This will be the start of a notes series that has to do with the 12 latter prophets of the OT (the prophets that come after the Pentateuch). It is high-stakes to claim that you are a Prophet or a Seer. A seer can deal with the past, present, and future when it comes to what God will have them prophesy. As you go through the Prophets, I hope these notes assist you. These all will be solely the Septugaint being used. All the 12 prophets revolve around repentance and always seek to try and help lead the people of Israel back to the Torah. Deuteronomy 32. It is always an attempt to lead them back to restoration and thus salvation. Hosea will try and prophesy to the people of Israel to return to God because they are being unfaithful to God and thus being Apostates.
One term we need to discuss is called Day of the Lord. This is a time when God will visit His people and will straighten things out. A lot of the prophets say he is going to deal with the surrounding nations of Israel and also with them. There are multiple days of the Lord in scripture and then there is a Last Day. What is referred to in Hosea for the most part is about a coming Day of the Lord that will come for Apostate Israel.
These are short notes. I expect the reader to go read the Scriptures for themselves. These notes are not intended to be long and super in-depth either but are mostly observational and hopefully will be of some help to someone.
Chapter 1:
- Hosea is called by Yahweh to take a prostitute for a wife.
- Prophet Joel will prophesy (and we find this done in Numbers too) that there will be a time when all the people of Israel with the Holy Spirit will prophesy.
- The prophets are not popular. Isaiah gets cut in half and Jeremiah is thrown in a well. They often were met with persecution. The things we do not want to hear are often what we need to hear and this is what the prophets do.
- It is around 750 BC and Jeraboam is King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. From the external look of things, at the time this kingdom is as big as it will ever get at this point and they are doing well right now financially and economically, but Hosea will tell them that they are in fact going against God and that Israel has indeed become a prostitute, whoring around with demons posing as false gods like Baal or Asherah instead of being faithful to Yahweh.
- Hosea marries Gomer and has a son by her named Jezreel because he is going to avenge Jehu.
- He has a daughter named No Mercy.
- Judah will be spared for a while but Israel will not be spared from this Day of the Lord.
- Hosea has another son called: Not My People.
- We see a divorce by God from the unfaithful is prophesied.
- When these kids are born, for context as to why he is naming them such weird names, it should be known that when a child was born, the parent or parents would go up publicly to the high priest and pronounce these names to them. In Hosea's case it should be clear this is done to give a warning to the rulers of the people that they are leading people astray and need to change their ways quickly and repent before it is too late and they face the wrath of God. While Hosea does condemn the apostates, he also does announce though that there will be a restoration and hope.
Chapter 2:
- The nation will fall and the people will have to go back to the desert in exile and learn to rely on God again because now they've forgotten him and are fornicating with pagan gods and nations.
- Due to this, they will be slaves again. After this, chastisement (2.16-23) Israel will come back to God after exile.
- There is promised to be a New Israel, a new people of God.
Chapter 3:
- These "Raisin cakes" are offerings to Baal (3.1).
- 15 pc of silver: he is buying his prostitute, getting her out of that life. He has to pay to free her and redeem her. This is the highest you can pay for a slave too at this time.
- One day, they will see, after a long period of time, God will redeem Israel by the new king Jesus.
- A charge is brought against the priests and people.
- Blood (warm-blooded only; excludes fish). Blood is warm and connected to life. The blood spilled out cries out to God. Creation itself cries out to God here. It is not a positive image in the OT here where the image is of us preying on food to stay alive and exist. It is not what God intended ultimately to happen for his creation for us to have to take any life [side note: Eucharist, Christ's blood offers life]. There is something better about not having to take the life of animals. It is not forbidden to eat animals and kill them for food. It is better however, and the scriptures do point to this, as well as various traditions on this as well. Adam and Eve were vegetarians before the Fall.
- God is going to reject the kingdom. Ephraim chose Caanintes who the idols did not help (4.18-19).
- To summarize: God is saying in essence that: As soon as my judgments start, you will try and impres me and then do it again and again but you're wasting both of our time because we all know they are meaningless and you don't (the apostate) actually believe any of this or in Me.
- Assyria will not bail out Israel.
- Messianic prophecy is found here (6.1-3) of Christ's 3 days.
- "I desire mercy, not sacrifice". None of the rituals nor the traditions mean a damn thing if your heart is not in it for God. God is not mechanical [Psalm 50, 51 LXX]. All of Israel is corrupted (6.9).
- Samaria, capital of N. Israel.
- Doves were considered to be a stupid bird. Ephraim is a stupid and silly dove. This judgment is a disciplinary act. On the 3rd day, I will raise you.
- Judgement is coming on Israel. Ephraim became childless because they sacrifice them to demons posing as gods like Baal and Asherah. The poles mentioned are Asherah shrines.
- "I will go after the Lord" (a Trinitarian reference is found here).
- Judah will be punished for impiety. The cup is filled. He compares Ephraim to the Caananites.
- (13:2) Sacrificing children to Molech and Baal is mentioned here. Those babies God gave them are being sacrificed. (13:4) I am the Creator and I am still Creator. They would usually sacrifice female babies in order to try and appease the gods and have more babies.
- Israel wanted a king but they will have no king. They are choosing death and get the consequences of their actions taken. God has been patient but there will be consequences now. "Is the king going to save you"?
- 13:14-15 Paul will go on to quote this in 1 Cor 15. Hosea says judgment will come but this isn't the end. There will be a restoration to come.
- Israel will have a restoration. They will come out of this exile when they finally repent. This will all be the consequence for Israel's apostasy.
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