Another Bible Commentary: Hosea

1:1 Hosea preached against idolatry from about 750 BC to about 710 BC. At this time, Hosea was working in the northern kingdom of Israel while Micah and Isaiah were working in the southern kingdom of Judah. This “Jeroboam” was Jeroboam II as seen in 2 Kings 14; he was an Assyrian vassal. Hosea may have liked Asaph’s psalms based on some nuances of the text. The fire from the sky, drought, miracles, etc., of Elijah and Elisha didn’t turn things around, and God tried a different tactic: having his prophet marry a whore.

1:2 “children” See 1 Corinthians 7:12-14. Adulterous Israel was an Assyrian vassal. Jesus is our Faithful Bridegroom and, in comparison to Him, we’re whores. God said to go marry a prostitute, and they were apparently common enough; He didn’t say “go stone that gaggle of hookers”. Again, especially in the Old Testament, if there’s a way to read prostitution as idolatry and adultery with foreign gods against God as Husband (Hosea 2:4-5), you’re probably right. See Exodus 34:15-16.

1:3 After Gomer married Hosea, her promiscuity was adultery. Idolatry is frequently portrayed as adultery against God as Husband. Apart from breaking her word with regard to Hosea, her chosen occupation is spoken of favorably by Jesus in Matthew 21:31 in comparison to the attitudes and actions of moralizers.

1:4 See 2 Kings 10:11. Deuteronomy 13 and 1 Kings 21 covered Ahab’s family and the false priests, but the rest of the killings were unsanctioned. “Jezreel” or “God Scatters” was a clue to their impending exile. But, see verse 11…

1:6 Let’s take a moment to consider the “daddy issues” naming a girl “Not Loved” surely caused.

1:9 See Exodus 6:7 and remember all the times Maury Povich told someone that they are not the father.

1:10 See Genesis 22:17.

1:11 “Jezreel” Thanks to the Hebrew language and farming techniques, Jezreel also means Seed of God. Hosea got to the promises of Jesus and national reunification pretty quickly compared to some of the other prophets, didn’t he? See Hosea 2:22-23.

2:2 like Jeremiah 3:8. Hosea speaks of Israel.

2:3 like Isaiah 20:1-6, Ezekiel 16:37-39, Hosea 2:10, and Nahum 3:5. War captives were led away naked. Hookers were sometimes stripped to discourage people from paying for in the dark what they had seen for free in the unflattering light of day. Heirs stripped divorcees to make sure they left with nothing.

2:5 “lovers” Other gods they worshiped in exchange for the material goods listed here (that God actually provides in verse 8).

2:14-15 He sent her away to take her back. Reconciliation was apparently always the point, even during the freaky Ezekiel 16 gang attack stuff. The entire history of humanity since we were evicted from the Garden of Eden can be seen as this sort of relationship with God. Keep your grace glasses on in the Old Testament; remember that after the Cross, it is the fallen world, demons, and misguided humans that are the sources of difficulties in our lives rather than God.

2:16-17 “master” Wordplay with “baal”/Baal.

2:18 A return to Edenic conditions like Leviticus 26:6.

2:23 These “not my people” were once His people, but we Gentiles were always part of the plan, too (Deuteronomy 32:21).

3:1 Terra cotta cake molds (like those found in Cyprus) were used to make fertility-goddess-shaped raisin cakes.

3:2 Hosea redeemed her from her pimp like Jesus bought us.

3:3-4 The lack of intimacy was more performance art by a prophet to illustrate Israel’s condition post-722 BC.

3:5 See John 4 and Acts 2:37.

4:2 from the Ten Commandments. The “cursing” was placing curses on people, which is basically attempted murder through speech.

4:4 Verses 5 through 9’s complaints about priests suggest that the NLT version of this verse, “...My complaint is with you, priests!” is more accurate than complaining about people complaining about priests.

4:6 For example, “people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” because of the failure of the priests (Ezekiel 22:26, Ezekiel 44:23, Malachi 2:1-9). They were bad shepherds.

4:8 The more the people sinned, the better the priests ate (Leviticus 6:25-26).

4:10-11 The prostitution is the worship of idols; see verse 12.

4:13 Basically, they were having Numbers 25 orgies for idols for the purpose of encouraging crops to grow.

4:14 See Deuteronomy 22:21. I think “I will not punish” foreshadows John 8. In Hosea 5:3, the harlot is married so this is another idolatry/adultery scenario regardless of the prostitute/shrine prostitute distinction.

4:15 See Amos 5:5. His prohibition of worshiping idols and then subsequently swearing by Him is like what we saw in Ezekiel 14:1-8. Beth Aven means “House of Wickedness”; it is an insulting way to refer to Bethel, which had become a site for idol worship.

4:17-18 Ephraim, son of Joseph, is used as another name for the northern kingdom of Israel. The prostitution is idol worship and the drinks are gone because God took them in Hosea 2:12 because people attributed His gifts to idols. Hearing a very literal interpreter explain this as Israel’s rulers continuing to mount hookers even after they sobered up is a unique experience.

5:1 Bad shepherds.

5:3 and left God as Husband.

