God told the prophet Hosea to do some strange and unconventional things. First, he was told to marry a prostitute.
Next, their children were given bizarre symbolic names.
Finally, after Hosea’s wife left him to return to her former life, he was told to go find her and take her back.
All of these events were to be used by Hosea as object lessons for the nation of Israel. Specifically, his marriage to an undeserving and unfaithful wife points to God’s unconditional love to an undeserving and unfaithful people – both then and now.
Hosea is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter.
(Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)
Learn more about all twelve of the Bible’s Minor Prophets in Peter’s book, Minor Prophets Bible Study: Unearth Timeless Teachings of the Bible’s Unsung Prophets.
Get your copy of Minor Prophets Bible Study today!
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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