In the fourteen chapter book of Hosea, God uses the prophet’s real life experiences and circumstances (namely his marriage) to preach His message to the people of Israel. The terrible truth about Israel’s religious promiscuity and coming destruction is being played out in Hosea’s life for all to see. The name Hosea means "salvation," "He saves," or "He helps.”
Hosea (son of Beeri) was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel who is one of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. The period of Hosea's ministry extended to some sixty years, and he was the only prophet of Israel of his time who left any written prophecy. Below are important lessons that can be learned from the book of Hosea:
1.
God calls us
into a covenant relationship with Him-It all starts as we realize how much God has done for us.
Renew your covenant marriage to God. If you have never entered into that
eternal covenant (made possible only through the Cross of Christ), the time is
now to make the right decision.
2.
God calls us to
love the unlovely even those who have hurt us-God hates sin. It grieves His heart;
He cannot condone it; His perfect justice demands that He deal with it.
He still loves the sinner, and offers His loving forgiveness. We
need to love like that. We need to forgive like that.
We need to drag
the decaying hurts we have been harboring in our hearts to the cross of Christ.
We must leave them all there. When we fully forgive, our minds are
released from the bondage of resentment that has been building a wall between
us, and we are free to grow in our relationships with each other.
3.
God uses our
challenges in relationships to reveal His love to others-God calls us to love our enemies
(anyone can love their friends). If you’re in a difficult relationship,
even now God wants you to show others a real life example of His redeeming
love.
4.
God uses our
struggles to display His power through us- If we truly live to bring glory to
God, it changes everything. Regardless of what life brings our way, God
can be glorified if we remain faithful to Him.
5.
Our
disobedience to God brings consequences-The majority of the book of Hosea is about the coming
judgment of God upon Israel. Like He does with us, He gives them evidence
of their unfaithfulness, He warns them of coming destruction, offers an
opportunity for repentance, then He holds true to His Word.
6.
Our
relationship with God is like a marriage-This is a powerful and guiding
thought for us all (singles, young people, and married adults) you will never
find an earthly relationship like the divine one you can have with God.
The Lord said to him, “Go, and marry a woman who will
be unfaithful to you. She will give you children whose fathers are other men.
Do this because people in this country have acted like an unfaithful wife
toward the Lord.” (Hosea
1:2,
ICB)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“Hosea” from Wikipedia
·
“Lessons from the Life of Hosea” by Jeff Warren
·
https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Love-Francine-Rivers/dp/1590525132/ref=sr_1_1/145-8478309-3743902?ie=UTF8&qid=1544903136&sr=8-1&keywords=redeeming+love+by+francine+rivers
For a fictionalized
account of this book set in California’s gold country 1850, see Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
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