Lessons from Hosea

There is a lot to be learned from the prophet Hosea, considered one of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. The term "minor" has no reference to importance; it simply is called that due to its length. The Minor Prophets are all short books compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

The primary message of Hosea to the people of the OT and to the people of today is that God's people have ceased to follow Him, and they need to repent and obey. If they do this they will be restored to God, but if not, they are lost!

God makes His point very early in the book of Hosea in this way: Hosea 1:2 says, "When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea: 'Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord.' So he went and took Gomer...." to be his wife. God is fed up with the evil of the people and wants Hosea to have to experience what it is like to have your loved one "play the harlot" against you. No one wants to have a wife who is chasing after other lovers, committing harlotry openly. But this was what God was experiencing from His people in that day.

It could be said that people today are like that, too. Society is becoming more and more loose with morals, evil is being tolerated and practiced just as it was in the OT days. Hosea 4:6 says that "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you...." Then in 5:4, "they do not direct their deeds toward turning to their God, for the spirit of harlotry is in their midst, and they do not know the Lord."

But God always leaves the door open, always allows His people to turn back to Him. This is one of the primary messages of the whole Bible. Note 14:1, "O Israel, return to the Lord, for you have stumbled because of you iniquity; take words with you, and return to the Lord." Then in 14:4, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away...." God loves us, wants us to follow Him, wants us to not follow after the worldly lusts that entice us. And if we do that, He promises us all the best; promised us all that He can offer...and that is a lot, certainly salvation and forever with Him.

Thanks to the Lord for the lessons from Hosea. And thanks to you for reading. Have a great week!