Hosea: God’s unending love for an unfaithful people
What is Hosea about? The Northern Kingdom of Israel had turned her back on God. When God chose Jeroboam to rule the northern ten tribes of Israel , He was prepared to establish Jeroboam’s bloodline the same way He’d done for David ( 1 Ki 11:38 ). Instead, King Jeroboam set up two golden calves and instituted a pagan priesthood—forever cementing his legacy as the one “who made Israel sin” ( 1 Ki 13:26 ). Israel had left the one who had saved her, loved her, and made her His own. The Southern Kingdom of Judah wasn’t far behind. So God tells a man named Hosea to marry a harlot. Hosea marries her, and has children. But she leaves him and commits adultery. Then God tells him to go after her and bring her back. Hosea’s marriage is symbolic of God’s covenant relationship with Israel. Through Hosea, the Lord tells the story of Israel’s disobedience, His discipline, and His steadfast, faithful love: Rejection and betrayal. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, le...