Hosea |
God longs for the return of backsliders, pleads with them and makes every inducement for their repentance.
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Hosea was probably a native and a subject of the Northern Kingdom, and exercised his ministry during the turbulent reigns of the last six or seven of its kings - a period of about sixty years. The moral and religious condition of Israel was very corrupt. God and his Word were ignored; the kings and princes were murderers and profligates; idolatrous priests maintained their shamful rites in all parts of the country; the great political parties applied for help now from Assyria and then from Egypt.
It has been supposed that the domestic incidents referred to in the first 3 chapters are parabolic; but to hold this view is to miss the most moving lesson of the suffering which love, whether human or divine, is prepared to undergo, if only the lost can be found and the erring brought back to life and home. (Meyer)
God’s Love for His Apostate People
How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I cast thee off, Israel? Hosea 11:8
I. Gomer, Unfaithful but Beloved, a Symbol of Israel, Hosea 1-3
1. The Prophet’s Wife and Family, Hosea 1
2. Israel to Be Judged and Restored, Hosea 2
3. The Return of the Prophet’s Wife, Hosea 3:1-3
4. The Return of Israel, Hosea 3:4-5
II. The Divine Judgment and Mercy, Hosea 4-14
1. Israel Ripe for Punishment, Hosea 4
2. The Guilt of King and Priests, Hosea 5:1-6:3
3. Israel’s Depravity and Stubbornness, Hosea 6:4-7:16
4. Reaping the Whirlwind, Hosea 8:1-9:9
5. The History of Israel’s Apostasies, Hosea 9:10-11:12
6. The Triumph of Mercy, Hosea 12-14 —Through the Bible Day by Day
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