Hosea
Hosea and Zechariah are the longest books of The Twelve (Zechariah has just a few more verses). Hosea has several pertinent prophecies so let’s get to it!
Chapters 1 & 2
You read that right, chapters 1 & 2. However you understand the circumstances of these chapters, they tell the story of Hosea’s marriage and children. He married a woman named Gomer who was unfaithful. His relationship with her was a living illustration of God and Israel (Israel being the 10 northern tribes): she played the harlot and was cast aside, and then won back by Hosea. God says he will do the same with Israel, the end being, I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
They had three children who were given such sad names: Jezreel, Loruhama (not having obtained mercy), and Loammi (not my people). But chapters 1 and 2 both end on positive notes:
1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
2:23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.
Israel (the northern kingdom) was cast aside as the people of God, but He promises to restore them and they will be the people of God once again. Where is Christ in all this? This will take place in his day, as mentioned in 1:11, Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head . . . That one head is Messiah, who will be King of restored and returned Israel!
Now here is where it gets fun. Both Paul and Peter take the promise of 1:10 and 2:23 and apply it to the Gospel and the salvation of the Gentiles.
In Romans 9 Paul is explaining the (partial and temporary) setting aside of Israel and the salvation of the Gentiles when he quotes Hosea:
Romans 9:24-26
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
As you can see, Paul put these two verses together. Hosea prophesied to Israel. God promised to restore Israel to himself as his people. But Paul says this is a spiritual principle, a salvation principle, that applies to the Gentiles who believe in Jesus, I will call them my people, which were not my people.
Peter says the same in 1 Peter 2:10, Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Praise God, the grace of God has reached out to the Gentiles, and we who had not obtained mercy have now obtained mercy in Christ! It appears that we, the church made up of Jews and Gentiles, inherit the promises. The question is, Do we exhaust them? As we shall see in chapter 3, I believe the answer is, No.
Chapter 3
This account of Gomer actually continues on into chapter 3. In this chapter Hosea brings her back home. The chapter ends:
3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
This is why I say we inherit the promises but don’t exhaust them – in the latter days Israel will seek David their king, David their king is a reference to Christ. Where do I get that? God had promised David that Christ would come from his line, which is why Christ is called the son of David. Ezekiel does the same thing when he speaks of Christ (34:23-24; 37:24-25).
The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king – this has been their status since the Babylonian captivity.
Afterward - in the latter days they will return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king. Israel will return to God and will seek Christ their king. As Paul says in Rom 11:26, and so all Israel shall be saved.
Chapter 5:15-6:3
Chapter 5 is very somber. Israel and Judah have both sinned grievously, 4 They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God and God has 6 withdrawn himself from them. The climax is v 15
15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
The situation is dire, but there is hope.
6.1 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up - Here is the call: “Let us return to him. We have sinned, but he will heal us; we are smitten, but he will bind us up.”
2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. There is hope in the mercy of the LORD! This is interesting, in the third day he will raise us up. When was there a raising up in the third day? The resurrection of Jesus Christ! In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul explains the gospel: 3 I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. I am persuaded that Paul had this passage in mind when he said rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And we are raised to life in him.
John Calvin said the Jews understood this to be speaking of Christ: “For they think that they are yet to be redeemed by the coming of the Messiah; and this will be the third day: for God once drew them out of Egypt, this was their first life; then, secondly, he restored them from the Babylonian captivity; and when God shall gather them from their dispersion, this will be the third resurrection.”
3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. – This is another reason I believe this speaks of the days of Christ, this verse speaks of two of the greatest blessings of the New Covenant: know the Lord and the latter rain. The new covenant says we shall all know him and the latter rain would refer to the outpouring of the Spirit (more on this in Joel).
Chapter 11
11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Matthew quotes this verse to explain Jesus' journey down into and back from Egypt
2:15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
“Matthew had more deeply considered the purpose of God in having Christ led into Egypt, and his return afterwards into Judea. There is no doubt, but that God in his wonderful providence intended that his Son should come forth from Egypt, that he might be a redeemer to the faithful; and thus he shows that a true, real, and perfect deliverance was at length effected, when the promised Redeemer appeared. For it behooves us to consider this, that God, when he formerly redeemed his people from Egypt, only showed by a certain prelude the redemption which he deferred till the coming of Christ. Hence, as the body was then brought forth from Egypt into Judea, so at length the head also came forth from Egypt: and then God fully showed him to be the true deliverer of his people. This then is the meaning.” (John Calvin)
Chapter 13
13.14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
Paul, in that great chapter on resurrection, refers us to this verse in 15:55
1 Corinthians 15:51-56
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
You might have noticed right away that Paul’s version of Hosea 13:14 is different than ours. Paul is using the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint or LXX, which reads:
13:14 I will deliver them out of the power of Hades, and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.
But where does he get, Death is swallowed up in victory? Well, he has combined a couple of passages. Death is swallowed up in victory comes from
Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
In Isaiah 25 "Death is personified and represented as a devouring being, swallowing up all the generations of men; and by the resurrection of the body and the destruction of the empire of death, God is represented as swallowing him up; or that eternity gulps him down. How glorious a time to the righteous, when the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick; when God shall have wiped away all tears from off all faces, and when there shall be no more death. This time must come. Hallelujah! The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." (Adam Clarke)
And then Paul taunts death by quoting Hosea:
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
“Both Death and Hades are here personified: Death is represented as having a sting, dagger, or goad, by which he is continually irritating and urging on; to Hades, victory is attributed, having overcome and conquered all human life, and subdued all to its own empire.” (Adam Clarke)
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The sting of death and the victory of the grave will be swallowed up by the resurrection of the flesh!
All praise to Jesus, the Christ of God!
I know this was rather long but Hosea says a lot about Christ! Wow!!
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