Intro

During the ministry of Christ, he directly quotes Hosea 6:6 not once but twice.  “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.”  Quoting a verse more than once is rare for Jesus.   He must be putting emphasis on this verse as a key to what God had sent him to do.  It is a passage that strikes at the nub of the problem with the Pharisees way of thinking.  In typically fashion, Christ provides a short succinct passage expecting the hearer to go search out its fuller meaning.  The first instance is in Matthew 9:9-13,

Intro

Up to this point, we have looked at practical considerations of Hosea’s marriage to Gomer and his preaching in different parts of the country.  We will now turn our attention to the prophetical aspects of Hosea that really point forward to the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are four places in the New Testament where Hosea is quoted directly. 

In our last class, we looked at several cities that Hosea would have been to and more than likely prophesied against at those very locations.  None though were as important as Bethel and Samaria.  These two places are the hallmarks of the problems with Israel.  Bethel, or Bethaven as we shall see, was the religious problem of Israel, idolatry in all its ugly self-serving.  Samaria was the political problem of Israel, in all its brash self-reliance.  Their history will be important to understand, their current problems during Hosea’s times are highly relevant, but most important of all is re

Intro

Hosea presents a challenge for Bible students who like to put events in order and neatly put them in a box.  There are no nice little milestones given to say what year or month a prophecy happened.  Beyond the first verse, there are no indications to who was reigning.  There are no common markers like, “thus sayeth the Lord.” 

Intro

Israel, the northern tribes, had never had a righteous king.  Not one who sought after God with all his heart.  Yet God continued to work with them.