The People Don’t Want to Hear His Message The prophet Micah (5) is a contemporary of Isaiah. Micah’s ministry overlaps and follows Hosea’s. We know little else about Micah from the Bible except that he comes from Moresheth, but Scripture doesn’t reveal where it is. Micah prophesies to the nations of Israel and Judah during […]
His Name Means “Not My People” Lo-Ammi is the son of Gomer. Given what his name means, he is also the result of adultery, just like Lo-Ruhamah. He may have the same biological father as Lo-Ruhamah, or they may have different dads. Regardless, Hosea is not his father. Again, it is God who gives him […]
Named After a Notorious Place Jezreel is the first son of Hosea and Gomer. His name is an allusion to a place called Jezreel. Though there are many people in the Bible who have a place named after them, this may be the first time in Scripture we see a person named after a place. […]
Not Marriage Material Gomer (2) is a prostitute. We can assume she offers her body to other men to ensure her survival: food, water, and clothes. Or perhaps she’s merely promiscuous. Either way, she isn’t marriage material. Yet, God’s prophet Hosea marries her anyway. Gomer and Hosea have a son, Jezreel. Then she has two […]
The Prophet Who Marries a Prostitute God speaks to Hosea, son of Beeri. The Almighty calls the young man to be his prophet. In a shocking move, however, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute. God doesn’t tell Hosea which prostitute to marry. Hosea gets to choose. We don’t know his selection criteria, but he […]
A Shepherd and a Prophet Chronologically, Amos (1) follows Jonah and slightly overlaps with Hosea. He’s also a contemporary of Isaiah. Occupationally he works as a shepherd and doesn’t think of himself as a prophet. In fact, he confirms to the priest Amaziah that he isn’t a prophet nor the son of a prophet. Yet […]
While I can’t definitively answer this question about prostitutes, the Bible does give a clear indication—and the answer may surprise you. Through the prophet Hosea, God says: “I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution…because the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—a people without understanding will come to […]
Consider How We Honor and Worship God The first five books of the Bible talk a lot about God’s expectations of his people, about what God desires. He gives Moses his laws to guide them in right behavior, both what they’re supposed to do and what they’re to avoid. The Bible also discusses—sometimes in excruciating […]
When God Calls People to Him, Some Come and Others Run Away As the prophet Hosea wraps up his writings, he gives us some insight into the heart of God. He writes that the more God called his people, the more they ran away from him (Hosea 11:2). When God calls, what is our response? […]
In the book of Hosea, God calls the young man, Hosea, to be his prophet—telling him to marry a prostitute, (see “Hosea Shows Us God’s Unconditional Love”). This is one of God’s most scandalous directives. What is intriguing is that God does not indicate which prostitute. God gives options. The choice is left to Hosea! […]