Tag: Judgment

The book of Hosea is a prophetic encounter that mingles history, metaphors, poetry and repartee to accentuate the message judgment and restoration to his recipients. It is filled with familial expressions such as “children, descendants, son, wife, husband, groom and brothers & sisters” reflecting God’s dealing with Israel & Judah metaphorically as a family unit. The book can be broken down into 2 main segments; Verses 1-3 speaking of Hosea’s marriage/Yahweh’s marriage to Israel and 4-14 are judgments and restoration promises to the northern and southern kingdoms (Israel & Judah). The pattern of sin, followed by judgment, followed by restoration is a prominent theme found throughout the prophet. Smith breaks up the historical alignment to address these in that chapters 1-3 would address thematically the same issues as Amos’ prophecy, chapters 4-11 deal with the Assyrian engagement through Tiglath-Pileser III and chapters 12-14 address the final few years prior to the exile[1]. Keeping in mind the historical standpoint when Hosea’s messages were delivered, there was a serious transformation in their economic standing. They went from being very wealthy during the reign of Jeroboam, to losing everything due to heavy taxation, social chaos and losing control of their resources.  All these things experienced from an invading Assyrian army. Hosea will further reveal the perversion in their worship in mingling Yahweh and Baal adoration that can be seen in Amos.