When a People Forget God

Who was Hosea?

A prophet, indicated by the v. 2 which says, ‘When the Lord first spoke through Hosea ...’

The name ‘Hosea’ means ‘He [God] has saved’ or ‘salvation.’

Hosea served during the same time as the prophets Isaiah, Amos, and Micah. Both Hosea and Amos were prophets to Israel, the Northern Kingdom, while Isaiah and Micah prophesied to Judah, the Southern Kingdom.

Understanding the Time Period of Hosea’s Ministry

A. Moses Receives the Law from God

Exodus 23:20-33, 1446 B.C.

693 years before Hosea’s ministry

B. The Cycle of the Judges (apostasy, oppression, supplication, deliverance)

Judges 2:1 - Judges 3:7, 1374 B.C.

621 years before Hosea’s ministry

Understanding Baal and Ashtoreth/Asherah

Both of these ‘gods’ are demonic spirits. The Hebrew word from which we get our english word ‘demon’ or ‘demonic’ means ‘the destroyers.’

Genesis 12:1–3 NASB95

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

‘Baal’ means ‘the possessor, the master, the lord or the owner.’ The primary goal of Baal is to drive the spirit of God out of a society.

Luke 11:24–26 NASB95

24 “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 “And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26 “Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

‘Ashtoreth’ is the ‘wife’ or ‘lover’ of Baal, the ‘goddess’ of sexuality and seduction.

In the time of Hosea, there were fertility cults dedicated to serving these gods.

C. Israel Demands a King

1 Samuel 8:4-20, 1043 B.C.

290 years before Hosea’s ministry

Saul, David, and Solomon Reign

D. The Davidic Covenant

2 Samuel 7:8-17, 997 B.C.

244 years before Hosea’s ministry

Solomon will build the temple and the line of David will continue forever

E. A Kingdom Divided

1 Kings 12:1-19, 931 B.C.

178 years before Hosea’s ministry

Jeroboam I becomes king of Israel, the Northern Kingdom

Rehoboam, son of Solomon, becomes king of Judah, the Southern Kingdom

F. Jeroboam and Israel’s Idolatry

1 Kings 12:25-32, 931 B.C.

A precursor to the continued evil of all Israel’s kings

G. King Ahab, Queen Jezebel, and the Valley of Jezreel

Ahab becomes king of Israel — 1 Kings 16:29-33, 874 B.C.

Ahab and Naboth’s vineyard — 1 Kings 21, 855 B.C.

Jehu made king of Israel and the slaughter of Ahab’s family — 2 Kings 9-10, 841 B.C.

88 years before Hosea’s ministry

H. A Nation in Turmoil

Jeroboam II is made king of Israel (793 - 753 B.C.)

2 Kings 15-16 — A series of six kings, five of whom are assassinated by their successor, reign over Israel following Jeroboam (753 - 722 B.C.)

Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reign over Judah (792 - 686 B.C.)

Hosea’s ministry stretches from the final years of Jeroboam II reign to the beginning years of Hezekiah’s reign — approximately 50 years.