and forgiveness for Israel, and Not My People, a son named for the Lord's negation of Israel as His people. The Lord would not negate his promise to Abraham, though, and will gather Judah and Israel together to appoint one head in the day of Jezreel.

2

Gomer credited her first husband's provisions to her lovers and spent them on the Baals. Hosea must reveal her nakedness and can't have mercy on children who aren't his. The Lord will draw her back and remove the Baals from her mouth, becoming her Ishi.

She is not his wife, so her children should plead with her to put away her whoring and adultery, lest he strip her and make her as in the day she was born. He will have no mercy on her children who were conceived shamefully. She went after her lovers who gave her her bread, water, wool, flax, oil, and drink, yet those came from her first husband all along. She used his silver and gold for Baal. He will take it all back in time, including the wool and flax that covered her nakedness. He will end her mirth, feasts, new moons, Sabbaths, and appointed feasts. He will also lay waste her vines and fig trees, which she considered her wages from her lovers. He will punish her for her offerings to Baal and adorning herself to go after lovers and forget him. Therefore, he will allure her, give her her vineyards, make the Valley of Achor a door of hope, and she shall answer as in the days of her youth. He will remove memory of the Baals and be her Ishi, and he will make a covenant with the beasts, abolish the sword, and betroth her forever in righteousness, justice, steadfast love, mercy, faithfulness, and she shall know the Lord. He will have mercy, and His people will call Him their God.

3

The Lord has Hosea buy Gomer back and love her. Israel likewise will abandon those that come between their relationship with God and return to the Lord their God and David their king in the latter days.

The Lord told Hosea to again love Gomer despite adultery, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel who turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins, so he bought her for 15 shekels of silver and a homer and lethech of barley and told her to be his for many days as he will be hers. For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king, prince, sacrifice, pillar, ephod, or teraphim, and then they shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and come to fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.