WEBVTT

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Introduction to the Book of Hosea.

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The Book of Hosea stands first in the
division of the Bible called the Minor

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Prophets, a name referring to the brevity
of these books as compared to Isaiah,

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Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

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Hosea lived in the tragic final days of
the northern kingdom.

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His prophetic ministry would be God's last
loving appeal to the northern kingdom of

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Israel to repent before its destruction in
722 B.C.

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The book narrates the difficult family
life of Hosea as a symbol to convey the

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prophet's message from the Lord for his
people.

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The book narrates the difficult family
life of Hosea as a symbol to convey the

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prophet's message from the Lord for his
people.

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God orders Hosea to marry an adulterous
wife, Gomer, and their three children were

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each given a symbolic name, embodying part
of the ominous message.

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God commands the prophet to continue
loving his unfaithful wife, and he takes

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her back and keeps her in isolation for a
while.

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The story graphically represents the
Lord's relation to the Israelites,

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who had been disloyal to him by worshiping
Canaanite gods.

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Israel was to go through a period of
exile, but the Lord still loved his

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covenant people and longed to take them
back, as Hosea took back Gomer.

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Yet, despite God's condemnation and the
harshness of language with which the

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unavoidable judgment was announced,
the major purpose of the book is to

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proclaim God's compassion and love that
cannot, finally, let Israel go.