6:2 The Bible sometimes uses a construction like today, tomorrow, and the third day (like in Exodus 19:10-11). There are people that argue whether the Crucifixion and the Resurrection were effective because Friday afternoon to Sunday morning isn’t three days by their reckoning. This verse covers that scenario, two days, or three days. The plain readings of John and the rest of the Gospels are all covered. If you’re into Holy Wednesday instead of Good Friday based on the likely timeline, the extra Sabbath tied to the festival, the difficulty of certain people buying spices on certain days, etc., you’re covered as well. Jesus got back up after being killed, proving that He is the Messiah and that His sacrifice for our sins worked. That’s the miracle; that’s where our focus is. As we’ll see in the Gospels, Jesus the Messiah faced the same challenges as Israel and succeeded, so this verse about the fate of the nation applied literally to His resurrection, too.

6:5 “mouth” Hence, the mouth sword in Revelation.

6:6 See Proverbs 21:3 and 1 Samuel 15:22.

7:2 Thanks to Jesus, our sins are forgotten (Colossians 2:13-14, Hebrews 8:12).

8:1 “eagle” Right on time, per Deuteronomy 28:49.

8:5 “calf-idol” See 1 Kings 12:26-33. They had been at this for about 150 years, since Hosea was preaching in the days of 2 Kings 14.

8:7 “swallow” like Deuteronomy 28:38.

8:9 like Jeremiah 2:24.

8:13 “Egypt” Metaphorically slavery; they were taken to Assyria (Hosea 9:3, Hosea 11:5).

8:14 Play Sodom games, win Sodom prizes.

9:1-2 They looked to false gods for agricultural boons.

9:4 A home where a death happened was unclean for a week and had to be cleansed. The tradition of bringing food to the mourning, while a nice thing to do, began as a way to keep the community ritually clean. See Deuteronomy 26:14.

9:9 “the days of Gibeah” are depicted in the last three chapters of Judges (with the war over the concubine that had been raped to death and dismembered). That event was early in their history; Phineas, the grandson of Aaron, was still alive then.

9:10 ”fig tree” See Mark 11:13. “Baal Peor” See Numbers 25.

9:14 This is the curse version of Genesis 49:25.

9:15 “Gilgal” is the site where they entered the Promised Land (Joshua 4, Joshua 5). It is ironic that the place where they put rocks as proof of a miracle became a site for idolatry like many other “Neolithic stone circles” around the world. See Amos 5:5.

9:17 The Diaspora is seen by some as another wilderness experience.

10:1 “vine” like Isaiah 5.

10:5 “Beth Aven” The House of Wickedness is in reference to Bethel. The place where Jacob saw that Ladder (Genesis 28) became a worship site for the calf cult (1 Kings 12:25-33).

10:9 See Hosea 9:9 note.

10:10 Based on how early this was written, this means Assyria (or properly “The Neo-Assyrian Empire”). This is an early, simple version of the sentiment behind the summoned multinational enemy teams like we read about elsewhere like in Ezekiel 38 through Ezekiel 39.

10:12 Starting at the bottom: “seek the LORD” How? See Hebrews 11:6 and Genesis 15:6. That gets us the “righteousness” credit. Since righteousness and charity are tied up in the same word tzedakah, this is also the same Treasure in Heaven riff we’ve seen a few times now. This time it’s an aid to understanding the Kingdom of God, breaking up the “unplowed ground” (Matthew 13:4). This was in effect until “He comes and showers His righteousness on you”; it’s a free gift because of the finished work of Christ. Looking ahead, we see generous Cornelius (Acts 10:2) who had both faith and generosity as “plowed ground” for the spread of Christianity to Gentiles like us. However, the only real righteousness is Jesus’ (2 Corinthians 5:21); having received that, then believers can be just, deal with others fairly, and be generous because of who Jesus made us to be.

10:14 See 2 Kings 17:3.

11:1 Jesus is the Son that Israel wasn’t. This verse comes up again in Matthew 2:14-15. See Exodus 4:22-23, Deuteronomy 1:31, Deuteronomy 8:5, Deuteronomy 32:5-6, and Jeremiah 31:9.

11:8 “Admah” and “Zeboyim” signify the A-to-Z of the cities on the plain destroyed along with Sodom (Deuteronomy 29:23).

11:9 See John 12:47.

11:11 like Isaiah 60:8.

11:12 During the reign of Jeroboam II, the Assyrians were dealing with their own problems. Jeroboam II was able to recover some territory. There was stability, prosperity, and a calf cult that God didn’t like that kept Israel’s loyalty away from the Temple in Jerusalem (not that things were perfect there in those days either). After Jeroboam II died, rulers that followed became Assyrian vassals.

12:1 Chasing the wind is a very “Ecclesiastes” sort of thought.

12:4 The Genesis 32 wrestling match.

12:6 “wait for your God” Trust Him and live in confident dependence.

12:7-8 Since God is known for blessing the righteous, they were boasting of their wealth as proof of righteousness whether it came from honest means or not.

13:6 like Deuteronomy 8:12-14.

13:7-8 A lion, a bear, a leopard, and a “wild animal” remind me of the beasts of Daniel 7.

13:14 is quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:55.

13:15 “east wind” like Exodus 10:13 and Exodus 14:21.

14:3 See Exodus 22:22 and Deuteronomy 27:19.

14:4 His love knows no bounds because His anger is gone forever (1 John 4:16-18).

14:5 “dew” In a desert, this is an important daily provision of just enough, like manna; “blossom” Just like Jesus lived out what Israel was supposed to, Israel is promised resurrection (“blossom”...”take root”).

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